“Look what we have here,” Ash says, stopping in front of Anita and Julia. “Cunt face one and cunt face two pretending to be friends while planning to stab each other in the back.”
Julia’s shrill laugh stabs me through the ears. “You’d know all about that. You did write the playbook after all.”
Anita convulses with laughter, like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard.
Ash just rolls her eyes.
“Unlike you, Julia knows what it means to be a true friend,” Anita says, getting over that fit of laughter in record time. “I like Julia, which is more than I can say about you.” Anita plants her hands on her hips and smirks at Ash.
“I’m wounded,” Ash deadpans, rolling her eyes again. “And you’re an even bigger fool than I thought.” Ash returns the smirk and then some. “Couldn’t happen to a nicer bitch.” She turns to Julia. “Funny how you’ve changed your tune.” She taps a slim finger on her chin. “What was it you used to call her? Ah, yes, now I remember.” She levels Anita with an amused look. “A-kneetta-face-transplant. Get it?”
It’s clear Anitadoesn’tget it because she’s lacking any form of self-awareness. Narcissists tend to have a high opinion of themselves and an inflated sense of self-worth. Julia opens her mouth to deny it, no doubt, but Ash clamps her hand over her lips, shutting her up. Julia slaps her hand away, ready to physically retaliate, before she seems to come to her senses.
As an heir, she is constantly under a spotlight, and getting into a public brawl with a girl whose parents are best friends with her dad would not be a wise move. Julia realizes it in time, and I’m guessing it’s killing her to have to sit this one out. She glowers at Ash, and Ash pokes her tongue out the side of her cheek.
This is fucking priceless. I should have recorded it for Chad. He’d get a real kick out of it after the stunt the whore tried to pull last year. I wonder what Julia would make of her new friend if she knew that truth. I tuck it away to use when the right opportunity presents itself.
“Wow, you really are dumb.” Ash pats her on the head like she’s a simpleton. “I’ll let you ponder that puzzle, a-kneetta-whore.”
Ash walks off, leaving both girls fuming with steam practically billowing from their ears.
And I’m not even angry my plan failed this morning because I wouldn’t have missed that for anything.
ChapterFourteen
Jase
During my midmorning free period, I call my sister after arranging for a guy to go fix Ash’s tire. I need to find out what’s going on with Bree, and there’s no time like the present. Bree doesn’t have classes until the afternoon, so she’s at home. Which isn’t convenient. However, I haven’t managed to speak with her for more than five minutes since she returned from South America, so I decide to drive out to my parents’ place to catch up with her. I can skip my Introduction to Business Analytics class if I don’t make it back to the campus in time.
I rap three times on my sister’s bedroom door and wait. Bree opens it a few seconds later with a flourish and a big smile. “Little brother, it’s good to see you.” She flings herself at me, and I pull her into a bear hug.
I have missed my partner in crime.
“Can’t breathe,” she jokes, her words muffled against my chest before I release her.
Bopping her on the head, I smirk as I push past her into her room. “PC1. How the fuck are you?”
“That’s a loaded question,” my eldest sister says, slamming the door shut behind her.
“I thought you voluntarily came home.” I flop down on the couch positioned in front of the window which offers stunning views of the gardens surrounding my parents lavish home.
“I did. Doesn’t mean I’m happy to be back living here.” She throws me a soda from the mini refrigerator before sitting beside me. Bree rests her head on my shoulder. “Missed your ugly face.”
I bark out a laugh. “Missed you too. It’s good to have you home.” I pop the lid on my can and take a swig. “Why are you back? I thought you were enjoying traveling.”
She lifts her head and sips from her own drink. A comfortable silence settles in the air. “I was, but I can’t deny reality forever,” she admits after swallowing a few mouthfuls of soda.
My eyes pop wide as I stare at my sister. “I thought that was your motto in life. That and causing as much trouble as possible.”
“I’ve grown up,” she says, staring off into space, looking contemplative. I can tell there is more to this, but I won’t pry. Breanna will tell me in her own time. She turns on the couch, swinging her legs up and placing them over my lap. “I might have accepted my reality but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to hang up my PC1 moniker entirely.” Mischief dances in her eyes, and I’m all ears.
“I like what I’m hearing. Tell me more.”
“I saw a lot while I traveled around South America. Extreme poverty. Overcrowded cities. People living with next to nothing, Jase. And I met people who had fled their home countries with only the clothes on their back. People who had experienced the worst atrocities and lived through the worst experiences. I volunteered in a homeless soup kitchen in Bogota, a rape support center in Guatemala, and a domestic violence shelter in Bolivia. I worked with this group of environmentalists in the rainforests of Brazil. I was also a part of a sea turtle conservation project in Chile, and I did a bunch of other stuff. It really opened my eyes. The decisions our father and the other luminaries make impact the world on a global scale.”
She swings her legs to the floor before resting her elbows on her knees and putting her head in her hands. “It’s not right, Jase. The world we live in is responsible for so much of the bad shit that goes on, and I can’t stand by and do nothing anymore. We are the next generation, and we can do something about it.”
I sit up straighter. “What are you planning?”
