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To complicate things even more, Charity is the president of our Kappa Kappa Gamma. She prides herself on our house being known as the well-off Greek house on campus, because we only accept pledges whose families have a certain number of zeros attached to their bank accounts. A practice I’ve always been totally against, but that doesn’t seem to matter much to anyone else but me.
“I can’t believe you have the nerve to show your face here,” Charity taunts. “If I were you, I would’ve killed myself.”
“If you think I care about you and Chance, you’re wrong.” I do my best to stand there and pretend that what she just said doesn’t hurt like hell. It’s hard knowing that the people who are supposed to be your friends are so catty.
So much for the unbreakable bond of sisterhood.
She might be the president, but I don’t have to take her bashing me whenever she feels like it. I have always stood up to her, even in situations when no one else would. It’s because I won’t go along with everything she says that she doesn’t like me. I know it.
This whole Chance thing is just a way for her to get back at me, but I want to make sure she knows that she still doesn’t intimidate me.
I square my shoulders and meet her gaze head-on. “If you’re waiting on me to break down and cry over the fact that you went out with Chance last night, you can go away right now. That’s not going to happen.”
Through the loud music, mock screeching and hissing sounds commence from the crowd around us. I turn and find Chance standing in the middle of a group of guys watching Charity and me intently. They’re no doubt waiting on a catfight to occur. The noises cease when I practically shoot daggers out of my eyeballs at Chance. He immediately shuts up and smacks the guys on either side of him so they’ll do the same.
“No. It’s not me who needs to go away. You’re no longer welcome.” Charity smirks.
I do my best to turn and ignore her, but I can’t help firing back a retort. “Fuck off, Charity. You can’t kick me out of the Kappa Kappa because you’re jealous over me and Chance.”
“He has nothing to do with it. The house took a vote since the news of what your father did was splashed all over the press and decided you being one of us isn’t sending out the right message of what we’re about.”
I roll my eyes and try to fight back showing how much that fucking stings. I can’t believe they are holding that shit against me. I’m sure not all the sisters feel this way. They have to know that the incident doesn’t represent the kind of person I am.
I lift my cup toward my lips to put on the act that I’m not fazed in the slightest by Charity and what she says. Before the drink touches my mouth
, I feel fingers wrap around my wrist and jerk it, spilling my beer all over my shirt.
The nerve!
My nostrils flare as I slam the cup down on the floor. “You bitch!”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Charity laughs as she covers her mouth in mock shock with her perfectly manicured hand. “Well, I guess you’ll have to go to the thrift store and get yourself another shirt. I’m sure your family can still afford to shop there.”
My jaw starts to ache from my clenched teeth. I want to hit her. I want to scream. I’ve tried for the past couple of months to forget—I had to, forgetting is the only way I’ve made it—but Charity rubbing my family’s tragedy in my face is more than I can take.
My life is crumbling because of the stupid mistake my father made, and I hate that everyone now knows about it.
I’ll admit when I first learned my dad was a thief, I wanted to crawl in a hole somewhere, shrivel up, and die. What girl wants to learn her dad stole almost a million dollars while he was the chief financial officer at McMullen’s Candy, a major corporation? Not me. Thank God he struck a deal with the cops and his company to stay out of jail. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he didn’t go to prison, but his whole mess has completely turned my life into a living hell.
I open my mouth to fire back at Charity, but she’s right. I no longer belong here. I can’t afford it.
Reality hits me hard, and the emotion I’ve worked so hard to hide comes out in full, embarrassing force.
Tears stream down my face, and Charity folds her arms across her chest while wearing a smug grin. “Now leave. Kappa Kappa Gamma no longer needs you.”
A crushing weight slams down on my heart. Being a part of this sorority was the one little piece of normalcy I had left, and now that’s being taken away along with everything else that’s been a constant in my life.
I spin around and notice most of the eyes in the room are zeroed in on me, and the overwhelming need to get out of here overtakes me. A sob rips through me as I turn and run out of the room. A ruckus behind me ensues as the music stops, but I don’t dare turn back to see what’s going on.
I have to get out of here.
I burst through the front doors, and the cool night air kisses the bare skin on my shoulders, causing me to shiver. People milling about in front of the house stare at me like I’ve grown three heads and sprouted a tail, and they quickly move away from me, probably worried I’m about to puke on their shoes.
I step out onto the grass and shove my hair back off my face while my breath comes out in little white puffs into the darkness. I focus on my breathing and try to calm myself down so I don’t completely lose my head in front of all these strangers.
“Avery? You okay?” a deep, familiar voice asks from behind me.
I suck in a breath and swat away the tears that continue to stream down my cheeks. I can’t bear to turn around and look at him. Twice now Tyler has witnessed me in some embarrassing situation. Twice now he’s been the one to make sure I’m all right. How sad is my life that a complete stranger is the one who’s been comforting me? I have no real friends. The only person on the face of this planet who cares about me is my father and he’s now a known criminal.
