Chapter 14 Scarlett
Scarlett
Scarlett’s eyes opened when she heard her text tone. She rolled over and grabbed her phone, swiping. She smiled.
Ben: GM r u still in trouble?
Scarlett: My lame dad doesn’t believe me
Ben: So ur suspended?
Scarlett: No mom gave them shit—I go back today
Ben: Sorry about ur Dad
Scarlett: Cuz he’s a liar—so he thinks everyone else is too
Ben: Sucks
Scarlett: Maybe I shld tell my mom about u and our plan
Ben: Not yet
Scarlett: Why not? I think she’ll be cool with it. I don’t like lying to her
Ben: What if she shuts it down. U said she monitors all your socials. Can u really trust her? U know she’ll tell ur dad and he sounds overly strict
Scarlett: I guess ur right. Ok
Ben: Have a good day at school
She put the phone down and got out of bed.
Her feelings for Ben grew stronger every day.
It was crazy; she felt like she’d known him forever.
She still couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have found him.
Every time she thought about the future, she was so excited she thought she would burst. It took all she had to keep quiet when her mom kept asking her what was making her so cheerful.
She wanted to tell her, but then her dad would find out, and that would ruin everything.
Avery was waiting for Scarlett by her locker when she got to school.
“You’re lucky you got out of your suspension,” Avery told her. “I heard the principal changed it to an expulsion, since two of the vapes had pot in them.”
“Seriously?” Scarlett would have been mortified if that had happened to her.
“Yup. I don’t know what your mom said, but you should thank her.”
“My mom can be very persuasive. She should have been a lawyer. And thanks for sticking up for me with Ms. Barfo,” Scarlett said.
“No prob. I wish you would’ve told me you were planning on coming. I would have warned you to hide.”
“No big deal. All good now.”
“Are you still chatting with Ben?”
“Yeah. The more I get to know him, the cooler I think he is. You wouldn’t believe how much we have in common. It’s freaky. We like the same shows, the same music. He’s seen every single episode of Lost too!”
Avery pursed her lips. “I’ve been thinking. All that stuff is on your Insta, right? Do you think maybe he’s just saying he likes the same things?”
“Why are you being so harsh about him?”
“Naturally cynical, I guess. You have seen Nightline, right?”
“Oh, come on! He’s not a pedophile.”
“Seriously, have you guys FaceTimed yet? You know, to make sure he’s not catfishing you. I saw a movie about some old guy pretending to be a hot young guy, and then when they met up, he tried to kidnap the girl.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “He’s not catfishing. I can see other friends’ comments and stuff on his Insta. I don’t want to FaceTime him. I want the first time we see each other to be in real life.”
Avery gave her a skeptical look. “I think you should at least FaceTime once. You need to do your due diligence.”
“You’re such a journalist! I know you’re trying to help, but I know who he is. Look, I can’t tell you everything yet. I promised him I’d keep it secret for now. You have to trust me. I know for sure he’s who he says he is. I have proof. Okay? Just leave it at that.”
Avery raised her eyebrows. “It’s your funeral.”
The bell rang, and they parted ways. Scarlett appreciated Avery’s concern.
She was turning out to be a true friend; so different from Zoe, who was still being a total bitch.
But Avery didn’t have to worry. Ben was someone she could trust. In fact, she was starting to think he was the only one she could trust and who wasn’t lying to her.
Ben had pointed out the holes in the stories her parents had told her.
A few months ago, she’d been given a school project about heritage.
Her father had refused to sign the permission slip to allow her to have her DNA tested, claiming it was a violation of privacy and could be used for other things down the road.
He was such a freak about stuff like that.
But now she understood the real reason he was insistent that she not do the DNA test. He didn’t want her to find out the truth.