I feel the difference immediately. And so does Amber.
“Oh my God,” she says, loud enoughfor everyone around us to hear. “What are you wearing? You look like Little Red Riding Slut.”
Tiffany and Brooke laugh on cue, loud and performative, always hungry for Amber’s approval.
Rebecca shifts awkwardly beside them. “Amber, come on.” She offers me a small, watery smile. “I think you look nice, Alysander.”
“Oh, relax.” Amber waves her off with a breezy flick of her wrist. “She knows I’m just joking.”
“And so witty,” I say. “Ever consider a career in stand-up?”
Amber leans in, close enough that it almost feels private. “Look, I know you’re hurting,” she says, a tight, uneasy edge beneath her voice. “But throwing on the tightest thing you own and showing up here like some psycho ex isn’t going to make Hayes suddenly want you around again. You’re better than this, Ally. And if he doesn’t see that, maybe it’s time to stop chasing him.”
I step back, my stomach flipping uncomfortably. Her words sting, mostly because I’ve already thought them myself. That maybe I came here hoping for something that isn’t going to happen. That this is exactly how humiliation looks.
“Thanks for the life advice, Oprah,” I say.
“I’m just saying, you’re giving off a sad, last-ditch-effort vibe.” Amber tilts her head, and there’s actual sympathy in her eyes now, which somehow makes it even worse. “And it’s not a good look.”
“Got it. I’m a pathetic loser,” I deadpan. “Anyother pearls of wisdom you want to drop before you go?”
She lets out a frustrated groan. “That’s not what I meant. You always twist everything around. I’m actually trying to help you here,” she says, reaching for me like she’s offering some benevolent hand of mercy. “Look—instead of running around after Hayes all night, come hang with us instead. I promise we’ll have fun.”
I bat her away.
“Thanks for the super tempting offer, but I’d rather swallow a box of razors.”
Two red blotches bloom across her perfectly bronzed skin, and for a second, she doesn’t have a comeback.
Rebecca glances nervously between us. “Maybe we should just go inside, Ambs,” she says, rubbing at her bare arms. “It’s freezing out here.”
I shrug off my leather jacket. “Here,” I say, holding it out to Rebecca. “You can borrow it. I’m heading back inside to find Hayes anyway.”
“You sure?” she asks, her fingers brushing mine as she takes it from me. There’s a flicker of something in her smile. Hesitant, almost shy. “That’s really nice of you.”
“Becca, gross. Quit flirting with my sister,” Amber says with a nasty smirk. “Ally’s not here to be your gay awakening. She’s too busy obsessing over Hayes to notice anyone else.”
Brooke and Tiffany erupt into laughter, andRebecca goes rigid. Her smile evaporates as she shrinks back, pale skin flushing fiercely.
A hot pulse of anger hits me. Not because I think Rebecca is actually flirting with me, but because of what she shared with me the other day about her sexuality. Amber twisting that into a joke seems like a shitty thing to do.
“Jesus, Amber. Don’t be an asshole,” I say before turning to Rebecca, smiling apologetically. “Sorry. She got dropped on her head one too many times as a baby.”
Something shifts in Rebecca’s face, her expression curdling. “Mind your own business, Alysander,” she says, her voice suddenly cool. “I didn’t ask for your help.”
“I wasn’t?—”
“And I don’t need your pity,” she cuts me off. “Or your ugly coat.”
“I’m sorry. I just thought?—”
“You thought what?” She lets out a brittle laugh, her eyes sweeping over me with slow, surgical precision. “You thought I needed saving? Please. Have you looked in a mirror? That dress and that lipstick? You’re trying so hard, it’s honestly tragic.”
A knot tightens in my throat.
I can brush off Amber and the other girls. They’ve never pretended to be anything else. But Rebecca? Some part of me really believed she might be different. That maybe, in the middle of all this, I’d found someone who might actually become a friend.
“Here—take it,” she says and hurls the jacket back at my face like it burns.
