“Not for long. A girl like her…” She subtly tipped her chin over her shoulder. “Doesn’t belong with a guy like him. The cosmos will right its cluster fuck of a mistake in short order.” Melissa turned on her heel. “And when he’s ready to fuck someone he doesn’t need a crane to lift, I’ll be waiting for him.” She blew a kiss at Cleo’s stall and strode out of the bathroom, cronies hot on her heels.
White spots dotted the edges of Cleo’s vision. Hot tears poured down her cheeks as she leaned forward on her elbows, raking her fingers through her hair and willing her body to suck in oxygen before she passed out.
A sob escaped her as auto-pilot kicked in. She wiped, stood, and pulled up her pants. Melissa had been his one night stand. Ugly hearted, soulless, fake, mean girl, Melissa. She opened the door and stepped toward the sink. Tall, blonde, and beautiful, Melissa.
Cleo couldn’t even meet her own eyes in the mirror as she washed her hands. Perfect, popular, experienced, Melissa.
Why had Lincoln continued texting her after she’d told him she wasn’t Melissa?
Cleo leaned over the sink, letting her heavy tears plop into the porcelain bowl. Girls like her didn’t date guys like him. Girls like Melissa dated guys like him.
It didn’t matter that she was an unpleasant person, or that Lincoln had told Cleo how beautiful he thought she was. It didn’t matter that he seemed happy with her...
Why would he want someone fat and boring like Cleo when he could have someone vibrant and pretty like Melissa?
She shook her head and ground the heels of her hands into her eyes in a bid to stop the tears. There was no hiding the fact she’d been crying.
Her best option was to haul ass home and claim sick for the rest of the day. She only had one class left. One of the girls at the coffee shop owed her a favor and wanted any extra hours, and her housemates weren’t expected to be home for hours.
Get home. That’s all she had to do.
She pulled the door open and a group of freshman girls giggled as they stumbled into the bathroom past her. Were they laughing at her? Had they heard Melissa talking? She forced her shoulders away from her ears and rolled them back and down.
Fake it till you make it.
Clenching her jaw, she stepped into the corridor.
“Cleo?”
Russell and Will stood six feet away, chatting to a girl she didn’t know.
A pretty girl.
She offered a smile, which probably came off as a cross between a grimace and constipated face. The furrowed brows of both men suggested they weren’t buying it. She held up a hand. “Not feeling well. I’ll be fine.”
Russ nodded, but Will tipped his head to the side and pulled out his phone.
“Oh hey, you have something on your chin.” Johnny stood an arm’s length away, pointing at her face.
She wiped her chin with the side of her index finger.
“No, not that one. Third one down.”
When she didn’t reply, he kept speaking.
“Your pants say yoga, but your ass says McDonalds.” He stepped toward her and slung an arm around her shoulder.
What was this guy’s deal? Didn’t he get the message the last time the guys spoke up for her? Usually people like him said shit to get in with their buddies and make them laugh, but he knew his teammates weren’t taking it well. What was his motivation?
“Awww what’s the matter, Martinez? What’s with the sour face? Is it leak week? Do we have a code red?”
She swallowed hard, rage and shame brewing in her stomach. Swinging her elbow, it collided with his stomach at the same moment Russ grabbed him by the back of his collar and threw him into the wall.
“I thought we talked about this, Johnny.”
“Russ! I d-didn’t see you there.”
Russ wound his arm back, and Johnny put both hands up to protect his face.
