Pretty When She Cries - Black Mountain Academy

“Who is she?” the cheerleader asks.

“I’m his girlfriend.” I flash all my teeth in a smile so fake my face hurts.

“Ugh. Jerk!” She shoves him away, and he stares up at me with a glazed expression. He’s definitely drunk, and I’m second-guessing my determination to have this conversation right now.

“Hey.” He jerks his chin at me and climbs out of the pool. “You take a swim with your boyfriend over there?”

Odd, I didn’t think he’d even noticed.

“I should ask you the same thing.” I cross my arms and glare at him.

He shakes his head like I’m ridiculous. There’s something different about him tonight. Jared’s always been a little cocky, but there’s a sharpness in his eyes I’ve never noticed before. He seems uptight, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the fading bruises on his face.

“Over here.” I grab his arm and drag him to a quiet corner of the garden, away from prying eyes and ears. There’s a large wooden gazebo tucked into the shadows, and I steer us behind it where I can confront him privately.

“What the hell is going on?” I snap at him. “Why are you making out with some random chick when we had a deal? And what about your boyfriend?”

“I fuck whoever I want.” His words are clipped, an undercurrent of tension polluting his voice. “Chicks. Guys. I don’t really give a damn as long as I can get my dick wet. Everyone already knows it, so if you think it’s some big secret, you really are delusional.”

“Um… that’s not what you told me before.”

I’m genuinely confused. When we struck our deal, he said he was in love with Jacob. He told me if the football team found out he was dating a rival, they’d never let him hear the end of it. This sudden shift in attitude doesn’t make any sense.

“Did you just come here to nag my ass?” he gripes. “Because this relationship isn’t worth the trouble if I have to listen to you bitch at me, and I don’t even get to fuck you.”

“Excuse me?” I stumble over my shocked response. Jared is one of the few guys at BMA who’s always treated me with respect. This doesn’t even sound like him. In fact, it doesn’t even look like he’s the same person tonight. I’ve never seen him so angry, or so drunk.

“You heard me.” He tears his gaze away like he can’t even stand to look at me. “You’ll spread your legs for Carson and Landon, but you want to act like a saint whenever you’re around me.”

His words hit me like a torpedo, and it fucking hurts. How could he be so cruel? How could he throw that in my face? But should it really surprise me? That’s what everyone thinks about me.

“I’m not doing this with you,” I choke out. “You totally blew our cover tonight. The deal’s off.”

“Fine by me,” he mumbles. “You aren’t worth the headache, and I’d rather catch a bad case of syphilis than sample Landon’s leftovers.”

With those ice-cold words, he leaves me standing there alone. Shame swells like a storm surge inside me. This kind of filth, you can’t wash away. I blink away the sting, convincing myself it’s just the chlorine. I can’t possibly have any feelings left.

But it’s my feelings that lure me to drag out my phone and pull up the anonymous texting app. I programmed every BMA contact into it at the beginning of the year. My righteous indignation insists Jared just made himself another casualty in this war, and he knew what was at stake. My fingers fly over the keyboard, typing out the details of his treasonous relationship with Jacob Ellis, Maple Grove’s beloved quarterback. The message is written hastily without time to contemplate the fallout.

This isn’t me. I’m not this person. There’s a faint voice whispering inside my head, but I ignore it, focusing on Jared’s hurtful words.

Leftovers.

He called me fucking leftovers.

He threw those words in my face, and now I’m going to throw everything I have at him. If they hit me with a bullet, I fire back with a grenade. That’s how it is now, and it’s the only permission I need to attach the photo I’ve been holding ransom until the school year was over. It’s Jared lip-locked with Jacob at a park in a neighboring town. The proof is undeniable. And so is the urge to shrivel up and die after I hit send.

But this is what he deserves, right? He hurt me. He broke the agreement we had. I can’t let him say those things and just walk away. I told myself I’d never let them screw me over again. And when I see him across the yard, talking to Carson as if he didn’t just verbally eviscerate me, I know I made the right decision.