Page 12 of Ask No Questions

My walls instantly went up. These two were the epitome of high school mean girls. Too pretty, too confident, and too nice. Nothing real was this easy.

I crossed my arms over my chest, as if that could protect me from whatever they had planned. They claimed to be Mckayla’s friends, but I had no way of knowing if that was true, or if they were just tricking me.

“Oh. Um. Thanks.”

They shared a look I couldn’t miss since I was between them.

“We’ve both lived here our whole lives so neither of us know what it’s like to be the new girls, but each of us have experience with crappy guys.” Talia smiled as if that admission was enough to get me to trust them.

I gave her a small smile. “Yeah, those both suck.”

They laughed, and I almost let myself relax.

“Hopefully things are better for you here.” Talia pulled her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “At least you’ll have us three around, so you won’t be completely alone when school starts.”

I looked between them, waiting for one to crack and make fun of me or pour pig’s blood on me. Okay. I was a pessimist, but trust wasn’t something I had a ton of at the moment.

Alexis seemed to be studying me. “You okay?”

I shrugged. “It’s all just kind of a lot.”

She nodded, but she couldn’t understand what I meant. I wasn’t even sure what I was talking about. Tonight? Them? Everything?

“What can we do to make you more comfortable? We want to help,” Talia asked.

I fell back in the chair. “Why?”

They shared another look I recognized. They were close enough friends to communicate without speaking. I used to have that with my friends, but it was another lie. None of them had even called me since that night.

“Why what?” Alexis finally asked.

“Why do you care? Why do you want to help me?”

“Because we want to be your friend,” Talia answered simply.

I narrowed my eyes. “Just because of Mckayla?”

They both shrugged in sync.

“Yeah, but I’m sure if we saw you at school, we’d try then too,” Alexis answered for them.

I didn’t believe them. That’s not really how things worked.

“I’m not sure how things were at your old school, but we’re not into competing with or being jealous of other women.” Alexis rested her elbows on her knees. “It’s a waste of time, and we have enough crap to handle without adding petty drama onto our plates.”

Talia sat up straight. “Exactly. Strong women support strong women.”

I couldn’t help it. I smiled.

“Mckayla says you’re really nice and funny and thought we’d all get along.” Alexis lifted a shoulder. “You might get to know us and decide to make other friends, and that’s fine, but until then, why don’t you give us a chance?”

That was a good point. None of us were committing to anything. If they turned out to be the mean girls I first pictured, then I could find some new friends. I shouldn’t go into this thinking the worst though.

I wanted to trust my gut, but there was a chance I was wrong about them. A fresh start meant they didn’t have any preconceived ideas about me, so I needed to extend them the same courtesy.

Seven

I didn’t move here to live in a prison of my own making. If there was anything I could use more of, it was friends.