by Rina Kent
The tray thumped to the table, and I took my seat at the end. Trey was in front of me with Paige on his left.
“You okay?” Trey asked.
I nodded and picked up my fork, not looking at either of them. If I lifted my eyes I might see Hunter with Eden, and I was already bristling underneath. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?
Minutes passed, and Hunter still didn’t show up, laughing and clapping a hand on my shoulder like I’d expected him to. I couldn’t take it anymore. My skin itched, and I chucked the fork onto my tray and ran my short fingernails over my arms before forcing myself to peer at Eden’s table.
It was fuller today. Not so many of her friends had gotten up once she had sat down. In fact, it had one more person, sitting right next to her. My eyes burned into the back of Hunter’s head as he was turned toward Eden. This time, the smile on her face was genuine. The corners of her eyes creased, and she covered her mouth as she laughed.
What. The. Fuck.
Trey and Paige must’ve noticed my stare because they turned that way as well.
Trey laughed as he turned back around. “Jesus, he’s not giving up, is he?”
“No,” I said, sliding my tray to the spot where Hunter normally sat. I leaned forward on my elbows. “He’s not.”
“Maybe you should tell him to back off,” Paige offered, a tremor in her voice.
“And why would I do that?”
I caught her looking to Trey in my peripheral vision, but she didn’t expand on what she meant.
Eden’s mouth moved, and she tucked her hair behind her ears. It was something I’d seen her do multiple times, usually when I was making her nervous. She didn’t look nervous at all right now. She looked relaxed… comfortable.
Hunter had that effect.
Leilani’s overbearing perfume entered my nostrils as she sat down beside me. She scooted my tray back my way and sat her own down in front of her. “It’s homecoming week!” She said, clapping her hands together. When I didn’t respond, her head turned to follow my gaze. A dramatic sigh rushed over her lips. “Hunter’s still trying to bone the band geek, huh?”
“What did you just say?” I rolled my neck to face Leilani, taking in the low-cut vee of her blouse with disgust. She didn’t have the tits to pull something like that off, and it was too cold to be wearing that shit. It was desperate, and it was annoying, and I wish she’d go the fuck away.
Her eyes widened, and she looked to Paige as if that would help her. As if Paige had her back.
“I think Hunter’s made it clear that we’re done messing with Eden Thompson, so you should watch the name calling. Might piss somebody off.”
“Name calling?” She huffed and waved her hand at me while looking at the others. Everyone else remained silent. “Is it name calling if it’s true?”
“There are many true things I could say about you, Leilani.”
A red haze covered the fake tan on her face, and her skinny jaw clenched. She whipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and stood, picking up her tray.
She stomped in the direction she came from, to the middle of the table where Jade and the other cheerleaders sat, but paused when I spoke to her back. “How was Friday night? Did you have a good time?”
The anger that had been simmering underneath my skin was trickling out of my pores, covering me like a bitter tasting blanket. It was hot, and my skin warmed from the top of my head to my toes. It was like I was on fire.
Leilani turned, her hip cocked out and her face taking on a forced relaxed look. “Don’t make a scene, Cam.”
Her eyes darted around, and she smiled nervously as if she was afraid of anyone seeing the tension I was placing between us.
My gaze shifted to Hunter and Eden, still chatting away.
Leilani wasn’t the cause of my anger. She was just an annoyance. But unfortunately, for her, I very much felt like making a scene.
I stood from my seat and looked her up and down, smirking as that mask of calm dissolved and she straightened, glancing around to make sure no one was looking at us.
“Friday night, Leilani. Did you have fun fucking my best friend in your parents’ hot tub? Yes or no?”
It took a few seconds, but the noise level in the cafeteria fell to an all-time low. Leilani’s face blanched.
Her eyes widened to globes, and she let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I glanced toward Eden and Hunter. I had both of their attention now, along with the rest of the cafeteria. Good. They both needed to hear this.
“You don’t remember fucking Hunter Friday night?” I laughed and waved at her as if she, herself, was the joke. “It’s okay, Leilani. Your promiscuity isn’t a secret.”
“Cam.” Trey stood and his eyes darted between me and Leilani.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I placed my hand over my heart to mock sincerity. “Promiscuity means she’s a hoe. Like, she fucks a bunch of different guys.”
Hunter stood and began making his way across the room, but I only allowed my eyes to stay on him a moment before returning to Leilani. Her lip quivered, but she jutted her chin in mock defiance. All those times she coughed ‘slut’ when Eden walked by. All those times she cackled along with others as she taunted her, and Eden never once shed a tear. I’d only wanted to ruin whatever bullshit Hunter was over there feeding Eden, but now I wanted to make Leilani cry.
She made it way too fucking easy.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, knitting my eyebrows together, as if confused. “Did I say something mean?”
“Fuck you, Cam.” The first tear fell onto her cheek, and she let her tray crash to the floor. She stepped around me and made a beeline for the door. It was so different from when I’d sent Eden out. She’d walked so much slower, her shoulders squared.
This was just pathetic.
“Let’s go.” Hunter grabbed my arm and nodded toward the door. I hadn’t even realized he’d made it to me. I shook out of his hold and roamed my gaze over the cafeteria, pausing when I got to Eden. Her face was set in a frown, but her eyes were the only pair that hadn’t looked away.
I turned to Hunter and nodded before following him out of the cafeteria. He stopped just outside and shoved me into the wall. “What the hell is the matter with you?”
My hands fisted at my sides, but when I looked up, the scar above his eyebrow stuck out to me. His veins were popping, and it always made the scar appear whiter. I’d given it to him in a sword fight we’d had with sticks when we were kids. He’d been my best friend my entire life.
I pumped my hands and forced myself to relax. “Leilani’s pissing me off.”
“Oh, Leilani’s pissing you off?” His narrowed eyes never softened, and he stepped up to grab my shirt collar. “Or I’m pissing you off? Just fucking admit it, Cam. You don’t want me around Eden.”
“Fine,” I gritted, shoving him off me. “I want you to back off.” I was panting as if I’d just sprinted a mile, and I ran my hands through my hair.
“Good, that’s progress. Now tell me why.”
I narrowed my eyes and started to walk away, but Hunter stepped in front and put his hand on my chest. “You want me to back off because you like her.” His eyebrows raised and his lips moved in an exaggerated manner as he enunciated his words.
I pushed his hand away. “If you know that, then why are you doing this?”
“Because you fucking need it. You’re hiding, Cam. You’re always hiding. Stop it. You’re my best friend, and I know you. I’ve got your back. If you like a girl, just fucking say so.”
I shook my head and broke eye contact, choosing instead to peer down the hall. “It’s not even like that.”
“What’s it like, then?”
“Just drop it.”
“No!” Hunter stepped toward the wall and slapped his palm against the brick. “Stop saying that. Stop doing this. You’ve been this way since we were kids, and I’m fucking sick of it.”
“You’re s
ick of it? What about you, Hunter? Do you tell me everything? Should we put on facemasks and gossip around a movie, would that make it better?”
He went silent, and the white of his scar caught my eye again. Every inch of his face was set in stone.
“You already know everything about me.”
He started walking away from me, and I took a deep breath before speaking to his back. “I like her. We’re not dating, I’m not lying to you about that… but I like her.”
He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “Good. Now go apologize to Leilani, and stop being an asshole.”
He continued down the hall, his strides noticeably more relaxed. I sighed and started walking the other direction, towards the girls’ bathroom. I had no idea where Leilani was, but that was my first guess.
Chapter Twenty
Eden
“Okay, but you’re not seriously going out with that guy, right?”
I flicked my gaze to Sebastian but continued out of the auditorium. Today, we got our music to start practicing for the Christmas concert, and it’d felt almost like a second chance. I’d beamed when Mr. Hines had handed it to me, and even now, I gripped my music folder in my hands as if it would fly away if I didn’t hold on tight enough. It was a great couple of hours, and Sebastian had to ruin it by bringing up Camden’s thing with Leilani in the cafeteria today… the very last thing I wanted to talk about.
“No, we’re not dating, but honestly, Sebastian, it’s my choice. I told you about him because we’re friends, and I trust and respect you, but please lay off.”
“Oh my God.” Sebastian stopped just before the door and dropped his violin case. Dropped it. Like it meant shit to him. My eyes widened as I stared at the case on the hard, linoleum floor of the backroom. “Stop being so stupid! He’s playing you. Fuck.” Sebastian raked his hands over his head, his hair too short for him to tousle it.
My arms pulled into my sides like I was trying to make myself smaller. I didn’t say anything, nor did I move. I’d never seen him like this.
“I’m sorry,” he said, letting out an awkward laugh and scratching his head. He stepped toward me only for me to take a step back. “Eden…”
“I’m not stupid.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“And this isn’t the way you support a friend. Maybe you’re right. Maybe he’s just playing me, but you don’t have to get so angry about it. If he is playing me, then I’m the one who gets hurt, not you.”
Another laugh, but this time it was bitter. “You’re the only one who gets hurt?”
I set my cello case to the floor and held my music to my chest, under my crossed arms. “I mean, I know you care for me, so I get that—”
“Do you know that I care for you?”
His mouth hung open, and his chest shook with ragged breathing. His eyes held hurt that, for the very first time, I recognized.
Oh, fuck.
“A-as a friend… yeah.”
“Eden, I like you as more than a friend, and I always have.” He stepped closer, and I had to tighten my muscles and will my legs not to carry me backward. Away from him. Away from this. Oh, please no. “I care about you. That guy doesn’t, and he’s never going to.”
“Sebastian, I—”
“I’m not finished.”
Now he was directly in front of me, close enough to touch. I held my breath to keep from inhaling his cheap cologne. His hands reached out and rested on my shoulders, his touch sending bugs crawling beneath my skin to make their way to my stomach and turn it. Is it possible for shoulders to feel nauseous?
“I get that Camden has money and popularity. I’m not stupid. I know why you’d choose him over me.” He shrugged, his hands on my shoulders readjusting and sending another round of discomfort through me. “But he’s going to fuck you over… so don’t let him.”
My mouth opened, but I didn’t know what to say. My first inclination was to defend Camden, but that seemed like the wrong thing to do. The sad thing was, Sebastian might not be wrong. Camden could very well screw me over, and the conversation—if you could call it that—with Leilani today sent up some obvious red flags.
But I couldn’t control who I liked.
“It has nothing to do with money or popularity… it’s just. We have chemistry. You and I have been friends for so long that—”
“That what? We don’t have any chemistry?” He yanked his hands from my shoulders and stepped back from me. “You know what, Eden? I should’ve listened to everyone and stayed away from you.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Yeah, I do.” He picked up his violin case but didn’t take his eyes off me as he backpedaled toward the exit. “They were right. You ask for it.”
Sebastian turned and pushed his way through the door, letting it slam behind him and causing me to flinch. A few other people had been standing on the other side of the room watching, and now they scurried through the door.
My eyes pooled, and I closed them, trying to dam the tears. It didn’t work. My lashes wetted and fat drops spilled from each eye. I swiped at them with the back of my hand and took a shaky breath.
I ask for it. He was referring to the hurtful things that’d been done to me, and probably the hurtful things to come as well. That’s what my friends thought. Not that I was noble or brave for sticking up to the jocks, just that I was stupid.
Stupid. Is that what I’d call a person like me, dating the guy who’d started it all? Blowing off the one who’d been there for me?
Yeah, I would. Or maybe I’d just call it pathetic.
I hadn’t heard any more footsteps enter the room, so when the door creaked, my eyes opened in surprise. I thought maybe it’d be Sebastian, but instead, it was Camden. Wiping the last of the tears from my eyes, I started his way. “What are you doing in here?” I asked, picking up my cello and keeping my head down in an attempt to hide the fact that I was upset.
Camden took my cello from my hand and glanced around. “I saw Flute Player leave looking all pissed off. Is it just you left?”
I followed his gaze around the empty room and nodded. There’d been enough time that everyone should’ve been off-stage by now. “Why?”
He set the cello down and grabbed me by my waist, tugging me toward him. “No reason.”
His lips crashed into mine, and one hand threaded through my hair while the other squeezed my hip bone. I broke the kiss and gasped. “W-what are you doing?” I asked, my eyes darting around the empty room in case anyone had come in.
“Look at me.”
I snapped my gaze to his wide eyes, and instead of shrinking back, I stood taller.
His hand left my hip and he pointed a finger toward the door. “Fuck that guy, Eden. I don’t know what he said, but fuck him.”
“He said I was stupid for liking you,” I blurted out. “And that all my friends think I’m stupid, too.”
“Yeah, and they did the same thing to Paige. You have really shitty friends, so maybe it’s time to just let ‘em go?”
I didn’t say anything for a few moments as the weight of his words crashed down on me. Paige. They hadn’t done the same thing to her, we had. I’d treated her like she was a moron for wanting to go out with Trey, and the entire time I’d looked at the jocks in disgust, questioning their loyalty to one another. Never could I have seen coming that my group of friends were the ones who had no loyalty. Holy shit. Camden was right.
“What about your friends? What about what you did to Leilani today?” My tone was clipped and defensive, and deep down I knew why. I wanted him to be the one to have shitty friends instead of me.
“That was me being an asshole. I saw you with Hunter, and I got jealous.” He shrugged. “Took it out on Leilani… but she’s fine. I apologized.”
“Oh, right, because everything just goes away when you apologize.”
I pulled away from him and tried to step toward the door, but he blocked my path. “What is that supposed to mean?”<
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“It means,” I sighed. “When you insinuate that girls are sluts to the entire school, it’s humiliating. Trust me, I would know.”
“So I won’t do that again.” I took another step, and once again, he blocked it. “Are we okay?”
His head tilted as he stared at me, looking for something. Or maybe waiting for something. I’d kept it buried in the back of my mind all day, having no intention of bringing it up. What was in Camden’s past was none of my business, and if he wasn’t ready to tell his friends about me, then I’d respect that. I’d seen the way he’d avoided my gaze this morning, and then in English he hadn’t stopped by my desk. I got the message, but I’d thought it wasn’t anything to worry about. Not until he gave me a reason to worry.
I sighed and brought my hair over one shoulder. I’d worn it down since he’d told me how much he liked it, but now I felt stupid for it. Played.
“Are you seeing Leilani?”
“What?” His head jerked back like he was surprised by the question. “No. I told you, I was jealous of seeing you with Hunter. That’s it.”
“So there’s nothing between you two then? You haven’t slept together?”
His mouth hung open and he paused before speaking. “I mean, not recently.”
“What’s recently?”
No response.
“Have you slept together in the last month?”
“Eden…”
“The last week?” A lump formed in my throat, cracking my voice on the last word. I swallowed it and stood straighter. My chest was aching, but why? We weren’t dating. He’d made that clear.
“No, not since you and I… No. She’s just a friend.”
“What about the line lady?”
He threw his head back and sighed.
“Yeah, I heard Hunter in the cafeteria today.”
“It’s been about a month for that too.”
“Right.” I took a deep breath and readied myself for his next response. “I know that you’re much more… active than I am, but I need to know if this is exclusive. Because if it’s not, I don’t think I want—”