Ugly girl

It’s been a tough week for both Blake and I. A lot of rumors and nosey bitches have been trying to pry information out of us that has brought up a whole bunch of shitty memories. I’ll leave Blake alone tonight, I can understand his need to let loose.

Maze leads me over to the drinks table and starts reaching for a ca

“Hell no,” she laughs. “I was throwing that up for two days after that party. I don’t think I’ll ever drink it again.”

“Speak for yourself,” I say, reaching across her until my fingers are curling around the neck of the bottle. If I’m going to spend my night with a girl I’m not quite sure I want to hate or not, then I’m probably going to need this. “Just don’t let me screw Damian on the dancefloor. I don’t think I could come back from that a second time.”

“What’s going on with you two?” she asks as we walk out the backdoor to have a good look around.

“Who? Me and Damian?” I gawk, thrown off by her question. “Nothing. We danced at his party, got a little too handsy with each other and then we didn’t screw because his bed was already occupied and that’s about the extent of it,” I lie.

“Really?” she grunts, making me wonder if she’s digging for information to betray me with. “That’s it? Because he’s been extra flirty with you. Don’t act like I don’t see all the winks and hooded eyes he’s been throwing your way.”

“Seriously, nothing’s going on. He wants me to be his next barbie doll that he can bend into all different positions but I told him no.”

“What?” she demands, outraged. “Girl, that was the stupidest thing I think you’ve ever done. Do you have any idea how good it would be with him? Like seriously, he’s all about the no-strings-attached sex. You would have had it so good.”

“Nah, that’s not for me. I’ve already done the no-strings-attached sex thing and soon enough, someone is bound to attach strings.”

“True.”

We walk towards a small bonfire and just as we’re about to sit down around it, Nessa steps in front of me. “Umm, hi,” she says awkwardly, looking at the ground.

My brows drop down in suspicion as I look over her. What could she possibly want? “Can I help you?”

“I, uh…I owe you an apology.”

My brows shoot right back up as I stare at her in surprise. “Umm, what?” I question, wondering if I heard her correctly.

“I’ve been an A-class bitch about your parents. I’m really sorry. If I’d known it were true, I never would have said anything like that. I feel awful about it.”

“You should,” I comment, darkly. “Do you have any idea what it feels like to have someone accuse you of lying about something like that? To witness your mother being stabbed to death, to see the blood splattered over the walls and floors and to then have some bitch girl who doesn’t know shit, use it as bait against you? Are you kidding me? What kind of awful person does that?”

Her eyes grow watery and the devil inside of me rejoices. “I didn’t know,” she says as a single tear falls down her cheek. “I swear, I thought you were lying.”

I scoff. “Because people just lie about their parents’ murder.” Her face breaks and I feel her meltdown coming along so I speed this up. After all, it’s her party and I’m not exactly ready to go home yet. There’s a nice flow of Tequila pumping through my veins and I haven’t had a chance to shake my ass yet. “Look,” I say with a sigh. “I don’t like you, not even close. You’re a bitch and clearly, someone who needs to learn a thing or two about morals. I don’t forgive you for what you said or the pain those comments caused, but it takes a big person to come and stand before me and apologize, especially considering I could beat the shit out of you. So, I respect you for that.”

Nessa nods and she goes to walk away, realizing that not much more will be said here. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that bullshit in the cafeteria either,” I call behind her, feeling somewhat accomplished.

“Woah,” Maze says, pulling me down next to her by the fire. “Do you have any idea what a big deal that was? She must really feel like shit because she never apologizes to anyone.”

I watch after her as she slinks away and I realize that, despite the bullshit between us, I kind of like the girl. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a complete bitch but in a weird way, she’s my kind of people. There might just be a possibility of a friendship there after all. You know, considering she doesn’t cross any more lines. She’s strong and has balls and that’s what I like in a friend.

Maze and I sit for a while and I keep my eye on Blake. In the half an hour that we’ve been sitting down, he’s torn through three beers and with each new bottle he opens, my stomach twists. He’s a big fucking boy and I sure as hell won’t be carrying his drunk ass home, so he’s going to have to ease up soon.

I watch the fire, feeling like the wild flames are somewhat like my life. Unpredictable, deadly, and scorching hot. I zone out as Maze chats about some guy she met through Robbie McDowell and my spidey-senses instantly go on high-alert. Is she seriously that moronic to be interested in a dude that she met through our local drug dealer?

I shake my head but keep listening. It’s her life, her heart, and her body. She can do with it what she likes.

My mind goes to Slade and I realize that over the past few weeks, he’s really begi

Fuck, no. I need to hate him.

He was texting my rapist, most likely giving him updates on me, telling him all sorts of information that I’m desperate to keep hidden.

A shadow appears behind the fire and I raise my head, sucking in a breath with his wicked beauty.

There he is.

My body instantly reacts and a fire burns deep within me. What is it about him and why the hell do I feel like ru

I notice in the same second that Maze sits up a little straighter and eyes him over the fire and the big question I’ve been asking myself all night becomes very fucking clear. This friendship between me and Maze is never going to work. She’s way too interested in Slade. This whole thing has just been some sort of sham to get closer to him, and luckily for her, it was working. But not anymore. I need to cut my loss before it’s too late.

Slade’s eyes lock on mine over the fire, just as they always do and within moments, my bullshit drama with Maze is completely forgotten. She fades into the background just like everyone else and all that exists is him.

He strides toward me and I raise my eyes as he stops on the other side of the fire, keeping a good distance. There’s an odd hollowness beneath his eyes that I’ve never seen before and I watch as he raises a bottle to his lips and takes a quick swig. “Can we talk?” he asks, looking down at me on the hard ground.

I study him for a quick moment, feeling the dread seeping into me. Why does he sound so miserable? So nice?