Clique Bait - Ann Valett Page 0,48

explanation. Under normal circumstances, there was no way my heartbeat would speed up just at the feeling of his skin beneath mine.

I raised my head, hoping that detaching from him as much as possible would help me think clearer, but it didn’t. He was staring at me, looking concerned, his eyes burning into mine. And when my gaze dropped to his lips, I stood up abruptly.

“I’m going to use the bathroom,” I muttered. Before I could do something stupid. Like kiss him.

Seventeen

Monica,

I always wondered what it would have been like to be you. You were bright, from your hair to your smile. I was darker, darker hair, a darker sense of humor, a darker style. You could make anybody like you.

I’m different. I feel like I have to try so hard. I was always jealous of you in that sense. You’re scared of nothing. How do you do that, Monica? You see something and you fight for it. I overthink to the point I just don’t know anymore. You’ve really taught me a lot over the years. I don’t know who I’d be if you weren’t my best friend.

Love, Chloe

AS SOON AS I found a bathroom, I leaned over the toilet bowl and threw up. When the worst of it had passed, I feebly stood, my knees bumping together as they shook. I reached out to support myself on the counter and turned the tap on at the sink. Catching my reflection in the mirror almost made me throw up again. There was a trail of black mascara seeping down each cheek from the vomit-induced tears, and I was ghostly pale.

I cupped water in my hands and scrubbed at my cheeks and mouth, trying to rid myself of the dirty feeling that had crept over me. The ends of my hair felt gross too, so I ran them under water. I searched through the drawer below the basin and found a tube of toothpaste, which I put onto my finger in an attempt to brush my teeth.

I couldn’t stay at the party looking like a wreck, not around Level One.

I was trying to control the uneven intake of my breath when the door flung open. I hadn’t even thought to lock it in my haste to get to the toilet.

Platinum-blond hair and ruby red lips told me it was Sophie even before I could process the exuberant expression on her face.

“Oh, sweetie, I knew you had issues, but bulimia?” she asked, closing and locking the door behind us before plonking her purse onto the counter.

I couldn’t even find the strength to tell her off.

“Aw,” she cooed, cupping my cheek in her hand. “It’s okay. Everyone struggles with their weight from time to time.”

I gulped, trying to stop myself from projecting vomit down the front of Sophie’s cleavage. She reached behind her and into her purse, pulling out her phone.

The camera flashed. I moved to shield my face with my hand, but it was too late. The evidence of my drunken state was now in the hands of a Level One.

As my eyes readjusted, the blinding light leaving stains on my vision, I could see Sophie in the mirror touching up her lipstick.

“You know,” she said, catching my eye in the mirror. “This wasn’t exactly a party you could invite your own friends to.”

“Wh-what?” I asked, my words involuntarily stuttering.

Sophie rolled her eyes. “The freckled girl and the Asian guy?”

Claire and Jack.

“I didn’t think anyone would care,” I said, my voice frail.

Sophie sighed dramatically. “Well, we do. You’re so ignorant, Chloe. You honestly have no idea.”

I was growing too tired to make sense of her words. I was now struggling to even keep my eyes open.

“Listen to me, Chloe,” she said, her sweet tone growing sharper. “You might be hanging with us while you’re dating Will, but just know that none of us are your friend. Not even Maddy.”

My mouth opened weakly to respond, but Sophie pressed a finger against my lips to silence me.

“You should know that we all have Lola’s back. If she doesn’t like you, then neither do we. You better watch it, because one wrong move and we’ll destroy you, little Chloe. Will can’t protect you forever.”

“Sophie, I—”

“Shh, you don’t have to talk anymore.” Her electric eyes were wild, as if she was getting a rush from threatening me. “Nobody wants you here, anyway. You have no idea how stupid your fat thighs look with that skirt. Everyone’s staring, Chloe. Everyone.”

Sophie let out a humorless laugh as