On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,58
I taught her how to do her make-up. We made a whole thing of it. Then, we waited for Charlie Nolan to pick her up, but he never showed. And it broke her heart.”
My chest twinges. “That sucks,” I say.
“Yeah, it really did. She stayed home. I went to the dance, mostly because she made me. She’s the suffer alone type. I walked in and there was Charlie Nolan, bumping and grinding and having himself a great time. I went right up to him, asked what the hell he was doing, and he just started laughing. His friends cracked up, too. It’s like the entire class was in on the joke except us.”
I bite down. “Assholes.”
Jenna nods. “Anyway, that’s when Princess Cow Patty wandered up and picked a fight with me. She punched me, I backhanded her, and she—” she snaps her fingers, “went right down. Charlie Nolan didn’t like that, so he tried to take me down, too. I kicked him so hard in the jewels, he got testicular torsion.” She sighs, nostalgic. “That was the night I knew I wanted to be a doctor.”
I squint, amused. “Was Heidi okay?” I ask.
“Eventually, yeah,” she says. “But she never went to a dance again. She skipped our senior prom even though, at that point, people had forgotten all about it. Three really nice guys asked her to go. She said no to all of them.” She pauses. “You know I almost went to Yale?”
I blink. “Really?”
“Full ride, not that I needed it. But I moved out here with Heidi instead because I knew that if I didn’t, then she’d spend four years alone in a dark room. I didn’t want that for her. I’ll have my pick of medical schools regardless, thanks to my mother’s name, but you know all about that. You’re privileged, too.”
“Yeah.”
She exhales. “You know what the cherry on top of the shit sundae is, though? The mastermind behind Charlie Nolan’s hilarious prank... was ya boi, Seth.”
“Seth?” My gut churns. “Why would he do that?”
“He used to pull shit like that all the time,” she says. “It was like he made it his mission to make her life miserable.”
I shake my head. “That’s not the Seth I know.”
“That’s the Seth we know.” She shrugs. “Sure, I guess it’s possible he grew up at some point over the last few years, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting her to come home in tears someday soon because Seth’s gonna Seth.” She studies me with sharp eyes. “Heidi really likes you.”
“I really like her.”
“Yeah, I can tell.” She looks at my nose. “I had my doubts at first, but you ain’t bad, Rose.”
“Thanks.”
“That’s why I think it’s important for you to know that I know the location of every major artery in your body.”
I smirk. Message received. “You know, I’m starting to see now why you two are friends.”
The front door opens as Jenna silently nods.
“Guys?”
“In here!” Jenna calls out.
Heidi glides through the living room. She enters the kitchen and exhales hard. “Sorry. I left as fast as I could.” Her mouth sags as she looks at my face. “Oh, god. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say. “Just a bruise. Right, Jenna?”
Jenna closes the first aid kit. “He’ll live,” she says. “For now.”
Heidi reaches out, her fingers gently hovering over the bandage. “I’m sorry,” she says, wincing. “I can’t believe that even happened.”
I chuckle. “It’s okay.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Not really.”
“Are you sure?”
I hook an arm around her waist and guide her to sit on my lap. “Yes,” I say. “I’m sure.”
She settles on my knee and smiles.
“So, did he buy it?” Jenna asks.
Heidi sighs. “Yeah. He has questions, obviously. But... he bought it.”
“I’ll make something up,” I say. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Do we really want to, though?” she asks.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean...” She hesitates. “Maybe we should... just tell him.”
“No!” Jenna says. “You can’t tell him. You’re at the best part! Sneaking around. The near-misses. Almost getting caught is the best aphrodisiac!”
Heidi chuckles. “Be that as it may, this was pretty near for a miss. Add in the Jenna affair now, too...” She looks at me, completely lost. “What do you think?”
What do I think?
I think we should pack a bag, leave this place, and never come back.
“I think we should just keep doing what we’re doing,” I say.
I can tell she disagrees, but Heidi nods slowly.
She looks at Jenna and smiles. “Thank you, by the way. You really saved our asses.”
“You’re very welcome,” Jenna says