“Better than trying to fill it with someone else’s boyfriend,” I snap back. “How many times does Gage have to reject you before you get the hint? Or is desperation just your default setting?” I can’t hurt her enough. Heck, I can’t seem to hurt her at all.
“Funny you mention rejection.” Chloe steps closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. “Because from where I’m standing, Gage looks pretty done with your attention-seeking circus act. Maybe he finally realized you’re just a broken little girl who collects boys like Band-Aids for daddy issues.”
She didn’t.
“And you’re just a pathetic wannabe who thinks stealing my leftovers makes you special,” I hiss. “Newsflash, Chloe—you’re not his second choice. You’re not even on the list.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” She laughs, but it’s as jagged as broken glass. Here’s hoping, I’m breaking her. “While you’re playing house with Logan, I’ll be keeping Gage warm,” she continues. “Someone has to, since you’re too busy spreading yourself thin to notice he’s already moving on. But we both know the truth. You’re so desperate to be wanted that you’d rather string them both along than risk being alone. At least when Gage is with me, he doesn’t have to share. He doesn’t have to wonder which personality he’s getting today, or if you’re thinking about Logan while kissing him.”
Logan’s grip on my waist tightens, and it’s the only thing keeping me from lunging at her.
Gage glances up at that, and for a split second, our eyes meet. There’s something in his expression that makes my heart squeeze tight, but before I can figure out what it is, he looks away and lets Chloe lean even closer.
I need air.
And alcohol.
And possibly a lobotomy.
“I’m going outside to suck down some fresh Paragon fog,” Igrowl, pushing through the crowd toward the sliding glass doors that lead to Ellis Harrison’s haunted backyard.
Because watching Gage Oliver let Chloe Bishop paw all over him while I’m trapped in this teenage hell is exactly the kind of cosmic punishment my mother would orchestrate.
Funny how I’m supposed to be saving the timeline, but all I can think about is how much I want to burn it all down—starting with Chloe Freaking Bishop.
And right now, Gage Oliver is a very close second.
33
Skyla
The rear yard of Ellis Harrison’s estate is just as packed as inside, but at least out here the music is slightly muffled and the air doesn’t taste like a brewery exploded.
The Harrisons’ backyard is gorgeous on a normal day, with its perfectly manicured landscaping and expensive outdoor furniture, but tonight it’s been transformed into a soggy teenage paradise. Bodies writhe in and around the glowing blue pool, while an entire herd of teenagers sprawl across the lawn in various states of intoxication—and undress. It’s a wet and wild night, and not a young soul here is complaining about it.
I spot Brielle sitting by herself on a patch of grass near the pool house, looking way too deep in thought for someone who usually treats thinking as an optional activity. The fog rolls in thick and dramatic, swirling around the place as if it’s auditioning for a horror movie.
“Mind if I join the meditation session?” I ask, sidling up next to her on the damp grass.
“Only if you promise not to give me any more relationship advice,” Brielle shoots back without bothering to look at me. “I’m still recovering from your last batch of bad wisdom.”
“When have I ever given you relationship advice?”
“About five minutes ago, when you told me Drake was destined to marry me and we would live happily ever after. Then he all but gave me the finger because of it. Very helpful, by the way. It really cleared things up.”
I wince. “Right. Sorry about that. I guess light driving makes me say weird things.” Also known as the truth. Or at least they were true until I ruined everything. I suppose Brielle really is onto something.
“Sure, light driving made you do it,” she grunts. “You always seem to find a convenient excuse.”
Rather than try to explain things I don’t even understand myself anymore, I look out at this time and place and marvel at all the things I know full well that are happening all around the world right this minute.
“You know what’s really kind of interesting? Wesley and Laken,” I say as I lean in. “They’re somewhere in that haunted academy of theirs right now. Laken is pining for Wesley like the thirsty girl she is, and he could have her so easily. But Wes is too stubborn to care. He’s sticking it out with Kresley, a girl he’s not even destined to be with. Will he obsess to have Laken desperately once she sees the light and chooses to spend her days with Cooper? You bet. But right this minute, that boy could swallow her whole, and she would be oh so happy. I guess that goes to show, sometimes it takes losing someone to see how much they really mean to you.”
Brielle blinks at me with a vacant stare. “Cool,” she says. “Who are these people, again?”
“Oh, right. You won’t meet them until much later. And even then, you won’t be all that interested in them.” Bree sort of can’t stand Laken due to some ridiculous bestie power struggle going on in her mind.
“Speaking of interested.” She hoists her shoulders back andbounces her boobs my way. “You can’t just keep stringing Gage and Logan along. Some people are interested in your sloppy seconds. Drop one like a bad habit, would you?”
