“I know.” I force myself to smile and pray that she’ll finally let it go.
She’s just about to reply when the music suddenly stops. Emily, Chris, Ruby, and all the seniors step into the center of the roof terrace, and I groan.
Shit, I totally forgot about this.
“This party isn’t our only tradition,” Chris announces with a grin, and someone cheers. Someone who knows what’s coming next. “Pearson and the selection committee have seen every single one of us dance before. But I’d say it’s timewehad a look at who’s going to follow in our footsteps.”
The students cheer again, more of them this time. They play this stupid game every year. The new ones are shoved into the middle and are encouraged to improvise, like we’re in the most clichéd teen dance movie you can think of.
I haven’t figured out yet whether it’s an attempt to unnerve or humiliate them or if the rest of the group is really just curious. Probably a bit of everything.
“Who wants to go first?” Emily, the star of the senior class, puts on an encouraging smile. She will be dancing the lead role in this year’s Christmas performance, as sure as death and taxes, even though we don’t know yet which piece is planned. She already has an offer from the New York City Ballet, and when she graduates next year, she will be one of the few who don’t have to struggle to get auditions. She made it, and she makes it look almost easy.
“Come on, go for it. We don’t bite. Everyone is going to get a turn tonight,” Ruby says, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
Someone steps forward. A girl with copper hair and freckles that I once counted. Fuck.
“Great, we have the first volunteer. What’s your name?” Ruby asks.
“Zoe.” The sound of her voice sends a painful shiver down my back. Even after a year, she’s still far too familiar. How the hell is this happening?
She stops a short distance from Emily, her eyes darting back and forth and then meeting mine for a split second. They go wide, and my entire body tingles as she bites her lower lip uncertainly and draws my attention to her mouth.
Inside me, hot anger collides with stabbing pain. Memories flood me. I suddenly taste peaches on my tongue, and my stomach turns. I push back the memories, just like the anger and pain and everything that has to do with her, because they don’t matter anymore. We’re over. We never even really started.
“I’m leaving,” I say to Skye, not waiting for her to answer. I simply turn and walk away.
I’m not watching Zoe dance. Not a chance.
Chapter 5
Zoe
What does friendship mean to you?
I don’t know... being there for each other? Telling each other all your secrets without fear of being betrayed? Being honest without worrying about being rejected? I think it’s friendship when you have someone with you who helps you to be less afraid.
—P
Yawning, I stir my coffee and watch as the dark liquid mixes with the frothy milk. My avocado sandwich is lying on the plate in front of me, untouched. I’ve been staring at it for ten minutes. I know I have to eat something, but I can’t bring myself to take a bite.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Mae asks. She’s sitting next to me, eating her yogurt.
We’re sitting in the dining hall on the ground floor. It doesn’t feel that much like a dorm because the Victorian style of the building is also reflected in its interior design. It’s much fancier than the average student residence.
The first rays of sunlight are shining through the high archedwindows, bathing everything in soft, warm light and casting shadows on the wooden floor. Sixteen round tables are scattered around the large room, with five chairs around each one. The dark green, velvet-covered seats look more like easy chairs and are far too comfortable when one is completely exhausted.
“I’m wiped out,” I say.
“Had a bad night?” She frowns sympathetically.
“I couldn’t fall asleep.”
It’s not a lie. I was totally restless because I couldn’t stop thinking about Jase. The expression in his eyes and the bitter frown that I’d never seen before. Not to mention the fact that he was sleeping in his bed just a few yards away from me with nothing but a wall between us, even though it felt like the whole universe was separating us.
Which is good.
Because what I had with Jase is part of my past, and I need to look ahead. I’ve got to focus on my dream. My future. And he’s not a part of it anymore.
