Sean touched her arm and she wanted him to stop, but she didn’t say anything. “I really am sorry.”
“Me too.”
He pulled his hand away and she breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Well, well, well, if it’s not the two losers together,” Ree said.
After Drake had slept with her and tossed her aside, she’d stopped being friends with them. Now, since she and Drake had broken up, she’d seen Ree wrapped around him. Pru tried not to be jealous but it was hard. Ree flicked her hair off her shoulder and sneered at the two of them.
Folding her arms, Pru stared at her former friend. No one else had befriended this girl. It was her and Sean, but from the start, she’d always wanted more. She hadn’t been content to just be their friend.
“What do you want?” Pru asked.
“What do I want? First, I’d love to rid the school of freaks like you.”
Pru sighed. “Really. Without freaks like me, you wouldn’t be where you are today.”
Some of Ree’s friends laughed and snorted. There was a time Pru would have played nice. She’d be in her own little corner of space, ignoring everyone. Content to be by herself or with Sean.
“Oh, please. You think I wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for you. You have no idea who you’re talking to.”
“I’m talking to the girl who couldn’t get into Drake’s party and needed me for him to even look in your direction,” Pru said.
“Pru, this isn’t like you,” Sean said.
Yeah, well, maybe it was. She was tired of people hurting her and others taking advantage. Hands on her hips, she stepped up to Ree. She could take this girl. It wouldn’t be hard.
Ree laughed. “I could have gotten into that party.”
“You called me like a little girl needing mommy’s help. Drake didn’t want you at that party. You were nothing but a pest. You don’t have enough money to even be in his league. Believe me, I know.”
“And you think you do? You’re nothing but a poor little bitch,” Ree said.
“Yeah, I am, but I’m not trying to belong to him. I never wanted to. We were your friends, Ree, but this right here is your loss. When it’s over and no one wants to be around you, you’ll come crawling back. No one likes a bitch, and you’re behaving like one, first-class.”
Ree slapped her hard and Pru took it. She didn’t mind the pain of the slap. She loved it, in fact. At least she knew she was alive still. The only person she’d ever been in a fight with was Drake. They had never gotten along and each of them had always hurt each other in one form or another. Looking at Ree right now, she wanted to hurt her.
Ree lifted her hand and Pru didn’t even think about it, she pushed her hard, making her stumble back. As Ree came back for more, Pru didn’t try to end the fight. In the back of her mind, she knew this wasn’t about today. This was because she had to see Ree with Drake. She had to witness the other girl touching him, being able to be with him when she couldn’t, and it pissed her off so much.
Within seconds, they were on the floor. Ree straddled her and the open slap turned into a fist. It hurt, but Pru shoved her off, rolling her to the ground and this time, she got three punches in.
Before she could land a fourth blow, she was grabbed from behind, her arm held out.
“Yeah, you better fucking get her off me before I hurt her,” Ree said.
“Get off me. Let me go. She needs to fucking pay.”
Whoever held her didn’t let her go. She was suddenly pushed into a classroom. The door shoved closed as she was pressed up against the door.
She stared into Drake’s eyes.
He’d gotten between them.
He’d stopped her from fighting. Glaring at him, she tried to shake him off, but he held on to her. “Let me the fuck go.”
The rage was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. She didn’t even know where it had come from. Why was she suddenly so angry? It wasn’t like she was jealous of Ree or even cared what the other girl had.
“No. You’re going to hurt yourself if you don’t stop.”
“This isn’t your fight.”
“It is, Pru. You’re not the fighting kind and you have to stop.” He captured her hands, pressing them above her head, and she wanted to scream at him some more.
Taking several deep breaths, she waited. The moment he let his guard down, she intended to claw his eyes out and show him who he was really messing with. She pressed against his hands, but he was much stronger than her. Even with all the adrenaline and rage consuming her. “Let me go.”