A Hurt So Sweet Volume One (Elite of Eden Falls Prep 1)

Fine, I'll come with you to get them. And you can have the mozzarella sticks as well. NONE of that disgusting ranch dressing though.

MILOOOOOOO I need you please... You can't just leave me stranded on the side of the road like this!

I rolled my eyes as I replied, Anyone ever tell you what a princess you are?

Only you and I cherish it dearly, amigo ;)

I looked at the empty screen again, sighing as I texted her to tell me the address. In a second, she sent me her location using the app. I only hesitated for a moment before grabbing my lacrosse jacket and putting it on. I could've woken up Natan. I should've woken up Natan. After all, he was her boyfriend, not me. But something stopped me, maybe the desperate need for a hint, a smidge of inspiration. I left everything as it was and got downstairs, past my Dads’ bedroom, where they were both sleeping soundly.

Everything was peaceful outside. My brother's car, a gleaming Escalade, was a sharp contrast to my own, a fucked-up cherry Benz I'd insisted on paying for by myself.

Statistics say most accidents happen in your first car, and I didn't want to risk fucking up a nice car. Better that the accident happened in a beaten down piece of shit I had no problem saying goodbye to once I inevitably trashed it. Though, if I was being honest with myself, I'd gotten weirdly attached to Cherry since I'd had her.

I added the address Estella had given me to my phone, put on some tunes, and started driving to my destination. It was the same address Tinsley had given out for her party, and I was assuming Stells had stayed until the very last moment. Weird, given that brother dearest was already back home snoring up a storm.

It took about fifteen minutes to show up at the address, and when I did, I saw a hunched-over form on the sidewalk. Her dark brown hair was all over her face, and she was wearing this tiny sequin dress that left exactly nothing to the imagination.

I pulled up next to her and opened the door, and she got into the car groaning.

"Rough night?" I raised my eyebrows at her.

"You have no clue." She kept rubbing her wrist, where a white circle of skin decorated her otherwise tanned complexion. "Clancy's?"

"Oh right, they have that drive-in thing now," I remembered. "Yeah. But you're paying. And I am getting ranch."

"Ugh, gross," she rolled her eyes, strapping herself into the seat when I gave her a warning glance. "Yeah, yeah, I'll put my seatbelt on. God, Milo, you're such a Dad."

I started driving to our local hang-out place while she toyed with the music.

"You have horrendous music taste," she informed me.

"You wouldn’t know good taste if it bit you in the ass, Princess. But man, do you know how to turn on the charm.”

"I don't need to charm you." She flashed me a brilliant smile. "You came to pick me up, didn't you? P.S., Nobody calls me Princess anymore. That nickname died back in 2014.”

“Just like our friendship?” I couldn’t help but bite back.

She gave me a wounded look. “How can you say that?”

“Please,” I scoffed. As if it isn’t true. You dropped me and Pandora the moment you decided we weren’t cool enough for you.”

“You know nothing, John Snow.”

"Whatever."

I pulled into the driveway of Clancy's and she leaned out the window to order our food, offering me a view of her plump little ass and the thong that barely covered anything. I looked away, feeling a little sick that I’d even looked. "Yeah hi, two cheeseburgers, two orders of large fries, some mozzarella sticks, a chocolate milkshake and a strawberry one. And... ranch dressing. Two packs." She made a face at me before sitting back down in the car. "I hope you're happy."

"Very." I liked that she knew what I wanted without even asking. I pulled to the next window and we waited for our food to be prepared, while she kept toying with the empty spot on her wrist. "Why do you keep picking at your hand like that?"

She glanced down at her wrist as if she'd only just realized she'd been doing it. "Oh. I didn’t even notice I was doing it. It’s whatever.”

We got our food, and I drove to a spot in the parking lot so we could eat. She dug into her cheeseburger like a woman possessed while I dipped my fries in the ranch.

"Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"You used to wear something there," I motioned to her wrist. "Like this weird bracelet."