I give him the most condescending smile I can possibly manage and step around his bitch ass as his friends gawk. Every nerve in my body demands that I turn back just to get the smallest glimpse of the rage burning through his eyes, but I won’t dare give him the satisfaction of having my attention. So instead, I keep walking, hoping that was enough of a warning to get him to back off.
By the time I reach my homeroom, the students are already buzzing with gossip, whispers about Tanner Morgan shutting down the new girl, and I can only assume that Tanner is the one and only King Jock. But honestly, if they think that’s what shutting me down is, they’ve got another thing coming. Back home, something like that wouldn’t even be worthy of morning gossip, not unless a few fists got thrown in the process.
“Holy shit!” A chirpy, feminine voice calls across the classroom.
I follow the sound, my head snapping up to find a petite brunette who sends a cold rush swarming through my veins like a million little needles pricking at my skin. She stares straight back at me, and all I can think about is the way Colby’s cock looked buried deep inside her lady taco.
The need to bail sails through me, but she quickly stands and waves me over, a bright, genuine smile stretching across her face. I hesitantly make my way across the room, the other students watching me like a disease spreading throughout the school.
“You must be the new girl everyone’s talking about,” the girl says, propping her ass back onto the edge of the table as she waves me toward the empty space beside her. “How funny. Out of all the people who could have walked through that door, it just happened to be the girl who saw her boyfriend railin—”
“No! I don’t need the visual,” I say, holding my hands up as I reluctantly take the seat beside her, though unlike her, I actually drop my ass into the chair rather than propping myself against the table.
“Oh, right,” she laughs. “I’m Ilaria, by the way. I can’t remember if I introduced myself or not the other night. I was in a bit of an awkward position, and when that happens, I tend to ramble useless things that don’t matter.”
“Yep, I figured that much out,” I confirm, remembering the moment all too clearly while desperately wishing I couldn’t. “I’m Brielle.”
“I … yeah,” she says, biting her bottom lip and averting her eyes as shame flashes in her pretty features. “Listen, I tried to find you afterward, but judging by the way your boyfriend was running up the street, I kinda figured you bailed. I just … I want you to know that I’m not that girl. I don’t go out with the intention of finding some other girl’s man and stealing him from her. That’s not me. I know we don’t know each other and a promise from me is probably worth absolutely nothing, but I swear to you, I wasn’t aware he had a girlfriend. He told me he was at the party alone and that he was single. I never would have touched him otherwise.”
I give her a tight smile. Despite the honesty in her words and the shame in her tone, it still stings. I know she’s not to blame, this is all on Colby. She’s just as much a victim of his lies as I am, but I still want to hate her, and I’m sure that makes me an awful person, but every time her eyes meet mine over the desk, I picture them together and it sucks.
It makes me feel weak, used, and pathetic, and I’m so much better than that. This girl is better than that. Hell, I don’t even know her, but I know enough. She is kind and honest and probably the type of girl I should be trying to make friends with. Colby used her for her body, he played her just as he played me, but luckily for her, she didn’t spend six months trying to feel something for the guy.
Fuck, I’m such an idiot. Colby really wasn’t the kind of guy I thought he was.
“Do you …” she glances away, looking nervous. “Do you think you could forgive me and we could be friends? You’re going to need someone to show you the ropes around here, and I have a group of friends who are amazing and will welcome you with open arms. Besides, us girls have to stick together, right? This isn’t exactly a nice school to be the new girl at, and from what I hear, you’ve already pissed off Tanner Morgan, which means you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
My eyes widen just a fraction. “Is he really that bad?”