Now That I've Found You - Kristina Forest Page 0,53
really hard to do while wearing these sunglasses and without having Milo’s height or broad shoulders to push through the crowd. I don’t understand how there are celebrities who wear sunglasses 24/7.
Several groups of girls are taking pictures in the bathroom mirror, and I bypass them for the sink at the end of the row, farthest away from everyone. They eventually clear out as I struggle to rinse the spot from my dress. When the door shuts behind them and I’m finally alone, I take off my sunglasses so that I can see better. As soon as I get the alcohol smell out of Gigi’s dress, I’m going to find a way to talk to James and then be out of here.
“This is the most boring party I’ve ever been to.”
My head snaps up as the bathroom door pushes open and I hear a familiar voice.
Almost as if it’s happening in slow motion, I watch as Simone Davis walks into the bathroom, her phone pressed to her ear.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Her braids hang long and loose down to her waist, and she’s wearing a tight-fitted fuchsia minidress. She looks amazing. Somehow that makes everything much worse.
Her eyes widen when she sees me. “Oh shit,” she whispers into her phone. “Celia, let me call you back.”
She hangs up, and we stare at each other across the room. My heart is hammering in my chest, like it wants to climb its way up my throat and escape.
“Evie?” she says in disbelief. “What are you doing here? Why are you dressed like that?” She looks me up and down, scrunching her eyebrows together.
I always imagined what I would do or say if we saw each other again. I’d scream and shout, make her feel horrible, bring her down as low as she brought me. But I can’t say anything. I’m too shocked, frozen to the spot. I feel like all the blood is rushing to my face, as if I’ve been on one of those spinning rides at an amusement park. I didn’t expect to run into her here, although I should have. Everyone is in the city for the FCCs. Why didn’t I guess that she’d be here too?
“Were you invited?” she asks, walking closer. She narrows her eyes. “I can’t believe you somehow found your way here, at a James Jenkins party, of all places. Your grandma can’t be too happy.”
“Don’t you dare speak of my grandmother,” I say, finally finding my voice, and it’s laced with venom. “How can you talk to me like you didn’t ruin my life? Why did you leak the video, Simone? How could you do something like that to me?”
She sighs. “Not everything is about you, Evie,” she says. “That was your problem to begin with. When it came down to supporting you or helping myself, I chose me. You got that role in Paul Christopher’s movie because he’s an Evelyn Conaway fanatic and you know it. I have the role now because I deserve it. Not everyone has the whole world handed to them on a silver platter, like you. Some of us have to do what’s necessary to get what we want. I was always going to choose me. Don’t act like you wouldn’t have done the same.”
“I wouldn’t have,” I say. Now I’m crying. “I never would have done what you did.”
I can’t believe I used to think she was my best friend. How could I have been so naive?
“Were you always pretending to be my friend?” I manage to say, wiping my face. “Was any of it real?”
She stares at me, her mouth set in a tight line. I hold my breath as I wait for her response because I need to know the truth. For some reason, her answer means everything in this moment. If she says that our friendship was real, could I find it in myself to forgive her? I’ve been so lonely. As much as I hate her, I miss her even more.
In the end, it doesn’t matter, because she doesn’t answer my question. She blinks and tilts her head as if she’s just come to a realization.
“Oh my God,” she says slowly. “Is this a disguise? Are you wearing a disguise right now, Evie?”
I push past her, and she grabs on to my arm. I yank away with a hard tug.
“And Celia Reyes, really?” I say, spinning around to face her. “That’s who you were on the phone with? The same girl who dumped