Chapter 2
The after-party was well and truly underway by the time Wes and I arrived.
It was in the same clearing in the woods where Luther had held his last party, and tonight there were huge white lanterns strung between the trees that surrounded the wide-open space, and a live band was blasting out a tune on the other side of the dancing crowd.
Most of the students had changed out of their formal wear, but Wes and I were still dressed in our outfits from the ball.
Wes was in his shiny black tuxedo, and I was in my flowing white dress.
I hesitated at the edge of the clearing as I watched everyone dancing and having fun.
I didn’t know if I could pretend I was okay when I so clearly was not.
It felt like everyone here would be able to see my heartbreak as plainly as if it were written in permanent marker across my face.
Wes gave my hand a tight squeeze. “Let’s go get some drinks.”
“Uh, sure.” I still wasn’t certain if I wanted to stay at the party, but if I was, a little liquid courage was probably going to be necessary.
His hand dropped from mine as he started into the party, but I didn’t move to follow him right away.
Instead, I paused as I watched him disappear into the crowd.
The small amount of confidence I’d had in my reasons for coming here was slipping away.
I’d thought it might offer a brief distraction and maybe I’d be able to talk to Noah and ask him why all this had happened.
The latter was enough to make me shrink back into the safety of the trees.
Now that I was here, Noah was the last person I wanted to see.
I lurched forward as someone knocked their shoulder into mine, and I stumbled as I tried to stay on my feet. Thankfully, I managed to avoid falling to the ground and making my dress any dirtier than it already was.
“Oops, I didn’t see you there, Charity.” I recognized Veronica’s high-pitched voice immediately. Her words were met with cackling laughter from her friends. “Although, I guess we can’t call you that now we know you’re actually Isobel LaFleur.”
How did she know already? Maybe she’d seen us dancing together. If Matthew was as well-known as Wes had suggested, our dance might have been enough to alert the entire school.
As I righted myself, I turned to face Veronica.
The scrap of clothing she was wearing was barely long enough to cover her underwear.
She had to be freezing. Not many girls would have been brave enough to wear a dress like that, but she had the build of a model and could pretty much wear anything.
Even now I could see several guys drooling as they watched her.
It didn’t matter how hot she was though; her looks could never wipe away the viciousness that was always present in her eyes.
They were a little hazy tonight. Probably from one too many drinks.
“Imagine my shock when your father introduced himself to my parents tonight and I overheard him talking about you,” she continued.
“But don’t think that changes anything. Just because your daddy happens to have money doesn’t mean you’re one of us.
Once a charity case, always a charity case.
We all know you don’t belong in this school. ”
It was hard to argue with that. Ever since I’d arrived at Weybridge Academy, I’d felt out of place.
I’d never be one of them, and I didn’t want to be.
Certainly not if it meant becoming anything like Veronica.
It seemed Wes had underestimated her. Finding out who my father was hadn’t dampened her vendetta against me. It seemed to have reignited it.
“This only serves to prove what a fraud you really are,” she continued. “First you lie about your mother because you’re embarrassed by her. Next you lie about your father.”
She lifted her hand and tapped her fingers on her cheek, an exaggerated look of thoughtfulness covering her face.
“But why would you lie about such a thing?” she wondered out loud.
“Perhaps you were trying to keep Noah from finding out. Understandable, given the history between your two families. Still, I don’t think he’ll be very happy to hear he was being manipulated again. ”
My breath caught in my throat. Was Veronica talking about the feud Noah had mentioned?
What did she know about it all? I felt the desperate urge to ask her, but Veronica was the last person I wanted answers from, and I refused to admit my ignorance to her.
Instead, I gritted my teeth. “I didn’t manipulate anyone. ”
She glanced down at her nails, ignoring my response as she inspected her manicure like she was suddenly bored by the whole conversation. “Anyway, I’m sure it won’t be long before Noah learns the truth and breaks up with you. Then everything will return to the way it should be.”
My eyes widened with surprise. She didn’t already know Noah had broken up with me?
How was that even possible? She had to have seen him when he’d returned to the ball.
If she didn’t know the truth, I was hardly about to enlighten her.
I couldn’t bear to witness the satisfaction I knew would light up her cruel features.
“Are you done, Veronica?” I asked.
She lifted her eyes to meet mine, slowly lowering her hand back to her side. “It depends. Are you done lying to everyone?”
The girls surrounding her all shared knowing smiles. They were all looking at me like they’d won. And I had to wonder if they had. Would everyone else at school share their opinion? Was I about to be outcast yet again simply because I hadn’t shared private details about my family?
“There you are!” Anna gasped, looping her arm through mine. I hadn’t seen her coming, but I couldn’t have been happier she was here. I didn’t tend to shy away from confrontations with Veronica, but I was feeling too broken to handle her right now. “We’ve been waiting for you to get here.”
Anna was grinning at me, but when she turned and saw Veronica standing across from us, her nose scrunched like she’d just been hit by a foul smell. “Geez, Veronica, did your dress shrink in the wash or something? Seriously, you’ve got to leave some mystery for the guys.”
Veronica didn’t look even slightly bothered by Anna’s comment. “At least my clothes are clean.” Her eyes dipped to the mud staining the bottom of my white dress. “I guess you can take a peasant out of the village, but you can’t turn her into a princess.”
She didn’t give us an opportunity to respond as she turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd with her friends trailing behind her. Anna growled and started after her, but I grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
“She’s not worth it.”
Anna let out a slow breath and nodded. “You’re right.
We’ll go get drinks and let karma deal with Veronica.
” She lifted her head to the sky. “Karma, if you’re listening, I’m pretty sure I saw some poison ivy on the path here tonight.
If you could help Veronica trip into it, I’d really appreciate that.
” She grinned as she turned to me. “Just think, she’s got all that exposed skin… ”
I shook my head at my friend. “That’s brutal, even for you.”
“Eh, she deserves it.”
Anna took my hand and pulled me into the party. We wound our way through the crowd of dancing students to the other side of the forest clearing. There was a long drinks table set up near the makeshift dance floor, where Cress and Sawyer laughed as they drank shots.
Wes was there too, holding two bottles of beer. He turned as we approached and smiled as he offered me one of the bottles. “I was just coming back to find you. You like beer, right?”
“This is great, thanks.” I took the beer, but I didn’t take a sip. My stomach was swirling uneasily and I wasn’t sure if beer was going to help. Ever since my run-in with Veronica, a wave of nerves had hit me, and I felt kind of sick.
“You’re here!” Cress squealed, gathering me in a hug as she found me standing behind her. She was smiling so brightly, but the smile fell from her lips when she took a good look at me. “You look upset. Why do you look upset?”
I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat.
I thought I was holding myself together quite well, considering.
But Cress somehow seemed to sense something was off.
I didn’t know what to say, and it felt especially hard when my friends were all looking at me, waiting expectantly.
I didn’t think I could utter the words without breaking down, and that was the last thing I needed right now.
All I wanted was to forget. So, I stole the shot glass out of Cress’s hand and knocked it back.
The liquor burned as it made its way down my throat, and I scrunched my eyes as I shuddered. I wasn’t a big fan of tequila, and I chased the shot with a sip of my beer.
When I opened my eyes again, I caught Cress wincing. “That bad, huh?” she asked.
“It must be something terrible,” Sawyer added. “She didn’t even have salt or lime with her shot.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said. “At least, not right now. Let’s just focus on having fun.”
Nobody pushed me to explain, and Sawyer happily handed me another shot. “Well, if you want fun, you’re going to need another one of these.”
I took the drink without complaint before dragging the girls onto the dance floor.
If they had been worried about me before, they would only be more concerned now.
I was absolutely terrible at dancing and normally did anything I could to avoid being dragged onto the dance floor.
But tonight, dancing was the perfect escape.
All I cared about was numbing the pain that radiated through me and fogging my brain so I could stop thinking about the boy who broke my heart.