“Really?” I mumbled.
“Yash.” Bailey smirked. I smirked back and gave her a wink.
You see, yash is a word Bailey and I made up. You probably don’t want to know the things we’ve talked about . . . we are kind of crazy, and if you were a passerby and overheard our conversations, you would send us to a mental hospital immediately.
“Can we not tell anybody about this yet? I’m really not ready,” I asked everyone who was in the bathroom with us. It was really only Hayes, Cameron, Bailey, Nash, Ella, and me.
“Well, you see, they heard all the commotion and came upstairs to see what it was, and Bailey told them it was nothing, knowing you wouldn’t want them to know right then. But they got really suspicious because they heard you crying and saw Hayes was crying, so yeah, we’re not going to be able to keep it a secret for that long,” Nash said, scratching the back of his neck.
“Why were you crying?” I looked up at Hayes.
“I told you I’d die without you,” he said in all seriousness. Then he kissed me.
It wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short, either. It wasn’t passionate, but it wasn’t just a peck. It was the perfect kiss to make me feel wanted and safe. Right then and there, I knew he wanted me here.
In the Kitchen
We came down talking and laughing, acting like nothing was going on, when Mrs. Cake Face decided to come in and speak up in her fake voice.
“Where were you guys?” she asked, her tone snobby.
“That’s none of your business,” Bailey sneered.
Ashley scoffed and flipped her fake blond extensions, then walked off in her six-inch heels, shorts that were two sizes too small, and a shirt that probably came out of the baby section of a store. Lord have mercy, where did Carter meet this chick?
I guess Carter was in the bathroom or something, so I decided to speak up.
“Where the Popsicles did this slut come from?” I asked everyone in the kitchen.
“Language, missy.” Bart winked at me. I stuck my tongue out at him and listened to the others’ responses.
“I don’t know, but what I do know is that she’s up to something no good,” Alec said.
“That dog needs to stay away from you girls. If she says anything, tell us,” Jonah said, wrapping a protective arm around Abbie.
“Yeah!” chorused all the other guys, even Hayes.
“And what would you do, Hayes?” I asked playfully.
“Stick up for my girlfriend, duhh,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I smiled at him, and he smiled back and kissed my cheek.
“Why can’t she be like the rest of y’all?” Nash asked. We all laughed while the other guys nodded their heads in agreement.
“’Cause she’s trash with no cause,” Bailey mumbled under her breath just as she and Carter walked back in. We all couldn’t hold it in and started laughing uncontrollably.
“What’s so funny, guys?” Carter asked. I gave everyone a warning look.
“Nothing, Carter, just an old Vine of Nash’s that Shaelyn brought up,” I said sweetly, as if nothing was wrong.
Shaelyn glared at me, and I smiled at her. I picked her and Nash only ’cause she knew, like, every single one of Nash’s Vines.
“And which one would that be?” Ashley asked in her stuck-up voice.
When did the witch pop in?
“Well, it’s the one where he goes up the stairs really weird, like you did when you were little,” Shae said nervously.
“And I said that I still do that, ’cause I do,” I said, and everyone started laughing while Ashley stood there with a confused look on her face.
“I don’t know what you guys are talking about.” She rolled her eyes.
“No surprise there,” I mumbled.
She gave me a dirty look, and I just glared at her.
“Okay, I’m hungry, where’s the food?” I asked.
“Um, how about we go out to eat. I didn’t really get to make any pancakes,” Cameron said uneasily.
“Okay, that’s good with me. Let’s go to IHOP!” I rolled to the front door, hoping no one would start asking questions about what had happened upstairs. I really didn’t want them all to know about it yet.
“No wonder you’re so fat—you eat like a pig, probably ’cause you are a pig,” I heard someone whisper behind me, and guess who it was: Ashley.
I just stayed quiet and put my head down. Was I really fat? I mean, I’ve been doing cheerleading for eight years and have been a flyer the entire time, but was I really fat?
“I swear, once you get out of that wheelchair, you will get the worst of me,” she seethed.
She then walked away, just as everyone reached the front door.
“Wait! I need to change! Ella, can you help me pick out my outfit, and Cam, can you take me upstairs?” I asked.
“Sure, little sis!” Ellie said.
“Anything for you, Auts!” They walked toward my wheelchair and Cameron picked me up and carried me up the stairs. Once we got to Hayes’s room, he sat me down on the bed and walked out while Ella went to pick out an outfit for me.
“How about this? Even though it’s summer, it’s gonna be cold and rainy all day.”
She held up a black-and-white sweater, hot-pink leggings, a pink beanie with a pom-pom at the end, and black Ray-Bans.
“I love it! Oh, and hand me my black high-top Chucks, please!” I said.
“Kay.” She threw them to me, and I put them on.
“Gracias!”
“No problem! Now let’s go. Cameron!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming! Gosh, who knew you could be as loud as you used to be?” he said, smiling at her. She smiled back and blushed.
“Come on, lovebirds, I’m hungry!” I yelled. They both blushed, and Cam picked me up.
“Just ask her out already! We all know she likes you!” I whispered into his ear.
“Soon,” he said. Ugh, he’s so hardheaded! I think I’ve hung out with him for so long that I got my hardheadedness from him!
At the Beloved IHOP
When we got to IHOP, I said I needed to go to the bathroom. I wheeled myself over to the bathroom, did my business, and when I came out, Ashley was in front of the stall with a smirk on her face.
“Can you please move? I need to wash my hands,” I asked in the nicest way possible.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Stop acting so nice and innocent! I know who you really are—you’re just trying to get Hayes and his fame, aren’t you? I know your game, because I’m playing the same one with Carter. But if I hear you tell anybody that, you’re dead meat, you hear me?”
“Excuse me, but I didn’t know about Nash and Hayes being Vine famous when I met them. I fell in love with the Hayes who’s not famous! And for your information, I’ve known Cameron and his family my entire life, so why don’t you back off! You don’t know anything about me, just like I don’t know anything about you, except for the fact that you’re a coldhearted tramp who’s just looking for fame from one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met!” I said, and I was enraged.
The next thing was kind of expected. She slapped me, hard! “And there’s way more where that came from! You better watch your back, little one, or you’re actually going to be dead this time,” she said.
“W-wait. How do you know about that?” I asked in shock. A tear slipped down my face, and I immediately wiped it away.
“I saw and heard the entire thing. And if you tell any of them, your little secret will be out,” she taunted then strutted out the door, acting like she had class, but she didn’t have an ounce of class in that body of hers.
I rolled up to the sink to wash my hands and look at my face. There was a red handprint that was starting to form a bruise. Oh God, I can’t go out like this!
I reached into my cross-body bag and p
ulled out Ella’s makeup bag, which she’d asked me to carry for her. Luckily enough, we have the same skin tone, so I could use her concealer.
I dabbed some concealer onto my cheek. There was enough to cover it up, but not a whole lot, like Ashley’s museum of crayons on her face.
I came out of the bathroom and wheeled my way over to the table.
“What would you like to drink, hon?” the waitress asked me.
“Unsweetened tea, please,” I answered.
“Why unsweetened, baby girl?” Jonah asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve always drunk unsweetened tea. I guess it’s because sweetened tea is just too sweet!” I said, and scrunched up my face.
“But you down pixie sticks all the time, Auts, and those are, like, pure sugar.” Carter laughed.
“I know, but that’s different,” I mumbled. I still feel insecure about what Ashley had said to me earlier.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Hayes asked, intertwining our fingers.
“Nothing.” I smiled and kissed his cheek. I love it when he calls me sweetheart.
I gave all the girls a we-need-to-talk-later look. I need to tell them about Ashley, but we had to find a time when she wasn’t there.
“Okay, Carter, I gotta go to work. I’ll see you later, baby,” she said, in her awful, seductive tone.
“Okay,” Carter said, and moved to kiss her cheek, but she turned her head so his lips met hers, and they made out for, like, five minutes straight, before she finally left. Way to make someone vomit!
“Thank the Lord she’s gone!” I whispered into Hayes’s ear.
“I know! She’s so annoying, and for some reason, she always glares at you. I don’t like it,” he said, glaring at her back while she tramp strutted away, as we say. Well, Carter doesn’t say that, because she’s his girlfriend.
“Don’t worry about her, Pooh Bear, she’s a mess,” I said. I hope he doesn’t find out about what she did.
Bailey
Something’s up with Autumn, I can tell. It’s a best-friend thing. When she went to the bathroom, the wicked witch Ashley got up and followed her. I didn’t want to follow, so we wouldn’t look suspicious, but I really need to figure out what’s going on.
When she came out of the bathroom, only a girl could tell, but she had a little bit of makeup on one side of her face. Autumn never wears makeup, ever. Only the occasional lipstick with an outfit or a bit of foundation when supposedly she looks bad or has a lot of acne, but come on, y’all, she is flawless.
She gave us girls a we-need-to-talk-later look, and all of us nodded ever so slightly, so the guys and Ashley wouldn’t see.
I wonder what happened in there? If Ashley did anything to my muchacha, I’m gonna cut a bish, specifically Ashley.
Autumn
I’m scared to tell the girls. What if Ashley shows up and hits me again? I don’t want her to tell my secret. I want to be the one who decides when to share it. They probably wouldn’t take me seriously again if she told them; they’d think I’m some messed-up freak.
We finished eating at IHOP and just went back home to watch some movies. The first pick was the girls’ pick, and we all picked Mean Girls. The second pick was the guys’ pick, and they picked The Avengers.
Well, knowing me, being the tomboy/girly-girly type I am, I was really into both movies, but I really needed to talk to the girls. I saw they weren’t as interested in The Avengers, which I don’t get why, so I gave them a nod to go upstairs so we could talk.
“We’re gonna go upstairs and do girly things to get to know each other better while y’all watch this boring movie,” Abbie said to Jonah.
“But baby girl, I thought you liked this movie?” Jonah looked at me with a pout.
“Um, well, I do—it’s just, I want to get to know the girls better!” I told him.
“Okay.”
Hayes helped me up both set of stairs and over to the game room door, which is where we girls were going to talk.
“Sorry you had to help me,” I said, looking into his eyes.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, sweetheart. Now go have fun.” He kissed my forehead, and Ella helped me to a beanbag next to her and Bailey.
“Okay, now what did you have to tell us?” Gabby asked.
“Well, um, you know when I went to the bathroom at IHOP, and so did Ashley?” They all nodded. “So I guess she followed me in there, and she was saying how I was just using Hayes and the guys for fame and stuff like that. But she said she knew,” I said, putting air quotes around knew, “I was using him because she was doing the same thing with Carter.” They all gasped.
“After she said that to me, I kinda went off on her, telling her that I hadn’t known who Hayes and Nash were before I met them, and that I’ve known Cameron all my life, and that I fell in love with the real Hayes, not the famous one.” They all awwed. “I also said that she didn’t know anything about me, like I didn’t know anything about her, except that she was a coldhearted tramp that was looking for fame from one of the nicest people I know.”
“You go, girl!” Abbie yelled, giving me a high five. She’s exactly like Jonah.
“But then the next thing was unexpected: she slapped me, hard!” I said.
“But you can’t see anything, so that’s good,” Alyssa said.
“Does anybody have makeup remover?” I asked tentatively.
“I do!” Aly said. We all looked at her, surprised. “What? It makes your skin soft! I swear I don’t wear makeup!” she explained. We all laughed as she handed me one of those little pad things.
I lifted it up to my face and removed the concealer, wincing as the pad slid over my skin. When the girls saw the bruise, they all gasped.
“I’m killing a bish!” Ella yelled, popping up out of her beanbag.
“Let’s get a shovel!” Bailey screamed, standing up next to her.
“She’s dead!” the other girls yelled.
“Thanks, guys, but no. She said if I told anyone, she would do it more, and worse,” I said.
That’s when the guys came in.
Hayes
“Guys, let’s go see what they’re talking about,” Jonah said with a smirk on his face.
“Yeah!” all the other guys said, except for me. They all looked at me for approval.
“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to intrude on their personal conversations or anything,” I told them uneasily.
“Oh, come on, Hayes—stop being a wussy!” Nash said, and he pulled me up out of my seat.
“Fine, I’ll go. God!”
“Yay!” Cameron yelled.
“Shut up, or they’ll hear us!” Jonah whisper-yelled.
We silently walked up the set of stairs to the game room.
We got to the door and put our ears to it so we could hear everything. I think they’d just started talking, so we’d be able to hear the entire conversation.
“Well, um, you know when I went to the bathroom at IHOP, and so did Ashley?” I think Autumn said. “So I guess she followed me in there, and she was saying how I was just using Hayes and the guys for fame and stuff like that. But she said she knew”—yep, that’s Autumn talking—“I was using him because she was doing the same thing with Carter.” We heard them all gasp and looked at Carter. He was pale as a ghost. Bart started to rub his back in a soothing way.
“After she said that to me, I kinda went off on her, telling her that I hadn’t known who Hayes and Nash were before I met them, and that I’ve known Cameron all my life, and that I fell in love with the real Hayes, not the famous one.” They all awwed, and I smirked. “I also said that she didn’t know anything about me, like I didn’t know anything about her, except that she was a coldhearted tramp that was looking for fame from one of the nicest people I know.” We all smiled at Carter, and he blushed.
“You go, girl!” Abbie yelled. She’s exactly like Jonah.
“But then the next thing was unexpected: she slapped me, hard!” Autumn said. My face went red in anger. I was about to barge in there, but all the guys held me back.
“But you can’t see anything, so that’s good,” Alyssa said. She’s just like Aaron, sees the good in everything.
“Does anybody have makeup remover?” Autumn asked tentatively. We guys looked at one another, confused.
“I do!” Aly said.
“What? She’s only eleven!” Bart whispered.
“What? It makes your skin soft! I swear I don’t wear makeup!” We all snickered.
It was silent for a second until we heard the girls gasp. My face hardened.
“I’m killing a bish!” Ella yelled.
“Let’s get a shovel!” Bailey screamed.
“She’s dead!” the other girls yelled.
“Thanks, guys, but no. She said if I told anyone, she would do it more, and worse,” Autumn said.
That’s when the guys and I stepped into the game room.
Autumn
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE HIT YOU?” Hayes screamed.
“No, Hayes, calm down. It—”
“CALM DOWN? I CAN’T CALM DOWN WHEN MY GIRLFRIEND GETS HURT! AND YOU’RE ALREADY HURT ON TOP OF THAT! OH, SHE’S GONNA GET IT, I SWEAR!” he ranted. His hands were flying around in the air, and he was pacing back and forth. It was crazy.
“Hayes, calm down!” I stood up and drew his arms down to his sides and looked him in the eyes. He was breathing heavily from that little episode, and I couldn’t blame him.
“How did you know?” I whispered.
“Uh, well, we sorta got bored, and Jonah suggested that we kinda eavesdrop on you guys and—”
I cut him off. “Y’all eavesdropped on us?”
“I didn’t want to do it at first, I swear. I’m kinda happy we did now, though, because you probably wouldn’t have told me,” he said, and I looked down.
“You’re probably right. I just didn’t want to see you hurt anymore after what happened and all,” I mumbled, a tear rolling down my cheek.
Love Heals All Page 6
