“Bet she doesn’t drink either,” Parker says.
Again, I keep quiet.
“Bet she’s a virgin,” Finn says, laughing.
“Are you?” Parker asks, looking back at me.
“Fuck off,” I tell him, rolling my eyes.
He turns back to the front and talks to Finn. “Maybe she’s not into guys. You ever seen her with one?”
“Nope. And when I touched her, she about lost her shit.”
Briggs leans forward to Finn. “When was this?”
“Remember when I had to get stitches? It was because of her. She fucking bit my lip when I tried to touch her.”
“You said that happened because you got in a fight,” Briggs says, and I swear I hear a hint of anger in his voice. Is it because Finn lied to him or because he touched me?
“It was because of me,” I say. “I told him to stop and he wouldn’t listen so I bit him.”
“You should’ve let me,” Finn says. “Might’ve been the only time a guy touched you.”
Briggs leans back in his seat, his jaw working side-to-side. He seems angry, but why? Why would he care that Finn touched me? Briggs has touched me plenty of times, and somehow he thinks that’s okay, but gets angry if Finn does the same thing?
“You ever been on a date?” Parker asks, seeming way too interested in this. Why does he care?
“Yes, I’ve been on dates,” I snap. “I just choose not to date any of the assholes at school.”
“So have you had sex or not?” he asks.
“Of course I’ve had sex,” I say, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Can you just shut up until we get there?” Briggs says to Parker.
“Why? I want to know what she’s done.” He looks back at me. “You ever been drunk?”
“Yes. More than once.” It’s a lie. I’ve had alcohol, but I’ve never been drunk. I’ve seen too many people get sickfrom drinking, including Charlotte. One night, she insisted on sneaking stuff out of her dad’s liquor cabinet and trying it all. She had way more than I did and puked the whole next day. That was enough to convince me not to get drunk. I hate throwing up.
“I can’t see you getting drunk,” Parker says. “You don’t seem like someone who would even drink. What about drugs? Yes or no?”
“Just leave her alone,” Briggs says. “She’s not going to tell you the truth. I bet everything she told us is a lie.”
Does he really think that, or is he just saying it to see if I’ll try to convince him otherwise? Out of the three of them, I find Briggs the hardest to figure out. Charlotte made that comment about him having another side, a side that wasn’t pure evil, and I know what she means. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of him being halfway human, but it’s rare and doesn’t last long, so I’m not sure if it’s real or some kind of act.
Finn picks up his water bottle and finishes it off, then tosses the bottle in the back seat, almost hitting me in the face.
“Watch it!” I yell.
He ignores me and messes with his phone. The car swerves, and I slam into Briggs.
“I told you I’m not interested,” he says.
“I wasn’ttryingto get near you.” I move back to the side. “Your friend needs to learn how to drive.” I pick up the plastic bottle Finn threw at me and am about to toss it behind me, but catch a whiff of something that doesn’t smell like water. I bring the bottle to my nose. “What was in here?”
“Is Karena going to be there tonight?” Parker says to Briggs.
“I don’t know. Why?”
