by Riley Jean
“Knock it, man.” Ricky shot the guy a warning look then turned to Farrell. “Hit me up this weekend.”
“You got it,” he clasped hands with Ricky and slapped him on the back. “Bring your girl,” he said, grinning at me over his shoulder. Ricky did not correct him.
“Maybe next time,” the other guy smirked. Then they both turned to go.
Curiously, I wondered again about who I was to Ricky, or how he explained our relationship to others. Did he consider me family? A friend? It seemed like people were quick to get the wrong impression. I wished he’d just correct them, or introduce me properly so it didn’t make things awkward.
“Stay away from that guy,” he finally said.
Like I couldn’t figure that out for myself. “Done.”
Others stopped by our little spot by the fence. Besides Farrell, they were all strangers to me. Ricky seemed to know all kinds of different people, most of which knew him from Blackbird Ink. I must have seen at least a dozen live samples of his artwork within an hour, all of them eager to show me his work.
Ricky was certainly talented, though I already knew that. Most of his best ones were done in a realistic style. The original tiger rose I wore on my back was my all-time favorite, but it felt too personal to show off to strangers.
A subdued girl with fuchsia hair greeted Ricky with a friendly hug. She wasn’t what I expected from a girl with bright pink hair. She didn’t fight for his attention or dismiss me like the others. She was kind to me and also sported one of his tattoos. After she left, he told me that her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer during their senior year in high school. After chemotherapy caused her hair to fall out, the girl offered to shave her head in love and solidarity. However her mother loved her daughter’s hair and wouldn’t let her do it. Dye it pink, she’d said, to show her support. So the girl did.
Her mother ended up passing away just before graduation. Her hair had been pink ever since.
“That’s beautiful,” I said, which was a gross understatement. That might’ve just been the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard.
People came and went. Ricky kept me close by, just enough so that I felt included even though I mostly stayed quiet.
When a text vibrated in my pocket, I pulled it out discreetly.
Vance: where’d u go?
Glancing at the time, I realized we had been gone for an hour. I bit my lip. Vance and I did have some kind of unspoken pact to stick together tonight, and I didn’t want to ditch him for the whole game. I looked up at the people around me and smiled apologetically.
“I should get back. It was nice meeting you all.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ricky offered.
“You don’t have to.”
He looked at me sideways, but didn’t say anything to that.
We said our goodbyes and started toward the blue side of the field, making our way through the crowds back to my friends. When we passed through spots that were especially busy or rowdy, Ricky put his hand on my lower back to guide me. This time a few people also said hi to me. I nodded at the faces from my past. Some wore smiles, others a confused frown at the sight of me. But at the end of it all, I survived.
We made it back again before I knew it, and when I looked up, I met four curious sets of eyes flipping between me and Ricky.
“We’re back,” I stated the obvious, and was greeted with a moment of silence.
“Where did you two run off to?” Summer asked, her tone a strange mixture of sweetness and accusation.
“The other side of the field,” I said. I wasn’t about to explain that I had needed a reprieve from the strain I felt here. “Ricky went to Bonita for his senior year.”
Ricky cocked his head and smirked, seemingly unaware of the tension. “Is she late for curfew?”
“No. No curfew,” Summer replied. “Keep her out all night if you like.” With a rude harrumph, she turned back towards the game, pulling a grinning Kiki with her. Cole followed out of indifference. And suddenly I felt like a total outcast.
What the hell was that about? Standing on the outskirts was one thing—being treated like a social pariah was quite another.
Vance was the only one who didn’t have his back to us. “Hey,” I said tentatively, trying to sound lighter than I felt.
“Hey,” he said back, then gestured to me with his chin. “You cold?”
“Oh…” I forgot I was wearing Ricky’s jacket. I started to shrug out of it, when his hands came on my shoulders.
“Keep it on, if you want.”
“It’s fine,” I replied, and continued to peel out of it. October nights in Southern California still felt like summer. It wasn’t cold enough for a jacket, and there was no need to conceal my blue undershirt on this side of the field.
“Where’s Gwen?” I asked, looking around.
“Uh, she left to meet up with Hunter, I think.” Vance said.
I shook my head. Figured.
After I handed the jacket back to Ricky, Vance approached us. “Run into any trouble yet?”
“So far, so good.” I assured him. “You?”
Just then he stiffened, glancing briefly above my shoulder, then back to me, visibly strained. The implication was obvious. I smiled sympathetically, communicating my support as best as I could without words. It was time for Vance to face his past. This was the reason why we came tonight, after all.
Another moment passed before we all heard it.
“Vaaanceee!” she sang. And then it was too late to make a run for it.
We maintained eye contact until she stepped between Ricky and me and launched herself at Vance. She wrapped her slender arms around his neck, long brown hair cascading down her back, and a bulging Louis Vutton purse hung off her elbow.
This did not look like a girl who had accepted her fate as an ex.
Vance patted her back hesitantly, then let go, standing straight while she continued to embrace him a little longer. The rest of his friends looked on in disbelief. Evelyn seemed oblivious to the fact that her presence was unwanted.
When she finally detached herself, she stayed glued to his side and plastered on a big, fake smile to exchange superficial niceties with Summer, Kiki and Cole. Then she turned back to him and patronized, “Oh no, what have you done to your hair?” She lifted a hand to his head but he ducked out of her reach, then looked back to me. His eyes were pleading for something. I stood there like an idiot, sensing his discomfort, but not knowing what to do.
Noticing his gaze, Evelyn’s eyes flickered to me, then back. “Are we winning, babe?” she cooed, placing her hand on his arm.
Was she completely helpless? The scoreboard was right in front of our faces.
“Rosie,” he started, looking to me nervously.
Just then, a hard slap hit my butt. Anger shot through my system in an instant. I whirled around, about to knee someone in the nuts, when I came face-to-face with my former best friend, Lexi Monroe. Well, not quite face-to-face. She stood a good six inches taller than me on her long model’s legs, so like always, I had to look up to meet her eye.
She looked just as I remembered her—tall and thin with sleek blond hair and flawless smoky makeup. In honor of school spirit, she wore a blue v-neck top that hugged her body tightly, and a short pleated skirt.
“Look who finally crawled out of her hole,” she said, arms crossed and one perfectly penciled eyebrow raised. “Don’t you know? The emo look is so out this year.”
“Lexi,” I greeted her with a tight smile. We’d been best friends almost our entire lives, but I hadn’t heard from her at all since I dropped out of school and deserted our shared dorm room. I didn’t hate her, but I certainly hadn’t missed her, either. Seeing her again unwillingly brought back old memories from the worst time in my life. Feelings that I’d tried to bury, faces that I wanted to forget, a person that I no longer was. College had been a terrible experience for me in ways she could never even begin to understand.
“So this is
your new clique,” Lexi said, eyeing the crew distastefully, who was now more focused on our spectacle than the game. She always had a way of drawing everyone’s attention. Even though I had Summer, Kiki, Cole, Ricky, and Vance beside me, and only Lexi in front of me, it still felt like a standoff between the sharks and the jets. There was no denying the girl was bold.
I heard Vance murmur a hushed, “stop,” as he pried Evelyn’s fingers off his arm. We looked up at the same time and exchanged defeated smiles. Even though it was totally inappropriate, I had the urge to laugh. We’d been so pumped to face our pasts tonight, yet this moment found us completely unprepared. We’d been double-teamed, attacked from both sides simultaneously. Lexi and Evelyn couldn’t have planned it any better if they tried.
I led Lexi through polite introductions, attempting to sound breezy. It was obvious I never truly fit into her world. Maybe she would understand if she saw that I was happy here, that these people were kind, that there didn’t always have to be competition or drama between girls. (I ignored the slight misunderstanding with Summer at the moment. Maybe things weren’t perfect, but we’d get it sorted out.)
Lexi paid a special hello to the guys, making smoke fly out of Evelyn’s ears when she winked and squeezed Vance’s hand. I rolled my eyes. The girl hadn’t changed, that’s for sure.
“Well, well, well, Ricky Storm,” Lexi pulled her most sultry smile to the guy standing right next to me. Shameless, she gazed slowly up and down his body, taking her time to undress him with her eyes. “Long time no see.”
“Lexi,” he smirked back at her—the infamous smirk that he used to drive the ladies nuts. Of course he did. I fought the urge to elbow him for encouraging her.
“Are you what’s keeping my best friend all tied up?” she pouted, walking her fingertips up the front of his shirt.
He grabbed her wrist, but didn’t release her right away. “Cuffs and chains,” he declared with a dark grin.
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
I wanted to smack them both. Where did Lexi get the gall to call me her best friend? Call me crazy—I hadn’t heard from her in months, and as a greeting, she throws herself at the boy I’m standing right next to? She was as fake as her tan.
On another note, was Ricky really buying this? I supposed she wasn’t the same scrawny little six-year-old girl chasing him around the yard anymore. She was beautiful. And he was only a man.
But… seriously?
“Then I can see why she’s ditched me,” she whispered, staring at his lips. It meant nothing that the rest of us were standing here watching. Lexi was a pro at the art of seduction and loved to work with an audience.
But she may have met her match with Ricky.
He just grinned down at her, drawing her in with that devilish smirk. Ricky wasn’t oblivious to the affect he had on women. Like Lexi, he knew how to use his smile and his voice to his advantage. But I was clueless as to his intentions until he spoke again.
“So can I.”
It took Lexi a few seconds to realize he was insulting her. She leaned back and studied him, confused on whether or not she should be offended by his comment.
At last he released her wrist and placed his arm possessively around my shoulders without breaking eye contact with Lexi. I watched as his face contorted into a different kind of smirk. The tightness in his eyes said, “screw off” instead of the usual “screw me.”
She looked between the two of us and scowled. This had to be the worst kind of slap in the face for her. Lexi hated if there was ever a guy in the room who didn’t desire her. She downright loathed anybody who chose me over her. Especially the legendary Ricky Storm—who would have seen that coming?
I could see the wheels turning in her head: wrath, retaliation. But this time, I wasn’t afraid because I had nothing to lose. What was she going to do? Steal Ricky? He wasn’t mine. And he didn’t want her anyway. So I really couldn’t care less.
She looked down her nose at me and sniffed. “Where’s your bracelet?” she asked icily. My eyes shot to her hand, noticing the twisted pink and black bands she still wore around her left wrist. Lexi, Gwen and I had bought matching bracelets in seventh grade and vowed to wear them forever. Through the years the plastic shrunk and we grew until it became impossible to pull them off. There was only one way that bracelets could be removed.
We both looked down at my own bare wrist.
“I cut it off,” I stated simply.
She gasped dramatically. I didn’t know why she was pretending like she cared. Just like our friendship, the bracelet had been gone for months. Not even a faint tan line remained. I was fairly certain Gwen had removed hers a long time ago, too.
“Should I also assume you forgot next weekend is my birthday?” she bit out.
I blinked. Yep. She definitely assumed correctly.
“Don’t remember seeing you here for Scar’s birthday,” Ricky butted in.
She pointed an accusing finger at me. “She’s the one who left.”
“Guys! Enough!” I held my hand up. It was a pet peeve of mine when people talked about me like I wasn’t right in front of them. Lexi knew I hated attention. She was doing this on purpose.
“Anyway,” Lexi smiled at me. “I was just going to invite you to my party next Saturday. Zack’s throwing me a huge kegger at his place.” Zack—No doubt her newest flavor of the week. “There’ll be two hundred people there and a live band! You still like live music, right Scarlett?”
My face scrunched. I hated going to keggers and she knew it. Even live music wasn’t enough to make up for the drunken crowd, the drive to the beach, and most of all, returning to the place I spent the worst time of my life.
“It’s the least you can do after you ditched me last year. Besides,” she continued without giving me a chance to rebuff, “I have something of yours. Something you’ll want.”
“Oh? And what’s that?” I said. It had been eight months since I left that dorm. If I hadn’t already noticed anything missing, she was free to throw it away for all I cared.
“It was in a large sealed envelope,” her eyes twinkled. “But it felt sort of like… a notebook.”
What was she… ah shit. SHIT. I hadn’t realized… My large eyes met Ricky’s, and I could tell he read my mind.
“Seemed pretty interesting,” Lexi smiled wickedly, glad to finally have my attention. “Especially because it came from—”
“Fine!” I cut her off. “Fine. I’ll come to your party.”
Ricky spoke. “Hell no. Forward the damn package. Mail it here.”
“Sorry,” Lexi shrugged. “I don’t have any stamps.”
“I’ll come to your party,” I said again, ignoring Ricky’s glare. “Bring the package and do not open it.”
“Great!” she clasped her hands together victoriously. She had won, and she never wasted an opportunity to gloat. “I’ll email you the deets. Bring a friend or two. See you then!” She blew a kiss to each male, then finally turned around and left.
I had forgotten how frustrating it was to deal with Lexi. I reverted to the old doormat Scarlett, caving to her demands within five minutes and one heartless bribe.
“What were you thinking?” Ricky bellowed—a crack in his unaffected armor. I was getting to see all sides of his personality in one night. “You don’t have to go anywhere for her.”
“What if it was your sketchbook?” I said quietly, hoping he would understand.
“Let her hold it hostage and see what happens. Fuck if I let her manipulate me like that.”
I lowered my voice. “You know what’s in there… I don’t trust her with it.”
He let out a frustrated sigh, reflecting my thoughts exactly. He couldn’t even look at me. “Do what you want. Don’t even think about asking me to come this time,” he said, and stalked off.
I hated that he was mad. What’s more, I hated that he was right. If tonight had been a test to see if I had overcome my past and was able to stand up for myself
, I just failed miserably.
“Your friend’s a bitch,” Evelyn snickered.
It takes one to know one, I wanted to say, but held my tongue until the urge passed.
“That’s enough,” Vance pushed her away with a firm voice. “Let go, Evelyn.”
“But baaaabe!” she whined. Goodness, this girl was shameless, and her griping was like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Vance appeared in front of me and his hands slid around my waist. “You alright, Rosie?” he asked, his thumbs making soft circles on my hips. Nervous energy spread through my entire system at the contact, but I was too stunned from the whiplash of the last five minutes to push him away. Instead I looked down at his hands and froze. He should have known that this was off limits. It was a strange sensation—the gentleness of his fingertips, the concern in his voice. It felt too… I don’t know… Different.
But for just a moment, it distracted me from the whole mess of this evening: the crew’s snub, Lexi’s appearance, Evelyn and her whining. There was only me and Vance… my friend… who was standing too incredibly close. I lifted my eyes to his, nonplussed and a little hesitant. Why was he touching me like this?
The moment broke as Evelyn spotted his hands on me, then glared in my direction. Her words were filled with venom. “Now I think I know where you got that ridiculous hair style idea, Vance.”
When I looked at him again, I understood.
“I think it rocks,” I smiled sweetly up at him, running my fingers through the back of his hair.
Evelyn was messing with the wrong person tonight. I was in no mood to deal with her tantrum. I was fed up with mean girls and evil exes. In that moment, all I could think about was getting this spoiled, controlling girl to leave him alone. For years, he let her mistreat him, just like I’d let Lexi mistreat me. And after the last five minutes, I couldn’t take any more. I was angry at my own weaknesses, angry that just when I thought I had finally grown up, I let her come along and shove me down again. Well, I knew one thing for sure—we didn’t have to both fail tonight. If I couldn’t stand up for myself, I was going to stand up for Vance.
Driven by new determination, I wrapped my arms around his neck. He played along seamlessly, pressing into the small of my back to pull me closer. I knew Evelyn was watching, and I wanted her to see that he didn’t answer to her anymore. That for once, he was free to do whatever he wanted, and she had no control over him.
