Who I Am With You (Imagination #10) - Staci Stallings Page 0,99

her to come?” Paige hiss-whispered.

“Greg did,” Nelson whispered back. “Come on, we can’t not invite her.”

“Seriously?” Lauren whispered.

“What?” Nelson asked. “What’re we going to do, blow her off?”

“She blew us off,” Lauren said. “This is Paige’s party. She should be able to invite who she wants."

Greg couldn’t tell what Taylor could hear and what she couldn’t. All he knew was that, probably owing to the bone-chilling cold outside, Clara and Ryan stopped to talk to Taylor right inside the doors. Ryan’s arm was around Clara, and Taylor was standing there, awkwardly wrapped around herself.

“I’d hate to…” Taylor said, and she darted a glance at the four people behind him. The look of knowing she wasn’t wanted or welcome went across her face, and she ducked. “You know, I’ve really got to go. I’ve got a lot of homework.”

“Wh…?” Clara started in surprise as Taylor went right around them and hit the bar of the door with her hand, fleeing from the storm that was barreling toward her. Clara’s worried gaze went from Taylor’s departure over to Greg and pinned him there. “Didn’t you guys come together?”

Greg wound his arms in front of himself in defense of his own heart. “No. She drove.”

“And you’re just going to let her…?” Clara looked utterly confused and more heartbroken than she had when he had broken up with her. “Why are you not going after her?”

But Greg knew the futility of that. She had left without so much as a goodbye wave in his direction. Besides, it wasn’t him she wanted to be with anyway. That much was abundantly clear, so why did he have to keep begging for her to stay? To keep letting himself hope with all of them right there watching him wallow in her repeated rejection, was the epitome of humiliation.

“Greg,” Clara said, “you should go make sure she’s okay.”

“It’s Taylor,” Lauren said harshly as she shrugged. “I told you she’s a major drama queen.” She looked at the others who all looked shocked. “What? She is. She always has been. I say good riddance. If she’s going to be like that, let her.”

Chapter 14

Betrayal felt much worse than Taylor had ever thought it would. No one wanted her. Not Alpha Chi. Not the guys. Not even her own sister.

Starting the car, she didn’t even let it warm up before she pulled out and headed, not for her dorm but for the highway. She wasn’t sure where she was going but not here was a real possibility. Clara didn’t get it yet, but she would eventually. And sooner rather than later. That much Taylor knew. She had thought maybe she had a shot at gaining Clara’s friendship by being the new Taylor. But nobody wanted the new Taylor. They were too busy judging the old one.

She had driven all the way to the Interstate before she realized she was going that direction. Her mind filed through all the places she couldn’t go. The dorms. Home. The guys’ house. A thought hit her, and she pulled out her cell phone, sniffed once to calm herself down, and dialed the number.

“Hello?” Lily asked as if she didn’t trust this would be who it said it was.

“Hey, Lil,” Taylor said. “How’s it going?” Did that sound too bright? Too cheerful? Too fake?

“Hey, Taylor?” Instead of a statement, it was definitely a question. “How’s everything?”

“Oh. Uh, well, actually, I was kind of wondering what you’re doing this weekend.”

“This weekend? I don’t know. Why?”

“No biggie. I’m just wanting to get a little air from this place. I was wondering if you have plans.”

The cold was like taking a hard fist to the face when Greg went outside, headed to his car, and it wasn’t much better inside either. He really did feel bad about Taylor, and now that he wasn’t in the middle of the swirl of emotions, he realized anyone who was really a friend would have gone after her. Feeling bad to the core for his rash decision of letting her go like that, he pulled out his cell phone, thought about texting but finally decided to call her.

“Hello?” Taylor said, and Greg puzzled, both at the way she sounded and at the noises in the background.

“Hey,” he said, his voice falling on the word. “Just… wondering… how you are.”

“Oh. I’m cool.”

“Did… you… go back to the dorm?” he asked, still puzzled both because it didn’t sound like she was in the dorm, and it didn’t sound like she was particularly upset.

“The dorm?