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“It’s not like that.”
“I mean, I know that you wanted to humiliate her. But you took this to another level, Ash,” Shelly said with teeth. “I keep waiting for the punch line. Were you waiting for sex?”
I stumbled back another step. There was buzzing in my ears. Everyone was looking at us. Shelly’s lackeys were laughing. Chuck Henderson stepped up to congratulate Ash. Ash shoved him out of the way. He must have said something because Chuck gave him a look like he was insane. It all happened in a millisecond.
Then, it crashed back down around me.
“Lila, please,” Ash said, reaching for me.
And I couldn’t handle it.
I couldn’t stand here and see Shelly’s triumphant smirk and Chuck’s bewildered face and the laughs from the cheerleaders and the entire fucking world crumble into pieces. And Ash … Ash standing there, pleading.
Before I could second-guess myself, I fled the ballroom. More students laughed as I ran. A few teachers and adults looked on in concern, but no one stopped me.
I ran like Cinderella escaping the ball. I’d been living a fairy tale the last couple months, and now, I was finally about to turn back into a pumpkin. No glass slipper could fix this.
Once I was outside, I pulled out my phone and dialed Marley.
“Lila!” she gushed.
“How drunk are you?”
“I refused alcohol. Josie, however, is drunk.”
“Can you pick me up?”
Marley was silent a second. “From prom?”
“Yes. Ash …” I choked on the word. “It was a joke, cooked up by Shelly Thomas. He was to date me and then humiliate me.”
“Fuck,” Marley said, completely out of character. “I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks,” I said with a sniffle.
I stuffed the phone back in my purse and trekked away from the hotel. I couldn’t stay here another minute. I’d meet Marley somewhere along the main road.
“Lila!” a voice called from the entrance to the Westin.
I ignored Ash and kept walking.
“Lila, please, stop walking.”
I heard him jogging in his fancy shoes to catch up to me.
I cursed myself for wearing high heels and nearly took them off to fling at him.
He reached for my elbow, and I swatted at him. “Leave me alone.”
“Would you stop walking, so we can talk?”
“No,” I bit out.
“It’s not like Shelly said. That’s not what happened.”
“Leave. Me. Alone.”
“I swear, that’s not the truth.”
I glared at him. “I saw the texts Ash. I read them for truth.”
“Lila …”
“Stop!” I shrieked. “Go back to the party, Ash. Enjoy your victory.”
“It wasn’t a victory,” he told me. “I swear …”
“Your word means nothing.”
“I’ve never lied to you about how I feel.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. He’d been marching next to me, and he nearly stumbled as he came to a stop.
“Then, tell me it’s all a lie. Tell me none of it happened.”
I’d seen his face when Shelly blurted out the truth.
“Gah,” he groaned, running his hand back through his hair. “I did go out with you at first because Shelly had told me to, but—”
I put my hand out. “That’s all I need to know.”
“But the rest—”
“Stop! You lied to me! You told me that you loved me,” I screamed at him. Tears were now hot in my eyes, and I tried to blink them away, but I couldn’t. They ran down my cheeks. “You told me you loved me, and all this time, it was based on a lie! How could I ever believe another fucking word out of your mouth?”
He was silent, his jaw clenched and body rigid.
“I do love you.”
“You don’t know what love is, Ash, because this isn’t it.”
I saw Marley’s minivan speeding down toward me, and I flagged her down. Ash was still trying to stammer out some words to absolve himself when Josie practically jumped out of the still-moving minivan and vaulted between us.
“Leave her alone!” Josie said, glaring at him. “Lila, get in the van.”
“Don’t leave,” Ash cried.
“If you don’t back up, I’ll deck you,” Josie threatened.
“Please, this isn’t what you think.”
I hopped into the van and took a seat with Josie following me. I didn’t glance over at Ash, didn’t say another word as Josie closed the door and Marley sped away.
It wasn’t until we were home that the tears finally came. And my heart completely shattered.
15
Athens
April 27, 2010
Cole shoved his way through the crowd of people lining up along the sidewalk in downtown Athens. I waved at him, jumping a little so that he could see where I was standing. I’d staked out the perfect spot to watch the annual cycling competition, Twilight. It was optimal primarily because it was on a corner to watch the inevitable crashes, which was what people really came downtown for.
Oh, and beer.
Cole passed me a drink and squeezed in tight to me. Barry and Tony, much to the crowd’s dismay, shuffled around us.
“Thanks for holding our place,” Cole said. He bent down and captured a kiss.
