“Stupid boys,” she grumbles.
“What happened, Daisy?”
Her attention turns to me, and she wipes her eyes. “JJ,” she whimpers. “I saw him at the beach earlier and he told me that he’s not interested and that I’m not the one for him.”
My forehead scrunches together, confused as to why she’s this upset. From what I know, they went on one date, and they haven’t even kissed.
“I’m not trying to sound insensitive, but you barely know him.”
Her eyes blaze with fury at my comment. “I’m sitting here crying, Ivy, and that’s all you’ve got to say?”
I recoil from her tone. “All I’ve got to say?” I scoff. “You haven’t even talked to me about what happened at the party.”
“What?”
“The comment you made about JJ, Daisy. It was a shitty comment to make.”
The tears in her eyes begin to ease up, and she presses her lips into a thin line. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t, because you were drunk and you wanted to put me down so you could look superior to him.”
Days’ worth of frustration and anger begin to build.
“What are you talking about?”
I throw my hands up in the air. “Forget about it.”
“No,” she grumbles. “Tell me what you wanted to say.”
My eyes flick between hers, and I huff out a small laugh. “You had to bring up that JJ said I wasn’t his type. My whole life, you’ve made this into some competition, and it’s exhausting. I never wanted to compete with you, but this time I can’t stand it; it’s as if my feelings don’t matter.”
“I didn’t rub it in.”
“You did,” I state simply. “You always have to make sure you’re above everyone else. Every day throughout school, I literally hid in your shadow, I was so insecure because I didn’t understand why I got treated differently to you.”
Daisy’s jaw clicks, and her eyes narrow at me. “You have no idea what I went through in high school,” she mumbles. “All the shit I had to go through.”
“Like what?”
Her nose twitches. “Everyone thought I was a stuck-up bitch. Being gossiped about. Having girls hate me because boys were interested in me. Those days were some of the worst times of my life.”
My eyes narrow. “Oh man, imagine people hating you because you’re pretty.”
Something burns in my chest, and I’m not proud of it. Daisy sniffles and stands from the sunbed. “You don’t understand, Ivy.”
“I went through years of bullying, Daisy,” I say harshly. “Years of rude, backhanded comments that have sat with me until this day. People tripped me up in the hallway because I was your stupid sidekick who followed you anywhere, and they’d do things to get your attention. Sticking gum in my hair because boys found it funny.”
She folds her arms over her chest and glances away. “You endured boys asking for your number and girls being bitchy because they were jealous! I spent years fearing going to school, not understanding why we got treated so differently. We all have feelings, yet I would go home and cry because I wanted to know why I wasn’t good enough for anyone to look at and see a person who mattered.”
“It’s not my fault boys didn’t like you, Ivy.”
A laugh passes my lips. “No, that’s not your fault. But you’ve played up to it the entirety of your life, and you don’t even know it. Everyone knows you’re beautiful, Daisy, but it seems like you always can’t wait to kick me while I’m already down.”
“That’s not true.” She shakes her head.
“Remember when we found out that Ben liked me?” I say in a whisper. “You made little comments when you could, acting shocked that he asked me out when he didn’t even look in your direction. You couldn’t believe that someone liked me and not you.”
Daisy sticks her tongue into her cheek. “Those comments were nothing.”
