“What do you know about me?” I might as well start there. Adriana knew about the suicide attempt, so I’m curious what else she might know that I haven’t told her myself.
She leans back in her chair, fingers drumming along the top of the table. “Your name. Age—twenty-one. You were assaulted at a fraternity party this summer. The fraternity members involved belong to Zeta Pi.” She waves a hand through the air. “That’s all public knowledge.”
A rock sinks to the pit of my stomach. If you’re a student at PacNorth and party at all, I guess it sort of is. Austin went on a pretty public smear campaign about me when I initially came forward, but it’s been a couple of months since then. I was hoping the rumor mill had died down.
“You attempted suicide shortly after for reasons unknown, though I can make an educated assumption as to your reasons.” Yeah. I guess she can.
“You were a cheerleader, but you quit after the assault. You mostly keep to yourself and seem to prefer isolation, though I haven’t decided if that’s entirely true. It might just be that you feel safer by yourself. That would make sense. Oh!” She snaps her fingers together. “And you were in a relationship with Gabriel Herrera. Or is that still ongoing? From outwardappearances, it looks like one of you ended things. If so, I’m not sure which one of you decided to pull the plug, but I’d put my money on it being you. Gabriel doesn’t get attached easily, but he was all in on you.”
The blood leeches from my face. She … wait. What? How the hell does she know so much about me? Is there some campus gossip blog I don’t know about or is all of this standard information coming from the PacNorth rumor mill?
Oh god.If most of what she’s said is public knowledge, how many people—I scan the packed restaurant, meeting the gazes of a handful of other students. Do all of them know?
I think I’m going to be sick.
“I should also mention that Gabe and I used to be friends. It seems like relevant information for you to be aware of.”
“You were?” Knowing she was close to Gabriel is what my brain decides to latch on to. The rest I’ll come to terms with later. “But you’re not anymore?”
She shakes her head. “We had a falling out. My fault, of course. I slept with my best friend’s boyfriend and Gabe and the rest of our mutual friends were closer with her. Sides had to be taken and they chose to continue their friendships with her over me.” She shrugs. “I can’t blame them for their decision, and I don’t harbor any resentment. It’s safe to assume most people would have made the same choice in their shoes.”
Adriana tilts her head to the side. “Do you think you’ll get back together with him?”
“What? N..n…no.” I stammer my words. “No,” I repeat, this time more forcefully.
Her eyes narrow, a small furrow forming between her sculpted brows. “I don’t believe you.”
“I can’t control what you do or don’t believe,” I tell her defensively.
She nods. “True. But right now you’re lying to me. Or to yourself. Either way, it’s fine. It takes time to build trust in a relationship, but you should know that if you decide to be with Gabriel again, he won’t approve of the two of us being friends. He might make you choose between us.”
I don’t know how to respond to that other than to say, “We’re not getting back together.”
She doesn’t look convinced. “If you say so.” Adriana takes one last bite of her burger before setting her plate aside. “If you do, I want you to know in advance that it’s okay for you to choose Gabriel over me. A good friend would want you to be happy. So, you should choose him if he’s able to do that. Make you happy, I mean. Besides—” her smile is wistful, “Gabriel’s one of the good ones.”
I swallow hard and try to wrap my head around everything she’s told me. This get-together has been … enlightening to say the least. I just have one more question.
“Who was the girl?” I ask. “The one who’s boyfriend you slept with. What was her name?”
Her expression softens. “Allie.”
CHAPTER 34
CECILIA
Friday arrives faster than I expect it to. I survive the week without any further altercations and even manage to avoid seeing Austin again. A massive relief.
I still don’t know what Parker was so angry with me about, but whatever it was, it looks like he’s dropped it. No one else has stormed up to me, though I’m still worried enough not to drop my guard.
Adriana and I get together for coffee or lunch pretty much every day. And she was right about tryouts. As soon as I showed up at the pool this morning, Coach Cho kindly thanked everyone else for coming and excused them for the day before giving me Cate Carrington’s former spot.
It’s not how I wanted to get on the team, but when I tried to tell her I was happy to compete for the spot, she wouldn’t hear it.
I’m using the locker room showers to rinse the chlorine out of my hair after today’s practice when Adriana pops her head over the chest-height tile wall. “Plans this weekend?” she asks as she steps into the shower beside mine.
“Not really,” I tell her. “I’m supposed to get together with Gabriel at some point to work on a class project but?—”
“You’re avoiding him?”
