New Girl - By Paige Harbison Page 0,83
Good night.”
“Night.”
We walked in our separate directions. A moment later, he caught up to me, turned me around and kissed me.
“Happy Valentine’s Day.” He smiled, and then walked out of the hall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“OH, MY GOD, IT'S GORGEOUS!”
“Isn’t it?”
“I can’t believe Max bought it for you! It’s got to be expensive. I mean I know he’s got money, but still—it’s so nice!”
“Yeah, and look what he engraved on the back.” Becca turned over the locket and showed it to Madison and Julia.
“To Eternal Love,” read Madison. “Oh, my God! That’s so sappy! It’s crazy how he is with you. He’s so not like that!”
“Yeah, well.” Becca returned the necklace to her neck. “He wanted to spend the day with me today, but I couldn’t lead him on like that. Especially on Valentine’s Day.”
She sipped her lobster bisque.
“Wow, he’s so hung up on you, I can’t believe it,” Julia said.
“Oh, my God, you guys.”
Julia and Becca looked at Madison, and then followed her gaze out the window. It was Max. He was sitting on a bench, leaning on his knees.
Had Becca’s words come true?
“Oh, I’ll go talk to him.” She rolled her eyes, like she’d just been waiting for this. But she hadn’t. In fact she was downright shocked to see him.
“Max?” she said when she walked outside.
“Sit down.”
She did as he said. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Let me see your necklace.”
“Max—”
“Let me see the necklace, Becca.”
She removed it, hesitantly, and gave it to him. She watched as he read the inscription on the back.
“I just—” she began.
“Stop. Just…stop. I didn’t give this to you, and now I’m wondering why the rumors going around all have to do with my undying love and how I’m obsessively buying you gifts.”
She was all too aware of how they must look to Madison and Julia, who could surely see them on the bench.
“I’m sorry, Max. Please. Just let everyone think that I wasn’t dumped.” She looked at him with pleading eyes.
“Why should I do that?”
“Because I just don’t know what I’ll do. Please. I’ll stop. This’ll be the last time. But please don’t tell anyone anything.”
Max and she were done. He’d ended that. She was no longer part of the golden couple.
But she and Johnny were done, too. That, however, had been ended by her. She just couldn’t be with him. Dana was her friend. And Becca had never been a real friend to anyone. She had to do this for her. She couldn’t be with the one guy Dana had feelings for. It just didn’t feel right.
“Please,” said Becca again. “I just can’t look like that big a loser.”
“You’re not a loser, everyone likes you.”
She shook her head. “I just can’t have everyone looking at me like I should be embarrassed. Please.”
She looked him in the eye, and tried to show him how much she needed this.
“Fine,” he said. “But this is the last thing.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END. I HATE when that stupid expression is right.
The first time I realized this was when I went to my room the next afternoon and saw the word WHORE written across the small mirror I had on my side of the room. I found that it was written in my permanent markers, and had to throw the whole thing away.
Over the next few days, the looks and whispers about me got louder and more frequent. Even Madison and Julia seemed a little chilly toward me, and just as they had started being so kind to me, too.
Madison asked, “Why didn’t you tell us you guys had sex?”
My insistence that we didn’t fell on deaf ears each time someone new brought it up. Blake swore she hadn’t said anything, and I had to believe her. I had to feel like someone here had my back.
Max did as I asked, and denied it to everyone. It hadn’t taken long for him to fall out of the hearts of everyone. Everyone seemed disappointed in him. He didn’t care. He just kept asking me if I was okay. He said he’d do anything he could to make them stop.
Over the coming month, the weather remained cold and biting. The snow was deep and thick, sometimes sharp and icy. There was one time of day when the sun shone enough through my window that when I lay in bed, I could almost pretend that it was warm outside.
One night, halfway through March, I’d been lying in bed reading The Crucible, when the witch in my own room shrieked