All the Little Secrets (English Prep 2)

“How are you doing with the whole Jason thing? I’m still concerned that you’re involved with Tank. Christian is, too. He’s worried about Ollie.”

I stilled. Every part of me wanted to spill every last dark secret to my best friend. Every single one of them. But I couldn’t because they weren’t my secrets. “You’re breaking our agreement.”

Hayley’s hand paused on a dress. “What agreement?”

“The agreement of not talking about Jason, or the races, or you paying for your mom to go to rehab.”

Hayley’s dark brows knitted together. “We didn’t agree to that.”

I laughed. “Worth a shot.”

Hayley’s laugh was light as she turned around and looked at a few more dresses. Just when I thought she was going to drop it, she intoned, “Piper?”

I took my gaze off the pretty purple dress that I was holding and took in her expression. Hayley’s features were drawn into a frown, her bright eyes crinkled around the edges. “Do you remember that time in your car when I was being super stand-offish, and you looked me in the eye and said, ‘This is what best friends do. We tell each other everything and then dissect it together’?”

I swallowed my guilt. “Yes.”

Hayley erased the few feet that stood between us and rested her hands on my shoulders. “I’m here for you, okay? I get what it’s like to hold things in. It gets…” She slowly dropped her hands after giving my shoulders a light squeeze. “It gets lonely.”

But these weren’t my secrets to tell.

I gave her a soft smile, and she continued walking down the aisle, pulling out a few more dresses. I wanted to say something, but the words were stuck. I was too busy shoving down my guilt to come up with anything good to say.

My hands stilled on the soft fabric of a rose-colored dress when she yelled over her shoulder, “Also... I know there’s something more going on with you and Ollie.”

My entire body grew warm.

“Don’t try to deny it; I just want you to know I’m here when you’re ready to talk.” Hayley smiled as I nodded in relief. I wasn’t necessarily about to deny something going on with Ollie and me; I just wasn’t sure what exactly to say. Thankfully, though, with Hayley, I didn’t usually have to say anything. She understood me, and I understood her. She knew that I'd come to her when I was ready.

The rest of the shopping trip went smoother after our conversation. Hayley and I stopped talking about the serious things, and we just had fun. Something I thought we both needed. It all felt very normal, which wasn’t something we had often.

“Christian is going to pass out when he sees you.” I cocked my head to the side, running my gaze down Hayley’s body once more. She was wearing a navy-blue dress that hit mid-thigh. The bodice was lacy an

d cut very low in the front. “Then, he’s going to wake up and demand you take that scrap of fabric off. Mark my words. That’s exactly what he’ll say.”

Hayley threw her head back and laughed. “He knows very well he can’t boss me around.”

“But he’ll still try.” Hayley and I continued to laugh until my laughter was cut short. A familiar voice hit my ears. “Just grab it, and let’s git.”

Sky. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. The twang and wrong usage of the English language was evident from my first run-in with her, and it was just the same now.

“Alright, I’m gonna change,” Hayley said, doing one more turn in the mirror.

I mumbled, “Okay,” and silently retreated backwards, trying to get out of the way before Sky saw me.

But then I heard her twang again. “Hayley fucking Smith. Is that you?”

I could see Hayley from where I was standing. Her eyes widened for a split second before the recognition hit her. “Skylar. Wow. It’s been a while. How are you?”

How are you?

“I’m finally out of the system, so better than when you ran around with my group. I heard you were up with the rich folk now.” Sky’s hair was still a tangly mess, and the dark circles under her thick, black-lined eyes were almost haunting. But according to Hayley, the system did that to you. It’d eat you alive until you were of age, and then it threw you back out to the wolves.

Maybe that was why she hung around Tank.

Hayley shrugged. “I go to English Prep, but it’s not because I’m rich.”

I still stood back to the side, hoping Sky wouldn’t look my way. It wasn’t that I was afraid of her—well, okay, that wasn’t true. I still got a little twitchy walking to my car after school, as if she’d show up out of thin air again and pull me back by my uniform blouse. But right now, it was more that I didn’t want to have to tell Hayley about my little run-in with her. That was just another thing to add to the “Things I’ve Kept from Hayley” list.