Morgan and I stop by our table to drop our things. I greet Luke, who’s already seated and getting a head start on his project. We were assigned the same table at the beginning of the year. Bianca Reed’s supposed to fill seat number four, but she’s never here. The girl ditches this class almost as much as she hooks up and gets her heart bulldozered by Haze.
My art teacher tells us we’re continuing last week’s project, but the class doesn’t pay him much mind. We’ve been at this for a month. Word trees is what we call it. Consists of painting trees, finding words that resonate with us, and gluing them on where leaves should be. I don’t speak art, obviously, but I do speak honesty and the truth is that mine looks like shit.
Morgan and I stroll to the front of the class to collect our projects off the teacher’s desk. Morgan is quick to shuffle through the pile, find her tree, and saunter back to her seat.
By the time I manage to push my way through the students, there are only a few projects left. I grab my piece-of-crap project, intending to walk away, but the tree beneath mine roots me in place.
It’s not exceptionally beautiful. In fact, it almost looks… dead? No, what really stands out is the message it holds. The pain radiating from it. My eyes sweep over the words cut out from magazine pages and clumsily glued on.
What if,
Forgive,
Never,
Damn, this guy’s life does not sound easy.
“Enjoying my talents?”
I jerk in surprise and whip around, expecting to find one of the loners of the class staring back at me, but the person I see instead… is the well-liked guy who always wears a smile.
Will.
I forgot I shared this class with him.
I blink at him. “Wait, that’s yours?”
Only then do I realize I’m holding his project. Picked it up for a better look. He must think I’m a weirdo.
He arches an eyebrow. “Might be. Why? That so hard to believe?”
“It’s just so…”
Sad.
“I know. Picasso ain’t got shit on me,” he teases, swiping his project out of my hands and setting off for his table.
Except that his table isn’t his.
It’s mine.
Morgan’s just as confused as I am when Will plops down in Bianca’s seat without a care. I follow, sitting across from him. He notices our perplexed expressions and huffs a laugh.
“Teacher didn’t tell you? I’m a ‘nuisance’ when I sit with Alex. I’m at your table now. Surprise.”
Morgan and I exchange sideways looks.
“What’s wrong, control freak?” His eyes lift to mine. “Are you not happy to see me?”
My cheeks heat up on cue.
What the fuck, Kass?
“About damn time they sent another guy here,” Luke says, and he and Will start up a conversation.
My mind returns to his tree.
I would’ve expected his words to be downright stupid. I mean, that’s Will, the guy who once got so drunk at my brother’s birthday he sang “Hello” by Adele to every guest he saw for three hours straight. He’s the guy initiating “how many hot Cheetos can I put into my mouth without puking” competitions with my brother.
Will is not a tortured soul.
Or deep.
Will is Will, end of story.
Kicking unwelcomed thoughts out of my brain, I focus on my own tree. I swear the harder I try, the uglier it gets.
“Did you get an interview yet?” Morgan asks ten minutes in.
I sigh. “None. And my car’s getting worse. I almost gave a granny a heart attack this morning.”
Morgan chortles. “You’ll find a job. Stop stressing.”
Luke’s head jerks up.
“Sorry. Did you just say you were looking for a job?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “But every business in the world is conspiring against me, apparently.”
He laughs. “Your timing is insane. My aunt owns a pet store downtown, and she’s kind of desperate.”
At first, I’m ecstatic.
Until…
“Got any experience in retail?”
There it is.
“Not really,” I reluctantly admit. “But I want to learn.”
“She’s looking for someone with a bit of experience, but I think she’d be willing to meet with you. Since you’re a friend and all. It’s worth a shot. What do you say?”
I rejoice. “Are you kidding? I’d love that.”
“Great. I’m supposed to see her at family dinner tonight. I’ll talk to her and text you about an interview?”
“That sounds great.” I can barely contain myself.
“Shit.” Luke realizes something. “I can’t text you. You should give me your number.”
“Oh, right. Give me your phone.”
He slides it over to me so I can add my number into his contacts.
“Thanks, Luke. That means a lot.” I hand it back to him.
“Anytime.” He smiles and rises off his stool, retreating to the front of the class to ask the teacher a question.
As soon as he’s out of range, Will scoffs.
“I can’t text you. Give me your number. Seriously? You didn’t catch that? Come on, control freak, oldest trick in the book.”
I frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He looks baffled by my stupidity. “Come on, it’s so obvious the dude’s into you.”
“What? You’re crazy. He’s just being nice.”
Could it be?
Could Luke like me?
I mean, he’s definitely good-looking, but… is he my type? Is any guy my type after what happened with Blake?
“A little help here?” Will begs Morgan.
I turn to my best friend, a confident grin smacked across my face, but the backup I anticipated never comes.
She caves. “Well, it’s not not true.”
“Really, Morg? You too?” I wince.
“It’s just… he’s always so nice to you. Smiling at you in the halls, sparking conversations. I’ve always thought there might be something there.”
Traitor.
“See? Even your friend agrees.” Will gestures to Morgan. “You should give him a chance. He could loosen you up a bit.”
“Excuse me?” I’m offended.
“You know… make you less controlling.”
“I’m not controlling!”
Will wrestles a smile but doesn’t argue, reaching for the glue stick sitting in the center of the table to re-attach a word that keeps falling off his tree.
I can’t help myself.
“Don’t. Use the hot glue. Works a lot better.”
He stops moving, sharp blue eyes finding mine. It takes me a solid second to realize what I just did.
“See?” he smirks. “Controlling.”
“Shut up,” I grumble.
Butthurt, I keep to myself for the rest of the class. Will reports for duty as designated clown and takes it upon himself to make Morgan and Luke laugh until the bell rings. And I don’t mean a “small chuckle”—I mean “I’m choking. Someone help.”
As for me, I’m just wondering how I could be so dumb to think for a single second that we could ever get along.
I take it back…
William Martins and I are never going be friends.
Kassidy
“Thanks for coming in, Kassidy. We’ll call you.” Jenny, Luke’s aunt’s employee, holds out her hand to me, which I shake clumsily. She isn’t much older than me, a few years at most. Shaking hands with someone your age will never not be weird.
Once I’ve said my goodbyes, I exit the pet store, squealing to myself. It’s been a while since Luke offered to get me an interview, and I was so eager for an update, I ended up asking his friend for his number so I could text him first.
Control freak. Will’s mocking voice pops into my head.
Shut up, brain.
Luke and I have been texting here and there. We’ve barely scrat
ched the surface, going from hello, to how are you, to what are you doing. It’s not flirting, but it’s something. I’m starting to think Will might be right about Luke liking me. I’m just not ready to ask myself if I like him.
A quick drive later, I’m unlocking the front door to my house and groaning at my stomach’s cry for help. I’m starving—haven’t eaten all day. I was too nervous for my interview.
Absentmindedly, I pour myself some cereal and hop on one of the stools surrounding the kitchen island. My phone screen lights up with a new message ten minutes later.
It’s Luke.
Luke: How’d it go?
Kass: Good, I think? Thanks again.
Luke: Don’t worry about it. Hey, you going to the party tonight?
There’s a party tonight?
Kass: What party?
Luke: At Bianca’s.
My cousin ambles inside the house before I can reply. All smiles, she waves at me. I’m glad she’s in a good mood. I know being the new kid hasn’t been easy on her. Especially the part where she got branded as “the girl who called out Haze Adams” in her first five minutes at Riverside.
“Hey, stranger. What are you so happy about?” I say and finish my cereal.
“That obvious, huh?” Her smile widens.
“As obvious as an elephant in yoga class.” I laugh, pushing to my feet and dropping my bowl in the sink. “Come on, spill the beans.”
“Fine,” she gives in. “I’m going to a party tonight. Who knows? I might meet people who see more when they look at me than the girl who looked Haze Adams in the eyes.” She snorts, recalling her ridiculous first day.
I find a bit of irony in her desperation to forget about the Haze fiasco. She’s nowhere near done with him. I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt. I accidentally overheard a conversation between her and Kendrick last week. Okay, fine, I snuck downstairs specifically to listen—tomayto, tomahto.
They were arguing, not giving a single fuck as to who could hear. They’re lucky my mom agreed to cover her nurse friend’s night shift and wasn’t home to witness their shitshow.
I found out Winter followed Kendrick, Will, Blake, and Alex to some meeting with Haze. Let me tell you, in that moment, I facepalmed myself so hard I almost gave myself a concussion.
They caught her spying, and from there, all hell broke loose. From what I could gather, her presence pushed Haze to make some sort of deal with my brother regarding their next fight.
I hurried back upstairs midconversation, but I did hear one of them say Haze insisted the prize be Winter. Whatever it is, it can’t possibly end well. She’s been hanging out with the guys at school since. Probably to keep Haze at bay.
“Someone invited you to Bianca’s party?”
“Yeah. Blake.” She nods.
Did she just say Blake?
As in my ex who dumped me over text two weeks ago Blake?
My face must give me away because Winter asks, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I didn’t know you were that close with Kendrick’s friends, that’s all.”
She steps forward. “Kass. Seriously, what is it? Did I do something?”
“No, of course not.” I refuse her eye contact. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Kass?” She raises an eyebrow.
She’s not going to let this go, is she?
“I didn’t think he’d move on so fast,” I admit.
“Wait, what?” She frowns. “Who are you talking about?”
I can’t bring myself to resume, unsure if carrying down this path is a good idea. This has been a secret for so long.
Oh, to hell with it.
She would’ve found out eventually.
Collecting every drop of courage in my body, I exhale. “Blake. I’m talking about Blake.”
Confusion twists her features.
Right. She thinks I was dating Alex.
They all do.
Cornered, I tell her all about our stunt to date in secret, starting with how we got Alex to cover for us with Kendrick. She doesn’t speak for a short while, swallowing this massive pill the best she can.
Finally, she says, “What happened? Why did it end?”
“Alex said he was done lying. That we could either break up or tell Kendrick. And, well, Blake chose option number one. He refused to give me a solid reason. He said we should go our separate ways, and he sure didn’t seem to feel guilty about lying to his best friend for six months.”
“How long has it been since he ended things?”
The reminder cuts me open. Why am I this bothered? I was thinking of ending things myself, but I still can’t get over the way he treated me. No consideration, not a sliver of respect. To think I gave him my first… well, everything.
“Two weeks,” I croak.
She traps my hand into hers, sympathy clear on her face.
“Well, you know what? You’re coming with me tonight.”
I almost laugh. She has got to be kidding.
“What?”
“‘You heard me. We’re going to that party together, having fun, and showing this guy what he lost.”
Standing in front of the mirror, I debate on whether going to this party is a regular mistake… or a colossal mistake—did I mention I think this is a mistake? I’d gladly skip this cheap-beer party, but I can’t deny Winter worked wonders on me. A quick reminder that, although my cousin doesn’t bother with makeup most of the time, the girl knows her shit.
I give myself a slow, head-to-toe scan. My long blonde hair trickles down my back, the winged eyeliner Winter insisted I wear making my gray-blue eyes pop. This push-up bra is also doing my girls a big favor and my outfit molds my body in all the right places—not that my leggings have much to work with; I’m a rather petite girl.
Freshman year, some dick from the football team told me I’d be prettier with tits and an ass. I called him an idiot and went on with my day, but… it stayed with me. Crazy how one comment can turn something we’d never noticed before into a long-lasting insecurity. From that day forward, I promised myself I’d never comment on somebody else’s appearance again.
“You ready?” Winter smiles.
Hesitant, I nod, matching my cousin’s footsteps out of the house. Blake’s car is waiting out front. Not exactly my first-choice ride, I’ll admit, but it’ll have to do. Will and Kendrick are also hitching a ride. As long as I’m not alone with Blake, I’ll live.
Winter and I scramble into the back seat with my brother. Blake seems a bit startled by my presence but doesn’t comment, firing up the car. As for Will, he’s sitting in the passenger seat, feet up on the dash without a fuck given. He’s laughing at something the guys said when he sees us… Sees me. He stops dead, his eyebrows shooting up to his forehead.
My stomach sinks.
Shit, did I go overboard?
I knew the eyeliner was too much.
He’s quick to tear his gaze away, but not without sneaking a second peek through the rearview mirror. We make eye contact. You’d think he’d be embarrassed, seeing as he just got caught staring at me, but his confidence doesn’t waver one bit.
Instead, he smirks.
I can practically hear him thinking, “Hey, control freak.”
Flushed—why am I flushed?—I divert my focus to the window, fidgeting with my clothes. I can’t help wincing at the memories clinging to the car’s leather seats. This car is where Blake first asked me to be his girlfriend.
Where we first kissed.
As if being in my ex-boyfriend’s car isn’t bad enough, Blake keeps mentally undressing my cousin. He’s being so obvious Winter picks up on it right away, her shoulders shrinking in discomfort at every red light. When Blake’s eyes find the mirror for the fifth time in a row, a twinge of pain shoots across me.
At least I got my answer.
This was a colossal mistake.
Reclining against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest, I watch Zoey down her rum and Coke like it’s a chugging co
ntest. A few hours into the party, I asked her if she thought I was a control freak—guess Will got under my skin with his stupid nickname—which resulted in her asking me why I wanted to know, which led to me telling her all about Will’s newfound passion: annoying me.
“Well, he can call me a control freak any day,” she blurts out, fanning herself with her right hand. I wince, tracking her gaze to Will and Alex destroying a jock at beer pong across the room.
“Jesus, Zoey. Could you be any louder?” I hiss.
“I’m sure he could make you louder.” She winks theatrically.
I stifle a chuckle.
“You’re going to hell, girl, you know that?”
“Can’t wait,” she squeals. “So, how’s that rebound going?”
“What rebound?” I try a sip of my drink and shiver in disgust. This rum and Coke is 98 percent rum, 2 percent Coke at best.
“Don’t play dumb. Blake was drooling all over your cousin when you got here. Only one thing left to do. Hottie Blondie’s right there for the taking,” she teases.
I cringe. God, even Zoey noticed? How heartless can Blake possibly be? With my own cousin? We just broke up.
I’m not saying I want him to die, but I would probably clap if he did.
“He has a name, you know? It’s Will.”
“Will as in… Will you take him home tonight?”
I can’t suppress a grin.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“So I’ve been told.” She gulps down her drink. “Oh, well, if you’re not down for a rebound, I am. Mama needs her sugar.” She begins to wander off, glancing back at me over her shoulder. “I’m keeping my hands off Hottie Blondie for now because he’s the perfect revenge fuck for you, but my offer might expire soon. Just saying.”
She’s gone before I can blink. That’s her thing. Leaving me alone at a party and only popping back up when we’re leaving. Bad friend move, I know. But I couldn’t be mad at her if I tried. I’ve known Zoey since I was four. She means nothing by it. I don’t even think she’s aware that she’s ditching me. That’s just who she is.
I reflect on her rebound obsession. Who decided it’d be a good idea to invite their heartbroken friend to a party? This dumbass. Technically, I didn’t have to invite her because the whole school knows about Bianca’s party, but she only decided to go when I texted her I’d be there.
Forgotten Rules: A Brother's Best Friend Romance Page 4