“You’re a bitch.” Her eyebrow rose in question at my statement, and I shrugged with an indifference I wasn’t feeling. “What? I thought we were just saying what we thought with no holds barred,” I told her.
Cold eyes held mine, and I actually felt more threatened by her than I did with either of the Santo boys, and they had trapped me in a meat sandwich for crap’s sake.
“He will destroy you. He will literally ruin you for what you’ve done to him. He may have been lenient. I believe he may actually have been kinder, but you fucked yourself this afternoon with your desperate need to be seen by him.”
“He isn’t a god.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but her look and her words had my insides trembling with fear. She was as psycho as the others. Was she their sister? “He can do nothing to me that he’s not already done.” I mean, he’d already spread the rumors I had stolen from him. His housemates knew I slept with him, and now my reputation was in ruin, and I’d been reprimanded in class because of him. What else could he do? Really? I said as much to the psycho bitch in front of me, and she smiled.
Her hand reached out, and instinctively, I jerked back. Her victorious smile at my reaction made me curse inwardly at myself for reacting to her, but it didn’t help my nerves when she rubbed a lock of my hair between her fingers before tucking it behind my ear. Her head lowered, and she spoke into my ear, ensuring she’d be heard over the music.
“You’re a fool. Jett will eat you up and spit you out, and you won’t even know he’s done with you until you’re back home in your two-bed apartment in Knoxville with your mama, attendingcommunity college.” Stepping back, she smiled a wide, bright smile. “It will be fun to watch though. Be seeing you, Ava. Be seeing yourealsoon.”
She walked by me, making sure not to touch me, and with grace, she crossed the room to join a group of girls, who all welcomed her like she was the queen.
My eyes stayed glued to her for a few minutes, watching her interact. She never looked back, and it was as if I hadn’t existed.
“Hey.” Mia had joined me, and Alex had followed. “You were talking to Quinn Lawrence; how do you know her?” Mia was smiling and happy. It was not the time to tell Mia that I didn’t know her or to reiterate what she had said to me.
“I just met her,” I mumbled into my cup of soda, wishing it held something harder. “I think I need a drink.” Heading to the kitchen area, I surveyed the range of alcohol. There was no way in hell I was touching the large bowl of punch; I had no idea what was in there. Opting for safety, I took a bottle of beer from one of the ice coolers.
“She’s besties with your friend,” Mia told me as she accepted a beer from me. Alex shook his head and held up his bottle of water.
“Designated driver,” he told me.
“Cool.” Twisting the cap off the bottle, I looked at Mia. “I’m aware of who she’s friends with,” I told Mia dryly. And if I hadn’t been before, I surely was now.
“Quinn’s cool,” Alex said easily as he looked over in the direction of the bitch from hell. “She’s in my sociology class. Smart too.”
Mia gave him a sly grin as she looked at him and then over at Quinn. “Brainy and drop dead gorgeous,” she said as she turned to me. “Can we hate her on principle?” she joked with a good-natured laugh.
Easy. “Consider it done.” I took a large swig of beer as I listened to Mia assure Alex we weren’t bitches, we were merely joking. I kept my comments to myself.
“Where’s Shane?” Alex suddenly seemed to realize his bandmate was missing.
“Bathroom.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Alex said, putting his empty water bottle down. He tugged Mia closer to him, placing a chaste kiss on her temple. “Don’t let me lose you,” he murmured. Her face flushed with warmth, and I saw the shy smile she gave him as he walked away from us to find the bathrooms.
“Smitten?” I teased her. Her happiness and the fact that she was having a good time soothed my own rancor at the words I had exchanged with Quinn.
Mia bit her lip as she swayed slightly to the music. “He is kinda hot. And sweet.”
“Hmm.” I nodded. “So . . . I can go?”
The dancing stopped, and Mia grabbed my arm, her eyes wide with concern. “No! Why! Are you not having fun?”
She looked so distraught that I was going to leave her, I felt guilty. “I’m not feeling it, Mee,” I admitted.
“Because of those tweets, isn’t it?” Her hands rested on her hips. “You’re not that person, Ava. You can’t be a catty kitty and not feel bad. Just apologize.”
I blinked in shock. “No. I have nothing to be sorry for.” And if she had heard what the witch over in the corner had said to me, she wouldn’t be asking me to.
“You need to fix this. He’s bound to be feeling as confused as you.” Her eyes were so full of sincerity that I wanted to hug her and beg her never to change. Even if she was delusional.
“I don’t think he had a problem with his self-esteem, sweets.” I tried for lighthearted, but it came out more maliciously than I intended.
“You know what you need?” Mia asked, reaching forward, and I was already stepping backward. “You need to dance.”
I didn’t. I never needed to dance. Dancing was for people who enjoyed being sweaty and free and pressed close to strangers who had no boundaries or understanding of personal space.
