by McKayla Box
“I didn't tell you that,” he says. “Brett told you that. Because they didn't want to say anything.”
I laugh and shake my head. “So they knew, too? They knew she was back and that you were with her?”
“I wasn't with her, Pres,” he says. “It's not like that. It's more complicated than that. If you would calm down, I'd explain it to you.”
But I'm not calm and I don't want him explaining anything to me. I feel sick, like I want to puke all over him. I don't care what the reasons are. I'm furious that his ex-girlfriend is back in town, that she's not making it a secret that she wants him back, and that he didn't tell me about it. I had to find out about her in the worst way possible.
From her.
“I can't do this right now,” I say, turning away from him.
He grabs my arm. “Pres, listen to me. If you'll--”
I yank my arm out of his grasp and glare at him. “I'm not fucking listening to you. I don't want an explanation. I don't want anything from you right now.”
“Don't be like this,” he says. “Come on.”
“Don't be a fucking liar,” I say. “Come on.”
He rolls his eyes.
I turn and head up the beach, the wind and the tears stinging my eyes as I walk away from him.
FOURTEEN
I very quickly change my mind about not drinking and find a tower of red cups back near the bonfire. There are several bottles of vodka near the concrete fire ring. I grab one, twist off the top, and fill my cup halfway. I down it in two swallows, then refill it. I set the bottle back down and move away from the fire, the heat warming my face to an uncomfortable degree.
Or maybe it's the vodka.
I look around for Bridget or Gina or Maddie, but don't see any of them. The good news is that I don't see Athena, either. I sip the vodka and wander up the beach, away from the fire and Trevor.
I know that Athena was trying to piss me off and I'm mad because I let her. I should've ignored her and let her run her mouth, but I gave her my attention when she didn't deserve it.
But I am more angry with Trevor.
I don't expect him to give me the rundown on every girl he's ever had...anything with. I don't want him to. But whatever was between him and Athena feels significant and it feels like he was trying to keep it from me. At the very least, he admitted to not telling me the truth about where he was after school and that sucks. We haven't been together long and I don't expect either of us to be perfect, but hiding things from me feels bad. I know that I would've been a little bitchy if he'd just been upfront and told me that his ex-girlfriend was back in town and wanted to talk to him, but knowing about it and being bitchy about it would be a lot better than having it sprung on me by the bitch herself.
“Are you still breathing fire?” a voice says behind him.
I turn around.
Brett is standing there. He's wearing a black hoodie and gray shorts. His hands are shoved into the pockets of the shorts.
“Maybe,” I say. “So stay back.”
He holds his hands up. “Don't breathe on me then. I didn't do anything.”
“You fucking covered for his dumbass,” I say. “So yeah you did.”
He thinks for a second, then nods. “Okay, got me there.”
“Yeah.”
“But, look. This isn't what you think.”
“What do I think it is?” I ask, taking a sip of the vodka. “Are you in my head?”
He gives me a half smile. “Okay. What do you think it is?”
“That his ex wants to fuck him and he's making time for her behind my back,” I say.
“You're half right,” he says. “The first part? Yeah, she seems down with that. But you're wrong about the second part. He's not making time for her. Athena is just...doing her thing.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means she's...Athena,” he says, rubbing at his chin. “She's in your face. She's a bitch. And she gets after it.” He pauses. “He tell you anything about them?”
“Not really,” I say. “She just said they used to be together.”
He pulls his hands from his shorts and shoves them into the pocket of his hoodie. He kicks at the sand with his barefoot. “So, they were together for most of sophomore year. Kinda hot and heavy.”
“Vomit.”
“I'm just telling you what's what,” he says. “You don't wanna hear it, I'll shut up.”
I sigh. “Tell me.”
He nods. “Okay. So. Hot and heavy. They were all in, you know? Then her dad took some job up north and her family moved. Trevor wanted to stay together, but--”
“She broke up with him,” I say. “Yeah, she made sure to mention all that to me.”
He laughs. “Of course she did. So she moved and broke up with him. He was sort a wreck for awhile. Jake and me? We were actually kinda glad because we didn't really like her all that much. She's a clinger and insane jealous. Over everything. Her act is fucking tired.” He shrugs. “But she and Trev were together, so whatever. We were glad, though, that she was gone. He went off the rails a little, but understandable. Nothing terrible. And then he got over it. Like, for real. He was over her. It wasn't an act.” He pauses. “Then you showed up this year and he's all in again. On you.”
I look into the cup, then take a sip.
“Yeah, she called him or texted him or whatever she did,” he says. “But he didn't call her back. He didn't text her. He asked me if he should just block her. I actually told him no because I thought that would just make it worse, just piss her off even more if she found out.”
“Yeah, we don't want that,” I mutter into the cup.
“You know what I mean,” Brett says. “I thought it would just make her push harder. And his dad called him home this afternoon because her dad was there and they're super tight. She was there and Trev knew it. He tried to get out of it, but his dad wasn't having it. And you know what his dad is like, right?”
I do. He's the only person that really seems to have control over Trevor.
“So he went home,” Brett explains. “Not because she was there, but because his dad told him to get his ass home. So, yeah. I'm sure she's happy to give you some bullshit lie about him coming home with her there, but it wasn't like that.”
I swirl the vodka in the cup. “Why didn't he just tell me that then? Why make up some bullshit about getting food and just ignore me? He could've told me.”
Brett laughs.
“What?” I ask.
“He could've told you?” he says. “Seriously? Look at you. You seriously just lost your shit because you found out about her. He knew you'd go off and he didn't want you to. He was going to tell you, obviously. I mean, she goes to our school. It wasn't gonna be a secret. But you blew your top before he could even explain.”
I flex my toes in the sand. He's not totally right, but he's not totally wrong. I believed Athena's story before giving Trevor a chance to explain anything. It doesn't excuse the bullshit about why he wasn't at the beach, but he's not wrong about me blowing up at him.
“He can trust me,” I say.
“I know,” Brett says. “I told him that and so did Jake. He just didn't want you to freak out. It had nothing to do with trying to keep anything from you or wanting to get with her sorry ass. That's one hundred percent the truth, Presley. I swear.”
I believe him. “Okay.”
“I was sorta hoping you'd punch her in the face when you met her,” he says.
“Shut up,” I say, but I'm laughing as I say it.
He laughs, too.
“I don't need that kind of problem again,” I say. “I thought about it, but I don't want that kind of problem.”
He nods. “Yeah. I hear you.” He looks out at the water. “Problems fucking suck.”
There's something in his words that I can't quite pick out. “I know I asked you this earlier, but are you sure you're okay?”
He coughs and kicks sand from his feet. “I'll be fine.�
��
“You'll be fine?” I say. “That means you aren't fine now.”
A small smile crosses his lips. “I hate when girls are smart.”
“No, you don't,” I say. “That's bullshit.”
He looks down at his feet. “Whatever. I'm fine. I'll be fine.”
“Why don't I believe you?” I ask.
He laughs and shakes his head. “The only thing you need to believe is that Trevor is into you and not Athena Atkins.”
“Athena Atkins?” I say. “Jesus. Her name even sounds like some shitty Disney villain.”
He laughs again. “Whatever. Just know that he isn't in to anyone but you. It ain't her. It's you.”
I finish the vodka. “Thank you. For telling me all that.”
He nods.
“And I'll try not to go ballistic with him again,” I say.
“You will,” he says, smiling. “Seems like it's in your blood. But, whatever. Just don't let her blow up what you've going with him.”
Easier said than done.
FIFTEEN
“I have something to tell you,” Bridget says.
It's the next morning. After I talked to Brett, I went back to find Trevor, but couldn't find him. I assumed he was pissed at me and, in truth, I'm still angry with him. I decide to let it all chill out for the night and catch a ride with Bridget later on. She's quiet on the way home and doesn't say much, but now, on our way to the coffee shop before school, she apparently has something to tell me.
“That sounds ominous,” I say.
“I may have hooked up last night,” she says.
I dramatically brace myself against the dashboard of her car. “Excuse me?”
“Stop it,” she says, then laughs. “It's not that shocking.”
“Do you have those heart paddle things? I think my heart just stopped.”
She reaches out and swats at my arm. “Stop!”
I sit back in my seat. “Details, woman.”
She turns us into the drive-thru lane of the coffee shop. “I don't kiss and tell.”
“Do you have sex and tell?”
“Oh my god stop,” she says. “I didn't sleep with him.”
“What did you do with him?” I ask. “And who is the him?”
“Nothing I needed birth control for,” she says. “But close.”
“I can't believe you didn't tell me this last night!”
“You were in a bad mood,” she says. “I didn't want to be all like 'hey I just hooked up, sorry your night was shit.' You know?”
“I get it,” I tell her. “Was I really in that bad of a mood?”
“Um. Yes.”
“Ugh. Sorry,” I say. “I didn't mean to be.”
She pulls up to the speaker and orders our drinks.
I hand her money. “Here. I'm buying today since I was a bitch last night.”
“You don't have to buy.”
“Take it,” I say. “Yes. I do. I'm sorry.”
She takes the money. “It's fine. I assumed it was Trevor stuff.”
I lean back in the seat. “Do you know this Athena Atkins?”
“Yes, unfortunately,” she says. “Total first class bitch. I saw her yesterday in the halls and wanted to puke right on her little feet.”
“She came and introduced herself to me yesterday,” I tell her. “And then again at the beach last night. When I was with Trevor.”
“Oh, shit,” she says, inching the car forward in the line. “No wonder you were in a pissy mood.”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “She basically told me that she's taking him back.”
“Gross. What did you tell her?”
“I didn't tell her anything,” I say. “I straddled Trevor on the sand and dry humped him while she was standing there.”
She throws her head back and laughs. “Oh my god!”
“Yeah, but then Trevor and I ended up fighting anyway,” I say. “So it ended up being fucked up.”
“I'm sorry,” she says. “That sucks.”
“They were pretty tight?” I ask. “When they were together?”
“You want the truth or you want me to make you feel better?” she asks.
“Truth. Always.”
“They were pretty tight,” she says. “Together a lot, he wasn't screwing around her. At least as far as I know. They were definitely a couple. I heard that she broke up with him, but I don't know if that's true or not.”
“Sounds like it's true,” I say. “From what I heard last night.”
The guy in the window hands her our drinks and she passes mine to me. She gets us out of the drive-thru and back onto the road. I stick the straw in my drink and take a long drink of the iced coffee.
“Do you trust him?” she asks.
It's the same question I've been asking myself all night. I trusted him before I knew about Athena. We worked through our crap and got on the same page. I felt safe with him.
But now I don't know.
“I'm not sure,” I say. “He didn't seem interested in her last night. Brett told me he's not. But I don't know. If she was the one that broke up with him and now she's back and she wants him?” I look out the window. “I don't know.”
She pulls us into the school lot and into her spot. She turns the engine off and looks at me. “I'm sorry, Pres. I don't know what to tell you. I want to tell you trust him, but I don't want to be wrong. I think you just have to talk to him and then see how you feel about it.” She smiles. “If it's any consolation, I'd pick you.”
It's a sweet thing to say. “Thanks.”
The bell rings and we have to hustle across the lot.
“Wait,” I say. “We never finished talking about last night and who you hooked up with!”
She pulls the door open to the building. “I guess I'll just have to keep you in suspense for now then.”
SIXTEEN
“Rumor has it that one of you bitches hooked up last night,” Gina says, looking at me and Bridget. She points a french fry in our direction. “And I wanna know who it was.”
It's lunch and we're at The Hamburger Hut in our normal booth. I'm trying to suck a chocolate shake through the straw and I look at Bridget.
“Given that Presley has Trevor fever, I'm going to guess that it was our Miss Bridge,” Maddie says. “So spill it, chica.”
“I've decided to not kiss and tell,” Bridget says.
“Oh, fuck that shit,” Gina says, not bothering to hide her offense. “Give us the goods.”
Bridget shakes her head. “Nope. We'll wait and see if anything comes of it.”
Maddie leans across the table. “Did you come...of it?”
We all laugh, but Bridget shakes her head again. “I'm saying nothing.”
“I know they didn't have sex,” I tell them. “She did admit that to me this morning.”
“Traitor,” Bridget says.
“Hmm,” Maddie says, tapping a finger to her lips, thinking. “But that really only rules out one thing. There's, like, a whole lot of other things that could've happened.”
“And I'm not telling you about any of them,” Bridget says, picking up her burger. “So move on.”
“Bitch, we're gonna find out,” Gina says, pointing the french fry again. “You know I won't stop until I get the details.”
“You won't find out,” Bridget says. “He's not talking, either.”
“This feels like a challenge,” Gina says. “Are you challenging me?”
Bridget takes a big bite of the burger, sets it on the wrapper, and wipes her hands with a napkin. “I am.”
We all laugh again.
Gina pops the fry in her mouth and rubs her hands together. “It's on. It is so on.”
“Uh oh,” Maddie says, looking across the table and over my shoulder. “Queen Bitch is coming this way.”
I don't turn around because I know who she means.
Shanna stops at the edge of the table, her pals Jessica and Lisa right behind her. “It never fails how trash gravitates towar
d more trash. It's like how in the ocean it all ends up in one place. This table is like the ocean.”
“And you're like a shitty public restroom that never gets cleaned,” Gina says.
Shanna waits for the punchline.
“That's it,” Gina says. “I don't have a clever metaphor for you. You're just foul and gross.”
Shanna's cheeks redden. “Fuck you, Gina.”
“Not on your best day, bitch,” Gina says.
“Whatever,” Shanna says, then turns her attention to me. “I guess Trevor is wising up.”
“Why?” I ask. “Did he try to run over you in the parking lot?”
She smiles. “Hardly. I hear you two are on the outs. He's probably...bored.”
“You heard wrong,” I say.
“Did I?” she says. “I don't think I did.”
I look down at my food. “Fuck off, Shanna.”
“See, I knew I was right,” she says. “I told you I was coming for him. You were smart to get out of the way. Less embarrassing that way for you.”
I look at her. “You can keep saying it, but it won't make it any more true.”
“I mean, for real,” she says. “Your little new girl act played out in a hurry. He's clearly looking for something a bit more...adult.”
I know she's just trying to wind me up. It's working, but I don't want her to know that. “Next time you see us together, you can apologize to me. I'll be happy to rub your ugly fucking nose in it.”
“If there's a next time,” she says. “If.”
“Could you keep moving?” Maddie asks. “I don't want to catch your herpes. That shit is contagious.”
Shanna's face reddens again and she walks away, Jessica and Lisa trailing faithfully behind her.
“The fuck is she talking about?” Gina asks as soon as they're out of earshot. “Is something wrong with Trevor?”
“It's fine,” I say. “It's going to be fine. His fucking ex is back and just trying to cause trouble. But it'll be fine.”
“I saw that bitch yesterday,” Gina says, making a face. “She's been a bitch since, like, second grade. Swear to god.”
I shrug.