by Nora Cobb
Taylor is perched on the edge of the couch. She sips the water and frowns a little. “I know that, but considering your cheating and then the breakup ... My husband wants a grandson.”
I almost roll my eyes, but I catch myself. “Taylor, my father will expect compensation in stock, land, or both. He always liked this house.”
She gasps. “Your father won’t accept a cash payment?”
“That wouldn’t be enough of a penalty for someone who shattered his little girl’s heart.”
Taylor shakes her head, “And what about Lucas’ heart? If you mess with it again, Arielle—”
“I won’t, Taylor. I promise. I love him.” I lean in and smile with sincerity, but Taylor and I are two of a kind. She frowns at me, and I wonder how much of my performance was believable.
“You better not, Arielle. And your first child better be Lucas’. I’ll talk to him, but in the end, it will be his choice.”
***
I don’t realize how late it is until I leave Taylor’s house. There’s no point in trying to make small talk after I’ve threatened to tell my father to sue her family. Ironically, my father agrees with Taylor. He offered to send me overseas to find a suitable husband—a duke, or even a minor prince—but I know my limits. Here, I’m the big fish in the small pond. But over there is a whole different game. I don’t need an ocean to drown in.
“Arielle?” Lucas is getting out of his Camaro as I walk across the drive to my BMW coupe. “What are you doing here?”
I shrug my shoulders casually. “I was talking to Taylor for old time’s sake. Congrats on making it to the tournament.”
“Yeah, thanks.” The lights around the house make his hazel eyes sparkle. I’d have no problem making heirs with Lucas. “It’s a good feeling. Hopefully, I get to end my senior year with a win.” He looks into my face in the dim light. “Are you sure you’re okay? Your eyes are red. You look like you’ve been crying.”
I avert my gaze, and then look over slowly, the way I used to when I was learning how to flirt. “I’m okay, Lucas. I’m glad you’re okay, too.”
The front door to the house opens, and Taylor is standing in the doorway. Her outline is illuminated by the inside lights. Lucas sighs. “Has she been drinking again?”
“She may have had one while I was here. I gave her a glass of water.”
“Thanks. She’s getting better, but well, you know how things get.”
“Where is your dad?”
Lucas’ mouth stiffens. “He’s away on business. He’s coming home in a few days.
“That’s great.” My phony cheerfulness earns a scowl for Lucas.
His dad’s off with his mistress again. Lucas won’t have one after we’re married. His mother and I may both be blondes, but the similarity ends there.
I wave as Lucas enters the house, and then Taylor slams the door shut.
CHAPTER 5
Beth
“Salad again?” Teasing, I wrinkle my nose. I place my tray down on the second table beside Lexi. “The two of you are going to turn into rabbits.”
“I see you got my text,” grins Lexi. It’s obvious because I’m wearing the outfit from her mother’s shop. Lexi’s mom is a brilliant designer, and I love the funky rock vibe, so I’m thrilled to wear her gray cashmere turtleneck with a red plaid miniskirt. I could live in these clothes. I’m psyched for fashion week coming up. Lexi is taking us all backstage.
“Yeah, Beth, who knew you had hot legs?” teases Cora.
I smile as I take my place at the table. The place I earned when I became Arielle’s friend, or lackey. I don’t know how much Lexi and Cora know about the things I’ve done, but if they do, they don’t talk about it. No one talks about it, or at least, not at school, not where it can be overheard.
“Ladies.” Mancuso sits down beside Cora with a greasy hoagie packed with sliced meat and yellow cheese.
“Mancuso,” Cora squeals, leaning away. “What are you eating? It’s so gross.”
“It’s meat and carbs. It’s what Neanderthals like me devour, Red.”
She smiles at him and playfully bumps his shoulder. Lexi shares a look with me; we’re pretty sure that they’re dating. Just like me, Mancuso worked his way up through the ranks, but not through Arielle. He’s a co-captain and in hot pursuit of Cora. He’ll do whatever he needs to do to get with her.
“So, you were you accepted to Bucknell?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he answers, “but I’m going to UCLA.”
“Isn’t that where you’re going, Cora?” Lexi grins.
Cora replies with a giggle as she exchanges a glance with Mancuso.
“It was my first pick.” he smiles. “Right, Cora?”
Cora giggles again, and I think the girl might actually be in love. This is the sweetest I’ve ever seen her. She stopped looking down her nose on the world when she started looking at Mancuso. Don’t get me wrong; she’s not friendly to everybody, but she’s not going out of her way to be a bitch for no reason any longer.
“Beth, we have to find you a boyfriend next,” Lexi smirks.
“Me?” I almost choke on my primavera, and they both laugh at my startled expression. “I don’t need one of those.”
“Where are you going to school, Beth?” asks Mancuso.
“She’s going to NYU,” answers Cora. “To study psychology.”
“Seriously?” Mancuso scoffs. “Then you must love it here. You’ve got plenty of case studies.”
While they’re busy chatting about some band Lexi wants to see next weekend, my gaze falls on Anthony alone at the back table. Damn. I must have radar set for him, and I hate it. We didn’t talk over winter break, and the bad feeling is mutual. Without discussing it, we’ve decided to completely ignore one another. If he wants Natalie after her expulsion, he can have her. I have my new and improved friends that treat me better.
I don’t have to turn around to know that Arielle has walked into the dining area. The conversation slows down to a murmur at our table as Lexi and Cora shift over in their seats to make room. Now, that’s odd, as Arielle only sits at the first table with the captains. I glance over, and Lucas and Troy are there with two of their co-captains. There’s a space for her, and she doesn’t mind sitting with Troy and Lucas. Lexi and Cora used to sit over there, but Mancuso wasn’t given a permanent spot. The first table is beyond his grasp, and that’s not where he wants to sit, now that Cora is at the second table. Anyway, they made a space for Arielle, but she’s heading over toward the seat beside me.
“Hey, Arielle,” smiles Cora. “You’re not sitting with the boys?”
Arielle doesn’t answer Cora, and the table is quiet. The conversation has stopped, and we fidget in our seats. It’s the creepy silence before a heavy downpour as Arielle sits down beside me. I don’t know why, but my gut flips. It knows something is wrong.
“Get up,” she whispers.
“Excuse me?” I reply.
“Get up,” she repeats. “I don’t want you sitting here.”
“Are you talking to me?”
Her eyes are narrowed like a cobra ready to strike. That look gives me a chill as the fork I’m holding falls from my hand and onto my plate.
“Do you want a scene?” she asks.
“Arielle,” Cora says. “What’s the matter?”
But Arielle ignores her. Mancuso grabs Cora’s hand and shakes his head once. Cora continues to stare in shock, but Lexi averts her gaze away from the drama brewing in front of her.
“Beth, you don’t belong here,” Arielle explains calmly, “so why don’t you slither back to the druggie table where I found you.”
“What did I do?” I ask.
Arielle shrugs her shoulders. “You aren’t one of us. You never will be, and I don’t know how you ended up here.”
“You invited me, Arielle,” I sling back. “When you asked me to do your dirty work.”
She leans into my space. “Look, you can get up on your own, or I’ll make a scene. Do you
want me to call you out in front of the whole school? List out all the things you did?”
“I don’t fucking believe this.”
“Arielle?” Cora tries again.
But Mancuso interrupts her, “Come on, babe, I need to get a vegan lunch. Help me out.”
Cora looks from me to Arielle, and then she gets up slowly. Lexi doesn’t know where to look. Slowly, her eyes meet mine. And the look on her face almost makes me cry. It’s not a mean snot face like she would’ve given me a month ago. It’s a look of pity as she gets up and leaves the table with Cora and Mancuso. I watch as they walk away.
Like the prey and the predator at the waterhole, Arielle and I are left alone while the others flee, not daring to look back. The first table is eerily quiet, but no one else seems to have picked up on what is happening a few feet away. In disbelief, my gaze travels around the room, wondering if anyone else is catching this craziness. I’m dazed as Arielle starts her attack again.
She hisses in my ear. “Beth, leave now or ...”
“Don’t lie and say I don’t fit in.” I call her out. “You used me. You know it, and I know it. So let’s be real and tell the truth. Don’t give me the bullshit. You know what? I don’t fit in because I’ll never be as underhanded as you.”
Arielle literally gets into my face. Her voice is silky smooth and dripping with venom. “I’m only going to ask one more time.”
I stand up from the table, pick up my tray up, and toss it to the ground. The food flies off my plate as it clatters against the floor and breaks. The queen wants to make a hateful scene while the senior class watches. Not with me. It’s time someone schooled her.
“You’re a bitch,” I shout. “You conniving little liar. You know what you did. I know what you did. And maybe you can live with yourself, but I can’t stand the sight of you.”
Arielle says nothing as her lips pucker together in shock. The whole place is watching us like we’re the latest thing trending.
“Weren’t expecting that, were you?” I whisper. “You think I’m stupid? Well, don’t. I got shit on you. You don’t squeal on me, and I’ll keep your secrets.”
With a quick move, Arielle stands up from the table, and I take a step back, right into slimy Troy. Arielle looks at Troy, and I expect her to go running into his arms and boo-hoo, but glaring at me, she stands there, tight-lipped. She must be pissed not to react with blazing drama. It’s time for a quick exit. My hair’s not long enough to make for a dramatic flip, so I flip my nose in the air instead.
I head out of there as fast as my heels will carry me, and I look straight at the exit door until I’m through it. For a moment, I stand outside, not sure where I should go. Tomorrow, I’ll eat in the student center at my old table. I’m certain that Anthony will avoid it if I’m there. I’m not sure if he’s at the art building, but I need a place to decompress.
That bitch. Didn’t I tell myself it was too good to be true? Well, if I didn’t, I should have. God. I am the Montlake schmuck. Worse than that, I’ve been a Judas. I walk in my ridiculous heels across the grass, dirt sticking on my heels, and enter the art building. I jump when I come face-to-face with Jacob Fleming standing in the doorway. I’ve heard the rumors that he and Natalie are together, but I’ve heard other rumors, too.
“What are you doing here?” he asks.
I sigh loudly. “Oh Christ, not you, too?”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Just step to the side, Fleming.”
He towers over me. “Where are you going?”
Whereas Arielle is sneaky, Jacob is determined. He doesn’t give a shit who knows his business because who would cross him? The guy is a wall of muscle, and he’s blocking my way into the courtyard. I’m getting it from all over today.
“Look, Fleming, I have to go eat humble pie for lunch. Is Natalie in the courtyard?”
He stares at me like I’m crazy. “You don’t need to speak to her.”
I step back and look at him in disbelief. “Are you the fucking gatekeeper?” I step forward, ready to push past if I have to. “I want to talk to her.”
“After what you did? Why do you need to talk to her?”
I’m honest with him. “I got played, and I need to apologize. Look, I don’t know for how long I can keep this up. Will you please move?”
“No.”
The word hangs in the air as Jacob folds his arms across his chest and leans against the doorway. He seriously isn’t going to let me by.
“Are you protecting Natalie from me?”
He nods. “If it weren’t for you and your social media skills, Natalie would have coasted through the rest of senior year without any drama.”
“And what about Anthony?” I ask. “Are you protecting her from him, too?”
Jacob leans away from the doorway and stares at me with a furrowed brow. “Why? Do I need to protect her from him? What else has he done?”
He’s too curious, and I doubt Jacob doesn’t already know why he should protect Natalie from Anthony, but I’ll take the bait gladly.
“Because those selfies are still floating around.”
“He said he deleted them.”
I shake my head. “Then why are they still on his unlocked phone? And you don’t seem bothered that she sent them to him.”
His brow creases. “She told me she had a little too much to drink.”
“Then why didn’t she send them to you?”
That plucks a nerve, and I take a quick step back as Jacob’s expression darkens. Down, boy, down. He eyes me as if he wants to hit me, but luckily, that’s not Jacob. He’ll only hit another guy.
“You’re no saint, Fleming,” I add. “I was her friend when you were making her life miserable.” It’s my turn to fold my arms across my chest. “And what about homecoming? You stopped speaking to her because of Anthony.” I step toward closer to him as he leans in to hear more. “Do you know why I became friends with Arielle?”
“Because of Anthony?” he asks. Jacob pulls his hand through his thick hair and it falls into his eyes. The guy is handsome, even I have to admit that.
“I don’t get why she bothers with Anthony when she has you.”
Jacob looks down as if the answer is at his feet. And I move a little closer to the door. He watches me, but the anger in his expression is gone and I slide past him. But he catches my wrist before I can take another step.
“Don’t fuck up this time,” he warns. “She needs a friend, and you really messed up. Personally, I wouldn’t bother with you again. But she might.”
I tug my wrist out of his grip. “Well, I might as well tell you that Arielle tossed me to the side.”
“Yeah, I knew that would happen.” He starts when I scowl at him. I’m surprised I got that reaction. “Arielle is manipulative,” he explains, “and I really wish I knew what her game plan was.”
“It’s senior year. Why should it even matter anymore?”
He looks sullen. “Unless my family disappears off the earth, we’ll always be in the same social circle. I can move to South America, and she can move to Europe. Won’t matter. It’s the blood, not the money.”
“Is that how I fucked up?”
He shakes his head. “Not in my eyes; you screwed over a friend. That’s how you fucked up. Good luck with that apology.”
Jacob leaves and I stand there alone. I look down the stairs that lead into the courtyard. It’s a weird space. Someone literally dug a hole in the ground and put a garden in it. My art teacher told the class that they used to have a live model drawing outside, and the courtyard offered the model privacy. I bite my lower lip, and I wonder if I’m ready for another hard conversation.
I look down at my outfit, thinking about how the day started and how in a minute, it seriously sucked. “I’m not up to this,” I mutter to myself and walk away from the door.
“Beth.”
I look up, and Mancuso is standing there, holding a sandwich. He looks concerned as he walks over to me.
“Cora’s really upset about what happened.” He holds out the sandwich. “We got this for you.”
“Damn,” I say. “I thought I was going to make it to the end of the day without crying.”
“Yeah, I know.” He smiles softly. “This place sucks. Don’t tell anyone, but there’s days where I want to cry, too.”
I laugh, taking the sandwich, and his smile widens. “Thank you, doofus. Is it tuna?”
“No, man. The girls like you. It’s chicken.”
