"What?"
"The Sullivans." He gave me a strained smile. "They're hard to resist, aren't they?"
I let out a forced laugh. "You could say that."
"Something going in between Tins and you?" Dad stared at me across the table, and I shifted my weight uncomfortably before finally nodding. There was no need for words. He understood. "You want to stay for her?"
"For her," I nodded. "Of course. And Eastvale. And you. I don't want the life Mom's trying to force us into. I belong here."
"You have a choice," Dad reminded me. "Don't forget that, kid. You just have to say the word, and you can stay with me, indefinitely."
"Mom would go ballistic."
"I know. But we can deal with that if need be. Just know that you have the option. When are you moving?"
"Two weeks," I admitted begrudgingly.
Dad whistled, giving me a sympathetic glance and muttering, "She really didn't give you any time, did she?"
"I think she wants to get me away from Tinsley," I admitted.
"Does she... know about you two?"
"She suspects," I groaned. "And she's going to kill me when she finds out."
"I have a confession, Crispin."
"What?" I looked up at him, my heart pounding. "What is it?"
"I- I'm still seeing Tinsley's Mom." The silence was thick and oppressive, and Dad ran his fingers nervously through his hair. "I just wanted you to hear it from me. I know it's not the best situation."
"So, she wasn't just a booty call? Not just an affair."
"No," Dad shook his head. "And Crispin, your mother knew."
"What do you mean?"
"She knew," he repeated. "I told her I was interested in someone else when I asked for the divorce. Almost six months ago."
"Why- why didn't I know?" I did some math in my head. "Nobody told me."
"Because your Mom didn't want a divorce," Dad sighed. "She had me going to marriage counseling, the whole nine yards. I wasn't in touch with Diana Sullivan for months. Not until that day, the last day of filming."
"And it all came out after that," I finished for him.
"Yeah. And your mom lost it, understandably."
"So are you dating her? Like, exclusively?" I wanted to know.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I... I think I love her, kid."
I groaned, muttering, "Gross, Dad."
"Kinda," he laughed. "About as gross as you hooking up with her kid."
"Yours is more gross."
"Fine," he admitted defeat. "But I wanted to be honest with you. You deserve to know the truth."
"Thanks, Dad." My ice cream was pooling at the bottom of the dish, and I absent-mindedly toyed with the liquid. "So what do we do now?"
"Well, that's simple," Dad grinned, pushing his dessert away. "There's only one question you need to answer."
"And what's that?"
He cocked his head to the side and asked the words I'd been dreading and waiting for all day. "Do you want to move in with me or move away with your mom and sister?"
By the time Dad drove off, it was raining. The insistent pitter-patter on my windshield made me even more nervous. I wanted to go home right away, knowing Mom would freak because I'd been out so late, but I couldn't stop myself. I found myself pulling up in front of Tinsley's house. She deserved to know the news first.
I got out of the car, the rain heavy on my back as I stood in front of the modern building. Tinsley's bedroom window was cracked open, but her mom's car wasn't in the driveway. I rang the doorbell, shivering in the cold rain, but no answer came. I took a few steps back, grabbing a fistful of the gravel from the driveway and aiming the tiny stones at my girl's window.
It took seven stones for her to hear me, and with each one, my stomach dropped harder.
Finally, her pretty face appeared in the window. "Crispin!" she called out. "What are you doing here?"
"Come down," I begged. "Please, Tins."
She bit her bottom lip, glancing around before nodding and disappearing back inside. I leaned against my car, now soaked down to my underwear but not giving a damn. Tell her the truth. She deserves the truth. She deserves to know what's going to happen.
A moment later, the front door opened, and Tinsley rushed out into the rain. Our bodies collided with desperation, her heart beating against mine and her eyes searching for answers.
"My mom wants us to move," I told her over the heavy sound of rain, my arms going around her waist. "To the other side of the country. We leave in two weeks."
"I know," she whispered. "I know, Crispin. You told me."
"I'm not going." The words shifted a weight off my shoulders and sent my lips stretching into a smile. I hadn't realized how fucking relieved I was until the words were finally out of my mouth. "I spent the day with my dad. He says I can move in with him."
"What?" she laughed despite the tears mixing with raindrops on her cheeks. "Are you serious? You're going to stay?"
I nodded, and she threw her head back, laughing with me. It was the prettiest sight in the world. "I can't leave you," I admitted. "I'm going to Eastvale in the fall."
"I got accepted there, too," she admitted.
"I know." I grinned. "I saw the envelope in your bedroom the other day."
"Stalker."
"You love it."
"So you..." She swallowed, turning her hopeful eyes to mine. "You're really staying?"
"I go where you go," I whispered. "Always, Tins."
She smiled wider than I'd ever seen her, and I pulled her body against mine, my mouth finding hers to kiss her deeply. She tasted like rain and strawberries, a combination I wanted to relish for the rest of my life. And I knew, holding her in the rain, that she wanted the same thing.
"My girl," I whispered against her lips. "My crybaby."
"Just yours," she promised. "For as long as you want me."
"Forever."
"Forever." She grinned and kissed me again. "Forever, if you'll have me."
Chapter Nineteen
Tinsley
Hey, just wanted to talk.
Just tried you again... Please don't ignore me.
Please. I don't want to lose you.
Babe! Calling you again in 5... please answer?!
I stared at all the unanswered text on my phone, hating myself for sending another one before school started. It was time to face my demons head-on. It had been almost three weeks since I'd spoken to Estella, and I was desperate to reconnect with my best friend. I felt guilty, though, knowing I'd ruined her relationship with Crispin. While we hadn't gone public with our relationship yet, we wanted to, and I insisted I needed to speak to Estella first, so she would hear the news from me.
Before I knew it, it was lunchtime at Wildwood, and I'd explained to Andie before that I was going to try to reconnect with Estella, so Finn and she had gotten their own table in the courtyard. I grabbed a Diet Sprite from the check-out counter and scanned the crowd in the cafeteria. Estella was hard to miss. She sat at the table in the center flanked by Inca and Harlem. There were some boys gathered around the table, too, and I smiled to myself when I saw Estella was the center of attention. It was what she lived for, and if it made her happier, I was all for her getting the attention she deserved. I stopped in front of their table, feeling more invisible than ever. Nobody so much as looked up from their lunch, even when I cleared my throat. They just kept on talking as if I weren't there at all.
"Hey, Estella." I finally raised my voice, and she sighed, closed her eyes for a second, then looked at me.
"What?"
"I was just hoping we could talk," I managed to get out. It took everything out of me to speak to her. To be friendly, to pretend all the bad things we'd done to one another didn't exist at all. "You know, in private? I've been trying to text and call, but you never respond."
"Why would I, Tins?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Do we really have anything else to say to one another?"
"I hope so," I whispered.
"Stells, you're my second… ummm, my oldest friend."
"I've known you for a year," she said, her voice dripping with pity. "That's really your longest friendship? How fucking sad."
I looked at the ground, hating her for making me feel so small. Fuck her. Fuck her. Fuck her.
"I just want to make things right between us," I told her. "Before it's too late."
"Too late?" she let out a bitter laugh. "You're saying that now? After you fucked my ex-boyfriend?" She shut me up with that one, and she laughed again, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, yeah, I know about that, Tins. Some friend you are."
"I saw him first," I whispered.
"Excuse me?"
"On set," I argued. "You knew I liked him."
"So?" she cried out. "You never made a move, Tins, and neither did he. You don't own a boy if you've never even kissed him. I just staked my claim. I couldn't watch you play your childish little games forever."
"You stole him from me," I accused her, now shaking with anger. "He wanted to kiss me at that party!"
"Sure," Estella rolled her eyes. "That's why he was so eager to start dating, huh?"
"It was to make me jealous," I muttered, even realizing myself how stupid I sounded.
"Ugh, just leave," Estella said. "I don't want to deal with you."
"Well, you have to." I slammed my Diet Sprite on her table. Yikes. I needed to remember not to open that any time soon; it would fizz all over the place. "We have to talk! I can't lose you over this."
"You already lost me. I don't hang out with people who've betrayed me."
"And you haven't betrayed me?"
"Please," she snorted. "I did fucking everything for you."
"Oh yeah?" It was my turn for the pitying look. "What about after the... thing with my mom, Estella? You never once called me. You never, ever checked on me. Not until you found out I was going to Wildwood."
"I had other things to think of. Not everybody's life revolves around you, Tins! I had a career to think of. I wasn't a star like you—now I probably won't be, ever."
"What does that have to do with it?"
"Everything!" she called out. "If I took your side, I'd be labeled just like you were. Except you can get back from that Tins, and I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because you're the nation's sweetheart. And I'm nothing but the mean girl. And this is your story, not mine."
"So what now?" I asked, my voice shaking. "We're just never going to talk again?"
"You're with him now?"
"I..." I hesitated. "I guess so."
"Then no," she said, her voice firm. "You know you should've asked me before."
"Like you asked me?" I taunted her. "Before you made out with him?"
"He. Wasn't. Yours!" she cried out, glaring at me. My God, if looks could kill... "You don't own people, Tinsley. And you sure as hell don't own Crispin Dalton."
"You don't either," I informed her. "And for the record, I know you've been trying to make my life here fucking miserable."
"Me?" she laughed. "Think again, kid. You’ve got the wrong girl."
"Oh yeah?" I crossed my arms. "So, you're not the one who ordered your little posse to torture me at the cheerleader tryouts?"
She furrowed her brows. "Huh?"
"We dumped paint over her," Harlem chimed in helpfully, giving me a saccharine smile. "It was hilarious."
"Based on your instructions," I said to Estella. "You're the one who told them to embarrass me!"
"Oh, honey," Estella laughed wickedly, a note of pity in her voice. "You really think that?"
"Why else would they do it?" I glared at Harlem, sitting to Estella's right and shooting me murderous glances. "Someone had to talk them into it, and all the signs point to you. Andie told me you spread lies about her sister. I'm sure you've been doing the same thing to me."
"That's where you're wrong," she spat. "I didn't have to lie about you. You did the dirty talk for me, you and that mother of yours."
"Don't you dare talk about her," I snapped, feeling rage take over. "You know, I always knew you were a bad friend, everybody told me so. I just didn't realize how fucking desperate you were to see me fall until now."
"See you fall?" Estella raised her eyebrows, smirking at me. "Honey, I've seen you fall plenty of times. In fact, it seems like your default when something goes wrong. Playing the victim who always, always gets help. Some of us got here without connections, Tins! Without Mommy pushing us. Poor, helpless little Tinsley with nobody to help her. Of course, you even had to steal your Prince Charming." She took a step closer, her eyes glinting darkly as she whispered, loud enough for just me to hear, "Like mother like daughter, right, Tins?"
"Wrong." A firm hand landed on my shoulder, and I whirled around to find Crispin standing behind me. The relief was instant, a weight falling away when he appeared and took my side.
"Oh, if it isn't the man of the hour," my former friend purred. "Just in time, too, Crispy. I'm about to get to the big reveal."
"What big reveal?" I asked, glancing from one of them to the other.
"She still doesn't know?" Estella threw a pitying glance my way. "Oh, you poor, naive little girl. Do you want to tell her, Crispin? Or should I do the honors?"
Crispin stayed quiet, uncomfortably glancing between us. It only seemed to give Estella more courage, and now that she sensed the whole damn cafeteria was watching us, she seemed unstoppable.
"Well, allow me, then," she said, pulling up a chair. Natan offered her his hand, and she got up on the chair, calling out to the rest of the students. "Attention, Wildwood. We have an announcement of utmost importance."
If people were only pretending to listen in before, she now held everybody's attention. There wasn't a pair of eyes in that room that wasn't focused on us.
"Meet new girl aka Tinsley Homewrecker Sullivan," she said in a sing-song voice. "And the boy toy, Crispin Dalton. You hated Tins, and you loved Crispin. All of you. Tinsley, if you ever thought people would listen to you here, you were dead wrong. People listen to one group and one thing only. The Lords of Wildwood."
A collective gasp echoed through the cafeteria as she went on, and I shot Crispin a confused look. But he wouldn't meet my eyes, instead staring intently at Estella.
"Oh yeah, I did some digging," she said. "And all of you should do the same. God knows what else there is to find."
"Who are the Lords of Wildwood?" I asked, and Estella crossed her arms, looking at Crispin.
"Why don't you let him explain?" she asked, waiting for him to go on. But Crispin stayed stubbornly quiet. "Aww, what's wrong, Crispy? Cat got your tongue?"
"Estella," Natan hissed next to her, grabbing her arm. "That's enough. Get down."
"Oh, but I'm not nearly done yet," she said, snatching her arm out of his grasp. "Tins, I told you they only listen to the boys here. And your darling Crispin is their leader. What he says, they will do. You think it was Harlem's brilliant idea to dump paint on you?"
"No," I called out. "It was yours. Because you're so goddamn jealous, you couldn't stand the idea of being on the cheering team with me."
"Sure," Estella laughed bitterly. "You believe that if you want. But I'm here to tell you the truth, Tinsley Sullivan." Her eyes were murderous as she turned to face me. "You're the bad friend in this relationship. You're the one who stole my boyfriend. You're the one who burnt this relationship to the fucking ground. And... Crispin's the one who's been making your life hell."
"What?" I laughed out loud. "You're ridiculous, Estella. Really? That's your last resort?"
"Ask him," she shrugged. "Not my problem anymore. I'll just watch this fall apart from the best seat in the goddamn house."
Natan helped her get off the chair, and she sat down next to Harlem, glaring at the two of us. Crispin still wouldn't look at me, and my heart pounded with uncertainty as I turned to face him.
"Is it true?" I asked, my voice shaky and scared. "Are you the one who ordered everybody to pick
on me?"
"Tins, these kids do what they want," he said defensively. "I couldn't make anybody do what they didn't want to."
"Did you," I raised my voice. "Or didn't you? Just fucking tell me, Crispin. Don't you think I deserve to know the truth?"
"I..." He hesitated before running his fingers through his hair. "Alright, maybe when you started. But not for a while."
"I've only been here a couple of months," I argued. "What did you do, Crispin?"
"Let me help with that," Estella purred. "He told everybody—including me—to treat you like the bitch you were."
“Bitch?” I repeated, glaring at Crispin. "You called me a bitch?”
"Tins, I..."
"No." I shoved him when he tried to come closer, and he stumbled back, as surprised as I was by the sudden adrenaline-fueled strength I had. "I don't want to talk, anymore. In fact, I don't even want to see your face right now, so just leave me the fuck alone!"
Tears blurred my vision as I pushed out of the crowd, running down the hallway, anywhere, as far as possible, away from them. My heart was pounding, and my feet rushed across the marble as I struggled to breathe. The old desire to color my skin with bruises bloomed inside of me, and I resisted the urge to hurt myself.
He doesn't deserve it, I told myself. Nobody deserves it. I was never, ever, ever doing that because of anybody. I refused to give them that kind of power. I heard him calling out after me, but I didn't want to stop. I just kept running.
"Tinsley, wait!" He came running after me, his footsteps pounding on the floor of the hallway.
"No, Crispin! Just fuck off!" He stopped when I whirled around, my eyes thunderous as we glared at one another. "God, why can't you just leave me alone?"
"You know I never could," he admitted, his Adam's apple bouncing as he swallowed. "You know you're like a drug, crybaby. I can't stop, even if I wanted to."
"Well, I don't care about any of that," I sniffled. "You need to learn some boundaries, Crispin! You've overstepped so many lines, I stopped counting a long time ago."
"Only because I wanted to be with you," he insisted, taking a step forward and making me hiss in protest. He stopped, looking miserable and frustrated as he ran his fingers through his floppy hair. "God, Tins, can't you see? Everything I did was to bring us closer together. To make you fall in love with me."
Boys That Tease: A Bully Romance (Lords Of Wildwood Book 1) Page 22
