A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 1)

I sighed and shook my head. “Having my sister lose her friends is not what I wanted.”

Jennica paused.

I continued, “I want my sister to have good friends, friends who are true to her, who care about her, who treat her right. That’s what I wanted and if you’re the friend who’s going to change and do that, I’m all for it.” I shook my head. “But I highly doubt you know how to be a true friend, so yes, I am glad that she ended her friendship with you. Would you want your sister to be friends with someone like you?”

She frowned, biting her lip.

I put my bag over my shoulder. Tray was waiting for me and I nodded to him. “I have to go.”

“Wait.”

I started past her, but stopped and turned.

She rolled her eyes. “Look, I know I’m a shitty friend, but I do care about Mandy. Just let her know that. Please?”

“I will.”

“Taryn.”

I glanced back again.

“Can you let me know how she’s doing? I know I have no right, but...” Her head went back down and she looked away.

I nodded. “You care about her.” I was beginning to see that.

She nodded. “Thanks.” The corners of her mouth curved up in a small grin. She looked grateful.

“You do care about her, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. I don’t show it, but I do.”

I shook my head. “Then why the hell do you treat her how you do?”

She frowned, then lifted a shoulder up. “I don’t know. It’s the cool thing to do.”

“It’s not.” Disappointment flooded me. “Treating people like you do is the farthest thing from being cool. Stop lying to yourself. If you want a good friend, be a good friend. That’s all there is to it.”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Yeah, right. What do I do when someone treats me how I treat people? Better to be the bitch on top than to be the bitch who gets kicked around. Come on, Taryn. You’re lying to yourself if you think people are going to be the good friend that you think. Do you not know people? They’re all assholes. They lie. They think they’re better than others. They manipulate. There’s no good friends out there.”

“Yeah.” I clapped for her. I was drawing attention to us, but I ignored them. “People do shitty things. Welcome to the real world. It happens, but you keep doing what you want done to you and someday, it’ll happen.”

She looked away.

I shook my head. “Keep doing what you’re doing. I’m sure you’ll land a wealthy husband who will cheat on you your whole marriage…with the women you meet for lunch. That’s where you’re headed.”

“Taryn,” Tray said from close behind me. I felt his hand on my shoulder and turned, taking it in my hand, I held it.

I gripped it hard as I said to her, “I’ll give you updates on Mandy, but to answer your initial question, yes. I’m happy. She’s clearing out people who have treated her horribly. That’s a good sign.”

I left before she could say anything more. I didn’t want to hear it because it didn’t matter. Mandy was getting better. Somehow, that helped me. All the anger and darkness I felt for Jace shifted and hope blossomed inside of me. I didn’t know if it would stay long, but it felt good having it back there. That meant some things were changing. Some things could change.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Mandy stayed in rehab for another thirty days, but she called the night before to let me know she was getting released. There was a ceremony and she invited me to come, but her parents would be there.

I wasn’t ready to see them. So, instead, knowing they would be there and at Mandy’s side, I went to the school’s pool. I wasn’t a thief anymore. I hadn’t been in a long time so my trips to the pool were increasing. They had an Olympic sized one, unlike Tray’s that was half its size, so once I dove in, I could really let my mind go.

When I finished my last lap, a light was on in the corner office, but as I got out of the pool and went to my bag, it switched off. The door opened and Coach Hayes nodded at me. He shut the door, tested the knob, and headed towards me. He was dressed in a navy blue mesh coat over khaki shorts. A Rawley Swim Team cap was pulled down low over his eyes. Stopping in front of me, he frowned at me. “You didn’t come to try-outs.”