Fractured Things - Samantha Lovelock Page 0,55
do you mean, his behavior when we were gone?” I ask, my brows furrowed.
“Uh, yeah. I want to hear this too,” Sunday chimes in, sitting up and tucking her hair behind her ears. Roxy looks like she realizes now might not have been the best time to let that tidbit of information slip, but she knows it’s too late to turn back now.
“To be honest, none of us saw a whole lot of him or Payne outside of school while you two were in New York. They spent a lot of time together, just the two of them. There were days they’d show up for class, and I’m pretty sure they were still drunk from the night before. They both looked sad and lost and miffed—like they couldn’t believe you two had left without saying anything.”
I feel a tiny pang of guilt at that.
“After you’d been gone about a week, I was late getting to school because of an early morning dentist appointment. It was between classes, so the halls were empty, and after I grabbed my books out of my locker, I had to walk past the guys’ lockers to get to my third-period math class.” She hesitates before taking a deep breath and continuing. “When I rounded the corner, I saw Poe leaning with his back against his locker. There was a cheerleader stuck to his chest like Velcro, swooning over him and running her claws up and down the front of his pants.”
Annnnd that tiny pang of guilt I felt is now replaced with pissed off disbelief, and I’ll admit, a healthy dose of jealousy.
“As soon as he saw me, he shoved her off and tried to make like it was no big deal. I can’t be a hundred percent sure, but I think he might have been at least half drunk.” She looks at me, apologetically.
“What the hell? So Stella’s gone for five minutes, and he’s already letting some chick grope him in public?” Sunday’s face has turned an unhealthy shade of red, and she looks like she might pop. “I’m going to kill him.”
Yeah, you’re going to need to get in line for that honor.
“Look, I left. He’s technically an adult, so he can do whatever he wants.” I try to play it off like no big deal, while inside, I feel like I got kicked in the metaphorical balls.
“Oh, hell no,” Aylie pipes up, and we all turn to look at her in surprise. Out of the four of us, she’s by far the calmest and most non-confrontational, so hearing her get mad is new to me. “Feeling like shit doesn’t come with a free pass to act like a douchebag.” She sits up straighter, her green eyes flashing. “I think he might need a little reminder of exactly what he’s missing out on.” After we all get over the initial shock of Aylie’s outburst, we all look at each other speculatively for a minute. A sly smile breaks out across Sunday’s face.
“What sort of reminder did you have in mind?”
Chapter Eighteen
Since I was awake long before my alarm this morning, I decided to take some extra time getting ready. After an hour in the bathroom, I’m showered and ready. My hair falls just past my chin in its angled bob cut, a smooth, glossy, black curtain. Add in light, smokey eye makeup and some semi-sheer cherry red lip gloss, and my outside looks a hell of a lot better than my insides feel. I toss my phone in my purse, grab my backpack and keys, and make my way down to the kitchen. School itself is likely going to be a nightmare. I’ll admit the excitement about getting to drive my birthday present is tempering my anxiety about seeing Poe, though.
“You’re up early,” I say, walking into the kitchen to see my aunt at the island drinking coffee and scribbling notes on a pad of paper. Setting her pen down, she looks up at me with a smile.
“I wanted to make sure I saw you before you left for school this morning. Did you and the girls have fun last night?” she asks.
“We did. Thanks for suggesting it.”
“I’m glad. You deserve some fun.” She moves to get up from her barstool. “Are you hungry? I can make you some breakfast.” I stop her before she fully gets up, and she sits back down.
“I’m good.” Reaching into the fridge, I grab an apple and drop it in my purse. “I’m going to go and