AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, shut up,” Joliet rolled her eyes. “Did you even know about this?”
Eugene went silent again. A thickness grew in Tully’s throat. She hadn’t had a chance to tell him anything.
Truth be told, she didn’t know if she would have done it even if she did get the chance.
Tully studied Eugene, waiting for him to realize she’d been lying to him and turn against her like she’d expected him to do. Or lecture her about going to these lengths. But his glare remained on Joliet.
“What are you mad about, Joliet? The fact that Tully totally fooled you, or that Nathan Rondeau likes her and not you?”
Tully stared at him, dazed. Was it normal for someone to react that way when they realized they’d been lied to? She wouldn’t have thought so, but there he was, defending her.
Joliet’s smile hardened. “He doesn’tlikeher. Didn’t you hear her? She said it was fake. All of it.”
“Didn’tyouhearhim?” Eugene snapped back.
Her face grew red, the smile disappeared completely. “Herrealboyfriend preferred me over her. Forgive me for doubting every word he said.”
Eugene blinked in surprise again, because this was yet another thing Tully failed to mention to him.
A wave of anger coursed through Tully, the same kind that hit her in the bathroom the day Joliet insulted Nathan and took a hit to her face.
“Nathan is a million times better than Erik will ever be, and my relationship was far more real with him than it felt with Erik,” she snapped.
“Want to make a bet on how long it will take him to realize that you’re a waste of time, and he could do so much better?” Joliet asked, stepping forward, confident. Or so she thought.
Up close, Tully could see her so much better. She could see the hint of uncertainty behind her eyes. The worried redness of her bottom lip. The deep swallow she took. Her face, normally so perfectly tanned, had a hint of red, and it surprised Tully.
Why the hell had it taken this long to click?
Tully, well, she laughed. A chuckle under her breath.
Years of this and, finally, she could see it for what it was. All this time, she thought somehow she was the problem. Turns out, she was wrong.
Years of being put down, bullied, and manipulated, and led to believe that she would never be worth anyone’s attention. All she needed to do was open her eyes a little wider and she could finally see she’d had all the attention since they were little girls.
“Why are you so obsessed with me?”
Joliet’s sneer plummeted the rest of the way. “Excuse me?”
“You think that was fake? Sure, part of it was. But at least I can look you in the eye and admit it.” Tully pointed down the hallway, where their parents were oblivious to everything that was happening. “How well do Mom and Dad really know you? Is there anything you tell them about yourself thatisn’ta lie, or was that the only way you could get them to pay attention to you?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her jaw clicked, loud enough for Tully to hear.
“No?” Tully crossed her arms. “Did you tell them that you were the one who dumped Grandma’s ashes in the backyard? Or crashed Dad’s car into the garage and said I had been driving drunk?”
“Shut up.”
“Or what about the time you let Mom’s cat outside and lost it and said it was because I left the door open? Or thatyouwere the one who risked my college by putting those answers in my locker—not me? That you are a cheater and a thief and—”
“Shut up!” Joliet screamed, her face a burning scarlet. “You think that just because you’re weird you should get special treatment? Do you think that just because you’re smart, you’re special? Putting the answers in your locker was a reminder that being smart doesn’t mean anything if no one likes you. Andno onedoes. You’re a freak. Mom and Dad love me because I’m normal. You aren’t worth the energy they put into you when we were little, I just had to remind them of that.”
Joliet’s words were pointless bullets, falling to the ground as they hit Tully. “You’re so obsessed with making my life miserable and trying to make everyone like you that you’re barely living your own. That’s pathetic.”
Joliet’s eyes welled. Her chest heaved in pent-up resentment. “I’mwhat they wanted. Normal. Likable. Me. Not you.”
“What is going on here?”
They all startled at the new voice.
