Chapter 22 #3
“Poppy, quiet down,” I whispered when I noticed Brian enter near us.
“June was the only one not to judge me,” Poppy insisted.
Ari looked at me furtively and suddenly seemed to find her words.
“June, did you know about Poppy?”
“Yeah, but I think Poppy’s right, there’s no point in you criticizing her when you—”
“I can’t believe this! She’s the one who told Taylor! You knew about me, too, didn’t you?”
“What do I have to do with it?”
Voices were being raised quickly, and the people’s eyes were starting to turn toward us.
“You knew about me too? Tell me the truth, did he tell you?” They were both staring at me.
And if the music was a few decibels lower, Amelia would’ve heard everything. At that point, she would’ve blown up. Sure, finding out your best friend was cheating on your brother for over a year with your worst enemy wouldn’t be pleasant.
“Listen.” I stood up, like I wanted to get distance from the situation. “If you guys avoided sleeping with the same guy it would be easier to be honest with each other, don’t you think?”
They all looked at me, so I continued.
“James isn’t the only guy in the world. Why can’t you be with someone who makes you feel special instead of someone who . . . who . . .”
I didn’t know how to continue anymore. Maybe Will was right about the full moon.
“Is this a birthday party or a funeral?” I recognized that warbling voice right away.
Taylor was exactly who we needed to make the evening complete.
“Should we go to your room?”
Taylor was wearing a pastel-pink outfit and pushed a big bottle of champagne in front of Poppy’s face.
“Let’s play a game. This is so boring here.”
“Sure. Too many fake people here.”
Surprisingly, Poppy listened to Taylor, got up and went to get some of our classmates.
Was it time for me to go home? Yes, it absolutely was.
I let the girls disperse and went to the kitchen, where Will was drinking a juice with James. Jackson peered out the door.
“You eat breakfast at ten at night, James?”
“I’m hungry, and the cupcakes are gone. Where the fuck were you, Jax?” retorted James, staring at his friend from head to toe.
“I was here.”
“I didn’t see you. Where’s here?”
Jackson gulped nervously. “Here. There are other cookies. And chill,” he spat, opening a new packet to give James.
“Oh. Look who’s here,” whispered William when Taylor appeared in the kitchen.
“I’m seeing red,” she declared.
“The moon’s hit everyone except me tonight,” Will said, laughing.
“Sure! You’re loony year-round, you can take a day off, Cooper!”
Will put on a fake pout, but Taylor ignored it because she had another victim in mind.
“Do you understand? I said I’m pissed. At you.” James wasn’t perturbed in the least.
“Really?”
“You disgust me.” She attacked him.
“Okay.”
“You were supposed to come over yesterday.”
“Okay.”
“James!”
“How many times have I told you, don’t piss me off?”
“James, do you understand, or not?”
She whispered something, and James’s initially amused expression changed.
“My dad thought of you right away.” I saw him put down the glass of milk.
“Did he notice?”
“Yeah. And since there’s security footage that shows nobody came in other than the family and Tiffany, you and the maid are the only two who remain.”
“Well, maybe the old lady is a klepto,” he said, shrugging.
“Don’t be a smartass because there’s nothing to laugh at. My dad’s also mad because he saw that I snuck you in. Now he’s saying I won’t be able to go to Mexico!”
“What a shame,” commented Jackson, and William chuckled.
“Sorry, why?” James was serious.
“Because the first thing he did was check that nothing was missing in the cellar.”
“And?”
“What do you think? He thinks it was you because the maid would never steal a—”
“I didn’t steal it. You gave it to me,” interrupted James firmly.
“What are they talking about?” I whispered to Will, who was carefully following the conversation.
“Something Austin has. It looks like we’re in deep shit. Deeper than we thought.”
“Wanna come up?” asked Poppy, appearing at the doorway holding a tray of shots.
“I better get—”
William gave me a peck on the lips, interrupting me.
“Stay a little longer. We’ll have fun.”
I decided to listen to him, so we went up to Poppy’s room with a pair of other guys.
“Why is everyone all freaked out?” asked Marvin all of a sudden. Will didn’t even bother answering him.
I noticed Ari and another girl sitting at the edge of the bed while the rest of the guests were sitting on the floor.
“Full moon,” answered Poppy, who was weirdly quiet.
“Good. Then what better night than tonight,” exclaimed Taylor, followed by James. “Sit down. We’re gonna play a game.”
The way that witch pronounced game gave me goose bumps.
Taylor’s sharp eyes followed James as he sat down on the windowsill holding the packet of cookies.
“What do you have in mind?” he asked her.
He was still shirtless, and I wondered how he never felt awkward and never got cold.
“Nobody invited you, Jamie,” she snapped.
“I’m not playing anyway, but it’ll be fun to watch you.”
I stood by William, who put his arm around me.
“Marvin, did you take the glasses?”
He nodded at her.
“Okay, instead of the usual truth or dare, we could play the classic never have I ever. Revisited.”
A chorus of disappointed groans followed.
“We tell a secret that we know and see if the person in question has the guts to come forward. You’ll basically only have to drink if you wind up being the person mentioned.”
“Like?” A guy asked for clarity.
“Like if I say, I have an embarrassing hair color, Poppy has to drink. Simple, isn’t it?”
What a bitch.
“That’s not true; she’s just jealous. Your hair is beautiful,” whispered Marvin, putting a smile on Poppy’s face.
“Great idea, Taylor, so you can bully half the school in one night,” I exclaimed indignantly.
Nobody said a word.
“Oh, poor Snow White, I bet that behind that puritanical face you’re the one who has the most secrets of all of us. Are you afraid of getting found out?”
“No,” I snarled in a huff.
At that point Blaze and Brian came in too.
“What’s going on?” asked Brian.
“Please be seated because now we’re gonna have fun,” answered Taylor, with a diabolical sneer. She tied her honey-colored hair in a ponytail then said the first truth.
“I had my first kiss this year.”
Obviously everyone burst out laughing at the absurdity of that statement.
“I didn’t know we had to make jokes. Is this a serious game or what?” asked Marvin, unaware of who the jab was directed at.
And of course nobody was drinking. Damn it, everyone was looking at me.
“Liars can’t participate. You need to drink, not lie.” Taylor’s insinuation was clear. She pounced on me, like she wanted to intensify her cruel gaze at me.
“June, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Poppy consoled me.
“What, is redneck Barbie embarrassed?” asked Taylor defiantly.
“I’m not embarrassed of who I am,” I retorted.
I didn’t care at all about their judgments or the fool I could’ve made of myself. I grabbed the glass in front of me and took a sip while I heard some giggles and squeals of approval.
“My turn,” said James.
“Doesn’t count! You aren’t participating,” complained Taylor.
“I made out with my best friend this year, in fact, I literally banged her.”
Taylor looked at him, shocked.
“I’ll drink if in doubt. You, Taylor?” he sneered.
James’s provocation caused a buzz in the background. All of them looked at Tiffany, who threw back the little glass in one gulp.
Some guys giggled, and Taylor got even more hateful.
“Tiff! What the fuck!” she rebuked when she saw her friend take more shots.
“What is it? I have to tell the truth, right?” the brunet retorted innocently. I wanted to whisper a thank-you to James because he just made Taylor pay for humiliating me, but I stayed quiet. He shrugged and went back to eating in his corner, like he was unscathed.
“Well, since we’re talking about truth or dare, Jamie, let’s start telling the truth,” Taylor burst out scowling.
I trembled.
“I’m so spoiled, pathetic, and such a cheater that I’d even bang my best friend’s girl.”
Most people didn’t get the joke.
But one person definitely got it, and that was Will. His jaw dropped slightly while his eyes were glued to James’s figure as he kept eating cookies. James shot Taylor a quick look, then he took a big sip of milk, completely ignoring William’s dirty look.
I didn’t have the courage to look at Will, who bowed his head right after.
“Everyone at school hates me because I’m the biggest bitch in school.”
The hesitant voice came from Ari, and in a second all eyes were on her.
Taylor burst out laughing at the unexpected insult. It seemed like Ari had just served it to her on a silver platter.
The blond drank first then sharpened her claws.
“I’m a two-faced little liar, a big . . . the synonym of . . . oh yeah! I’m easy and have loose morals. Guess who I am, but that was too easy, right, Ari?”
Brian stood up and headed to the door. I felt bad for him. He still looked like he was in love with her. He didn’t deserve this.
“Loose morals? Is that what you’re saying?” Tiffany burst out laughing.
“You don’t have much to laugh at. I love you, but you’re the first one who should be drinking,” remarked Taylor, looking at her best friend. “And you two too.” She pointed at Poppy and Amelia, who didn’t move a muscle.
“Nobody’s gonna drink if you keep acting like a bitch, you know that, right? And most of all, it’s not fun,” slurred James before biting another cookie.
Ari obviously didn’t let her win. She didn’t drink despite the insults. Her eyes got teary, and even though she’d cheated on Brian, I was sad to see her like this. She was about to break down in front of everyone.
“I’m a sadist, and I only have fun when I see people suffer.” Will’s voice thundered throughout the room, which fell silent. Did he seriously come to Ari’s defense?