Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
It’s not until we’re too close to abort that I realize some of my old friends from cheerleading are among those around the keg. I stiffen, waiting for the onslaught. But when their gazes pass right over me and they continue talking amongst themselves, I realize they haven’t even noticed me.
“Pour me one of those?” Jaz says to a cute guy with the spout in his hand.
“Sure thing.” He smiles and grabs a red cup from the stack. “Have I seen you out here before?”
Her answering smile is coy. “You’d know if you had.”
“I think you’re right.” He can’t take his appreciate gaze off her bare legs.
I’m happy for Jaz. Really. Not here a whole two minutes and already she’s found a flirt buddy. But their exchange draws the attention of my former squad, and when Gillian looks up from her cup and blinks, I know my short-lived anonymity is blown.
“Oh my God. Casey.” She gawks at me like I’ve just walked up drenched and covered in mud.
The other girls turn in unison.
“I didn’t even recognize you,” Gillian blurts out.
“Wow, hey,” Alex says. Her uneasy gaze quickly sweeps toward her friends. “How’s it going?”
“How’s it going?” I bark out a laugh, which gets Jaz’s attention.
She questions me with a raised eyebrow while she sips her beer. I give a slight shake of the head to indicate I’ve got it covered.
Meanwhile, Alex’s gaze wanders in a frantic attempt not to lock with mine. “Um, yeah. Been a while.”
“And why’s that, you think? Maybe because you told people I swallowed a bottle of pills and drove my car into the lake to abort my secret baby?”
Jaz spits her beer back into her cup. “Oh, shit.”
“Casey, come on,” Gillian interjects unhappily. “You know—”
“Seriously, Gillian? Spare me.” I shake my head at her big saucer eyes. “Don’t act like we’re still best friends. Next time you write my name in a bathroom stall, at least try to disguise your handwriting.”
Her cheeks turn redder than her hair.
Jaz clicks her tongue. “Man, not cool, Gillian.”
“Okay, wait a second—”
“No, I have a better idea.” I grab a beer from Jaz’s cute friend and take a swig. “How about you all fuck off forever and I go back to enjoying myself?”
At that, I link my arm through Jazmine’s, and we strut off on an adrenaline rush like I’ve never experienced before. It’s exhilarating.
Once upon a time, they were my best friends. Gillian. Alex. Darcy. They were people I confided in. My ride or dies. Until it became more socially advantageous to turn on me. That’s when they became my worst bullies, spreading horrible rumors about me in the aftermath of the accident when what I needed most was their support. I came back to school after the accident to realize I was an outcast. The butt of every joke.
“You’ve been waiting to do that for a while,” Jaz teases as we pause around the bonfire.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
I suddenly feel liberated. From the embarrassment, from the fear of them. It’s that feeling when you stare down your bullies and realize they can’t have power over you anymore.
“Oh, there’s Theo,” Jaz says, waving at someone across the fire. She grabs my hand and starts dragging me away. “Come meet my brother.”
Even if she hadn’t prefaced it with that, I would’ve known instantly that Theo was her brother. The resemblance is uncanny, although he’s a good foot and a half taller than Jaz.
He’s wearing a T-shirt with the Ballard soccer logo on it, holding a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Neither vice seems conducive to a successful sports career, but Jaz told me he’s the star player of the soccer team.
Theo’s expression fills with curiosity as he leans down to give me a hug, causing a cloud of cigarette smoke to burn my eyes.
“How come we’ve never met?” he demands, then glares at his sister as if she’s to blame.
“Because we just became best friends,” she tells him. “Which means you’re not allowed to hit on her yet. Let me have this for a while, will you?”
I snort, while Theo feigns innocence.
“When have I ever hit on your friends, Jazzy?”
“You’ve macked on every single one since I was in the third grade, Theodore. I mean it. Hands off.” She glances at me. “Trust me, you’ll thank me for this later. He’s way too slutty for you.”
We chat with Theo for a while, until he wanders off when a cute junior catches his eye.
“Hey,” I tell Jaz, who’s been drinking her beer at a snail’s pace. Since she’s driving, she promised she won’t have more than two drinks tonight, but I feel bad watching her nurse that one cup. “Are you sure you don’t want to drink more? We could always leave your car here and Uber home.”