Fallen Stars and Broken Dreams - C.C. Masters Page 0,71
Mr. Broody McBroody pants could go sit in the corner for all I cared.
The third time was the charm, because I took the shot like a pro – meaning I didn’t choke or otherwise embarrass myself.
After that shot, Kingston was pulled into the pool by one of his friends. A game of pool volleyball broke out, and I took the opportunity to go back to my lounge chair. I was starting to feel relaxed and a little dizzy. The tight control I always kept over myself began to slip – which should have worried me. However, the wild feeling rising in me was freeing, and the alcohol was making me giddy.
Abby was happily flirting with Trent, but I didn’t mind a few quiet moments to myself. Kingston’s friendly attitude had thrown me off. What this another act, or was he starting to warm up to me? Everyone here in Bedford was so duplicitous. It made it difficult to figure out who I could trust. The safe option was to trust no one. I smiled to myself, even though there was nothing funny about that.
A tall blond in a hot pink bikini took Abby’s empty chair beside me. “How do you know the Wilders?” she asked in a tone that bordered on accusational.
I raised an eyebrow at her, the goofy smile still on my face. “I don’t.”
A shorter, slightly less blond, girl sat on the other side of me. “I think she’s lying, Elena.”
Elena stretched her long limbs out like she was a model posing for a magazine. “I agree, Carey.”
“I’m just here to hang out with Abby,” I said with a shrug. “I couldn’t care less about the Wilders.”
I was definitely feeling a buzz, because my body was warm, and my words were flowing. The giddy, free feeling meant that I didn’t care what these girls thought about me.
“Then you won’t mind staying away from them,” Elena said conversationally.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s the plan.”
Carey and Elena exchanged a glance.
“We’re telling you to leave, bitch,” Carey hissed at me, dropping all pretenses of being fake-nice.
I shot a glance in Maverik’s direction. Had he sent these girls over here? It wasn’t like him to have someone else fight his battles for him. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned his friends against me, then stepped back to watch as they attacked.
“If they want me to leave, they can come over here and tell me themselves,” I said with narrowed eyes.
Elena laughed. “That’s not how this works.”
Carey shook her head. “We give you an order, and you follow it.”
“Or what?” I asked with a wild grin.
Both girls looked taken aback by my words, and I laughed. These girls wanted to appear threatening, but they were nothing compared with everything else going on in my life. They were housecats compared to the lions that were out for my blood. Maybe it was the alcohol that made me feel bold, but I wasn’t going to sit here and let them push me around. They could go fuck themselves.
“Or you’ll regret it,” Elena said as if I were stupid.
“You need to leave,” Carey added. “And take Abby with you. We don’t need sluts here.”
“We don’t need trash like you two crowding around,” Elena added.
“Leave Abby out of this,” I said angrily.
Elena chuckled meanly. “How did Abby even get in here? Everyone knows low rent whores are just for desperate booty calls. They shouldn’t be seen in the light of day.”
“Please,” I said with a snort. “She’s a hundred times classier than you two bitches. You should skulk back to the shadows where you came from.”
My anger was bubbling to the surface under the layer of giddy carelessness. It hadn’t faded after being dragged away from my home or threatened by Nina. It had just been shoved down and was waiting to come back up. These girls could hassle me all they wanted, but they crossed a line when they went in on Abby. She was the only person in Bedford who had welcomed me with open arms, and I wasn’t going to just sit here while these girls tried to rip her apart.
Elena turned red, and Carey stood up out of her chair. “You’re making a big mistake if you think you can come here and challenge us. You’re a nobody.”
I laughed out loud at how pretentious they were. “Go bother someone else.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Or you’ll regret it.”
Carey put her hands on her hips. “This is your last chance.”