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I need to think the way Salem would. She would probably tell them to stick it up their asses or ask if they enjoyed jerking off to the picture. If she’s not going to be my friend anymore, I have to figure out a way to stick up for myself.
Turns out, I don’t have to worry about it.
“Hi!” Salem bounces up next to me, almost scaring me half to death with how suddenly she appears. She’s wearing her uniform, telling me she had an early practice this morning. Her face glows, her eyes are bright, and she’s wearing a brilliant smile.
I can only stare at her in surprise. “Where were you yesterday? Didn’t you get my messages?”
“Oh, it was a whole big thing.” She rolls her eyes and leans against the locker next to mine with a sigh. “My mom was super pissed when I got home from Logan’s yesterday morning. She wouldn’t get off my ass about it all day and took my phone. I just got it back this morning. I’m not, like, going to school without my phone.”
I don’t know why red flags go up in my head, but they’re definitely there. “So you guys hooked up?”
“Yeah, it was amazing.”
“So are you, like, a thing now?”
“I don’t know. Right now, I’m just enjoying it.”
She looks almost deliriously happy, so of course I want to be happy for her. She’s not going to want to hear me warning her, but something feels off about him. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me, or the whole vibe he gave off. But I could be making it all up in my head, too. Besides, I’m just so glad she’s not mad. I don’t want to ruin anything.
Her sudden pout knocks me off guard. “I was a bitch to you. I’m sorry. I get that way when I’m drinking sometimes.”
“It’s okay.”
“I wanted to push Hayes into the pool after what he did. Theo was pretty pissed at him. I remember that much. Everything else is sort of blank.”
Right, but she remembers hooking up with Logan and how amazing it was? Something about them is all wrong.
We go to the cafeteria for coffee, with Salem on her phone most of the time. I assume she’s texting Logan, who she can’t stop talking about.
“He got kicked out of school two years ago,” she explains while she’s typing.
“Oh, really?” What the hell is she doing with this loser?
“For fighting. It was all bullshit.”
“Cool.” I mean, what else am I supposed to say?
“Hey, Morgan! Did you have fun at the party?” Madison and her crew come our way with fresh drinks in hand. Immediately, I tense up, ready for her to throw hers in my face or something. Instead, she’s actually smiling. It almost seems real.
“Yeah, it was fine,” I say. “Mostly.”
She shakes her head mournfully. “Brothers suck, don’t they? I hate mine. One time, he put me in my toy box when I was little and sat down on the lid so I couldn’t get out. I was in there for, like, an hour.”
Did I walk into bizarro world today? Am I supposed to care?
“That sounds scary,” I offer.
Salem’s too busy texting to pay much attention. I need her to gauge this for me. Is the girl for real?
I recognize Harper standing beside her, the girl Franky told off in line last week, who assumed my mom is the cleaning lady. “You’re, like, super lucky,” she says. “Everybody would kill to be in your shoes.”
“Why?” I look around at all of them, totally lost.
Madison laughs like it’s the funniest thing she ever heard. “You’re like Cinderella. Your mom marries some rich guy and now you’re living in the same house as Hayes.”
“Yeah, it’s a big change. I’m still trying to get used to it.” I bump into Salem to get her attention.
Madison ignores that. “We should hang out sometime. Maybe go shopping or, like, do homework together.”
I’m getting the idea of what this is all about. When Salem finally pries her eyes away from her phone and snickers, I know I’m right. “Come on, Madison. You don’t do homework. You just have your dad get your grades adjusted for you.”
Amazing how suddenly Madison’s smile turns into an ugly snarl. “Was I talking to you, Salem? No, I didn’t think so.”
“Sure, maybe we can hang out sometime,” I say. “I’ll have to let you know.” It’s the nicest way I can come up with to tell her I’m not interested, because I am definitely not interested. She only wants to be my friend because of Hayes. I didn’t see her at the party on Saturday, so I don’t know if she tried to get with him then, but she probably figures this is the safer bet. If she spends enough time at the house, she’ll run into him. It’s sad.
