Cruel Kisses (It's Just High School #2) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,40
her face. “I hate you, Mia! I’ve hated your almost perfect life since we were kids. I’ve hated that somewhere along the way from middle school to now, you got all stuck up and forgot all about me.”
The fuck?
“My mother was sick,” I start, my voice monotone like everything is just fine. The numbness is back. There’s so much wrong with what I just said. “There was a lot going on in my personal life.”
“Right, yes, like what, Mia?” she scoffs. “What could be so bad in your neatly, organized and perfect world?”
Where do I begin with that question?
Do I start with the little fact that Nancy isn’t my mother and my aunt is my mother? Do I tell her that Nancy is dead and it’s all my fault? Do I tell her all about the mess with Julian and Liam? Where do I start?
“In case your black heart is too far gone to feel anything, Kristine, my mother was sick for a long time. I had to focus on her, to take care of her…”
“Yeah, now I know that.”
“You know?” I question with a frown. How does she know?
“Yeah, it’s all over the news and online, haven’t you see it?”
Oh my God. “Seen what? What are you talking about?”
Kristine looks at me strangely, a frown on her face. Then she leaves the bathroom and I follow after her, anxiety now bubbling like hot lava in my stomach.
“Like I said, they’re talking about your mom’s ALS.”
Oh shit. The world knows.
“They are saying that your mom’s been sick for 3 years now,” she says that like she wants a confirmation, so I clamp my mouth shut, waiting for her as she types something on her phone. When she passes it to me, it’s right there, with the headlines to match.
It’s like I’ve been hit by a sense of déjà vu, only this time the headlines aren’t talking about Aiden Fitzgerald with sickening articles filled with speculations and lies. This time, they’re talking about my family.
Everything is there. The divorce, the bankruptcy, the battle with ALS, everything except the fact that she’s actually dead.
“You really didn’t know this was out there?” Kristine questions. I mutely shake my head, reading the articles so fast, my head starts pounding as I feel the slow throb of a migraine coming on.
The detailed accounts of Nancy’s medical history is all there and precise. How the hell did they get this? Who would give the tabloids this? They also talk about Nancy like she led a scandalous life, alluding that there are other secrets in her closet.
What other scandals? Who leaked this?
“Well, at least that didn’t come out the other day, before the party,” Kristine goes on, waving a hand in the air as she speaks. “It would have made one hell of party and not to mention, the last day of school would have been hell for you.”
Life is already hell for me.
“But then again, your summer is about to get out of control if you’re not careful.”
She’s right of course, but I’m not concerned about what’s going to happen tomorrow because I’m stuck on today. The sky is falling down on me and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Who leaked all this information? Is it Julian? My stomach churns as my heart beats erratically inside my chest like it’s rioting. Would he do that? Would he serve Nancy up like this to the tabloids like I made the mistake of talking about Aiden?
But if he did, why would he tell me he loved me? Is this his idea of love?
No, Julian didn’t do this. It takes someone more cunning, much more ruthless and sinister to do this. But Julian is all those things and more. Do you even know the guy?
I want so bad to say I do know him, that I’m certain he’d never do something as evil as this, but I can’t get what Nicky warned out of my head.
“Kristine, what’s going on at school?” I demand as she plops down on the couch. It’s only now that I notice how disheveled the living room is, like a tornado rushed through the place, upending drawers, leaving magazines and papers scattered everywhere. “What happened in here?”
“We’re moving.” Is her only response, I wisely choose not to push, it’s none of my business anyway. “But you didn’t come here to ask about my shitty life, right?”
I’m used to bitchy Kristine, sure, but this girl, the one who looks lost, confused and strung high as