Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
I could hear the music from outside the entrance to the outdoor coliseum where Slacker Demon was playing tonight. Bradley was inside already, and I felt bad that he’d wasted money on an unused ticket. If I could just find someone who could go tell him I was out here, then he could come get me.
There was no one out here but security. I walked along the boardwalk that surrounded the place. Every entrance was guarded with police officers, and I considered having one of them go find him. I knew our seat numbers. I didn’t even know what time it was now. The concert had started two hours before I was able to sneak out, but there were always openers. I didn’t care about them anyway. It was Slacker Demon I wanted to see.
I tugged on the sleeveless black knit dress I was wearing. It had fit me fine two years ago when Natalie gave it to me to wear to a birthday party. Now, if I tugged it up to cover my cleavage, it was too short on my legs. If I tugged it down to keep it from being too short, my boobs looked like they were about to fall out.
I stopped and looked around the parking lot. There were thousands of vehicles on the property. Could I even find Bradley’s car among all of them? I could leave him a note. Explain what had happened.
Laughter caught my attention, and I turned toward the sound, hoping it was someone I knew. As if God had heard my prayers, there was Hannah and Jilly with some guy I didn’t know. They were with other girls from Bradley’s group of friends.
“I swear to God, he is into slumming it. I think it’s the pressure his dad puts on him. He has to rebel somewhere in his life,” Jilly said.
I walked up to them. “Hey!” I called out to get their attention since they were walking away from me.
All of them turned, and when Jilly’s eyes locked on me, she grinned. It wasn’t a friendly smile. It was a scary one. The kind that came with trouble.
“Ah, look, his latest castoff,” Jilly said, slinging her hair behind her back and placing a hand on her hip.
I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but I ignored it. I needed a favor, and this was my only chance. “Can you get a message to Bradley for me?” I asked as sweetly as I could.
Please let Jilly be in a good mood. Please, God.
She laughed. “Sure.”
Relief flooded me. “Let him know I’m here. I’m late, and he has my ticket inside. Or could I call him from your phone? That would be better.”
She laughed harder this time. That wasn’t a good sign.
“Oh, sweetie, he doesn’t have your ticket. He used it to get Natalie—you know, your best friend—into the concert with him.”
Natalie? Did he call her, and when I couldn’t come, he offered her my ticket? That would make sense. He didn’t want it to go to waste.
“Oh, well, can I call him at least? Please. I need to apologize and thank him for giving it to Natalie.”
Jilly wasn’t the only one who laughed this time. They all did. One girl even covered her mouth and started to leave.
What was so funny? I was asking to borrow a phone. Why did they all have to act so ridiculous?
“You can call him, but the last time I saw him, his tongue was down Natalie’s throat, and his hand was on her ass. He didn’t give her your ticket because you hadn’t shown up. He’d invited her weeks ago. They just didn’t tell you. Oops,” she said, then placed a hand over her mouth, as if she were shocked.
I stood there, trying to process it all. The group continued to giggle and laugh as they turned and walked away, back inside to the concert, while I was once again alone, looking like a fool in a dress that I had hoped Bradley would like even though it didn’t fit.
I began to walk. I wasn’t sure where I was walking to. I was in shock. The more I walked, the more I realized it was Natalie I was hurt over. She had been my best friend for years. Bradley had just been a boyfriend. I wasn’t in love with him, but I had given him my virginity. He had begged me for sex until I caved a few months ago, and we started doing it whenever there was a chance. We didn’t get many of those. Not with me being unable to leave the house when Gail was awake.
I wasn’t sure how long I walked when I stopped and noticed the cars were gone and the lighting wasn’t as good. I didn’t know where I had turned, and it looked like I was in the back of the main facility instead of the front. I had to get back to Gail’s, but first, I had to figure out where I was. I could deal with my heartbreak from Natalie’s betrayal later.