Chapter 14 #2
Milow’s hand slipped out of mine immediately. The loss of her touch felt like a sharp knife going straight through my heart. The hairs along the back of my neck stood up, and that awful mix of being caught and being irritated settled deep inside of me.
I turned my head and found Hailie standing far too close. Aspen hovered right behind her. Both of them were in Milow’s grade. I knew they shared classes. I also knew exactly how obnoxious they were.
“Um, hey.”
“Cool party, huh? I totally needed to come,” Hailie said, smiling too widely. Her two front teeth were too big for her face. “Aspen heard from Leah, who heard from Molly that there was a party tonight, so we just had to show up.”
I raised a brow without meaning to. Leah and Molly were in my grade. Scottie actually liked them. I was sure they’d been invited. Hailie and Aspen, though? Definitely not Scottie’s friends.
“We’ve totally missed parties,” Hailie went on. “I was in Italy with my family all summer, and Aspen was in Florida, so we didn’t see anyone from school. It was sooo boring.”
I didn’t care. Not even a little. Still, I wasn’t a jerk. I didn’t want to be rude. I pulled my mouth into a tight smile and nodded once. “Cool.”
“Totally cool,” Aspen echoed, her voice high-pitched and practiced.
They both stared up at me with those expectant looks. Their blonde hair was straight, and it looked—and smelled—burned. Their makeup was layered on thick. They used way more than any seventeen-year-old needed. But that wasn’t my business.
I shifted my weight, angling my body just enough to check on Milow. I needed to see her. To know she was still right there. She was watching the beer pong table, her face calm, focused elsewhere. But I knew better. She was listening in on this one-sided conversation.
I wanted to reach back for her hand. To slip my fingers into hers again and disappear into that quiet, hidden space we’d created just moments before. I wanted that calm back, but I didn’t dare.
It was too risky.
“So, Ashby…” Hailie said, tilting her head and pursing her glossy pink lips. “Aspen and I were thinking.”
“We were totally thinking,” Aspen added quickly.
“We were thinking that maybe the four of us could go on a double date?” Hailie said, her tone light, as if this were the most natural idea in the world.
I furrowed my brows. Four of us, who? They definitely didn’t mean Milow…
“Us two, you, and Stan,” Aspen clarified, her eyes lighting up when she said Stan’s name.
Oh.
“Uh, I don’t really—”
“Go on dates, ugh, we know,” Hailie interrupted, rolling her eyes. Then she grabbed my forearm with both hands and gave it a playful tug that felt wrong. And too aggressive. “But we think you need to take time off sometimes and actually have fun. You’re always at swim practice.”
How she even knew that, I had no idea. Sure, people talked. I was good at what I did. But it still annoyed me that she spoke as if she knew me.
“And since you and Stan hang out all the time anyway,” Aspen continued, “and Hailie and I are always together, we figured it’d be easy. Just all of us hanging out.”
I looked at Aspen. Then back at Hailie. My jaw tightened.
I hated this. I hated it so much that it made my head feel hot. I wanted to tell them to fuck off. Plain and simple. The words were right there on my tongue, and I was just about to let them loose when Scottie stepped in front of me.
Hailie finally let go of my arm.
“Why are you here?” Scottie asked. Her voice was flat.
Hailie sighed dramatically and crossed her arms over her far too exposed chest. Not that I was looking. It was just impossible not to notice. Her boobs were pushed up to her chin in an unnatural way.
“We got invited.”
“By whom?”
Hailie didn’t have a straight answer to that, so she stayed quiet, her mouth opening and closing like she might invent one if given enough time.
“We’re here now anyway. You can’t kick us out,” Aspen said, confidence spilling out of her as if she’d never been told no before, which was probably the case.
I didn’t see Scottie’s face, but I could hear it in her voice. She was amused but had already had enough of this conversation. “Right. Actually? I can. This is my house. Besides, you’re juniors. This party is for seniors.”
Hailie’s frown deepened. “Then what is the mute doing here?”
Something in me snapped immediately.
I stepped around Scottie without thinking, putting myself fully in front of Milow, and blocking their line of sight. My body knew what to do before my brain caught up. I’d protect Milow. Always, and with no hesitation.
“All right,” I said, trying to keep my voice low. “You weren’t invited. You should leave.”
“But that’s not fair,” Hailie shot back, pointing past me like Milow was an object she could argue over. “If she’s here, we can be here too. We’re enjoying the party more than she is anyway. No one even understands her.”
Milow’s fingers brushed the back of my shirt, and my body tensed so much I was ready to explode. But I kept it together for Milow’s sake.
Scottie stepped forward again, this time fully beside me. “You’re done,” she said. There was no humor in her voice now. Just pure authority and a hint of anger. “Leave my house. I’m not asking.”
Aspen scoffed. “Wow. Okay. Power trip much?”
“Yes,” Scottie said calmly. “My house. My rules. Out.”
They stood there for a second longer, clearly hoping someone would back them up. But no one did. People had started to watch it all go down, and I needed this to be over before things got worse.
Hailie huffed and turned on her heel. “Whatever. This party sucks anyway.”
“Yeah,” Aspen muttered, following her. “So lame.”
They disappeared back through the house, flicking a few cups off the tables on their way out.
I sucked in a deep breath and shook my head, turning back to Milow just as Stan showed up at my side. His brows were drawn together. “What just happened? They looked like someone murdered their egos.”
“They were being rude,” I said flatly.
“As usual,” Scottie murmured, then added, “And, apparently, they have the hots for you two.”
“Us?” Stan repeated.
I gave a short nod, then shook my head again because I hated even thinking about ever letting those two girls close.
Stan blinked once, then his face twisted as if he’d just put something awful in his mouth. “Ew. Them? Never. The only two girls I’d ever go out with are Scottie and Milow.”
I looked at Milow then. Her cheeks flushed just a little, a soft pink that reached her ears.
It was subtle, but I saw it. I always did.
Always noticed the smallest things about her.
I smiled at her and shoved my hands deep into my pockets, forcing myself to keep them there instead of reaching for her like every instinct told me to. I leaned closer anyway. “You okay?”
She nodded right away and lifted one hand. [Witches.]
A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it. “Yeah. They are.”
And she really was okay. That was the thing.
She always was. Shit like that didn’t cling to her the way it clung to me.
I carried those moments around, stored them deep inside of me, and let them linger.
When people talked badly about Milow, I held on to it because there would always be opportunities to hold it against them if they ever tried to switch up on her.
I was resentful, but she wasn’t. She never held onto it.
She let it pass, like it wasn’t worth the space in her head.
It was fascinating seeing how she always chose calm over bitterness, and that quiet kindness of hers was exactly what made me so proud of her.