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“So it’s true then, you are Camden’s?”
“Yeah, it’s true,” I sigh, unable to help myself.
“Want to tell me what’s going on? You hate the HH crew, and even though Camden is a real good-looking arsehole, he’s still an arsehole. Why, Asia?”
“Survival.” It might not be the full truth, but it’s the closest I can give her right now.
“Then why not join No Name? Ford and Sonny, they’d have your back. It makes no sense to me.” She leans forward, gripping the ledge with her fingers, whilst her feet swish below the surface. The fact that she’s unable to look at me churns my stomach.
“But it makes sense to me. It doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else.”
“You have to give me more than that. I want to understand,” she implores.
“This is my business, Pink. Not yours. Don’t interfere.”Please,I think.
Her jaw grits tightly as she looks out over the pool. “Do you know why I steal?” she eventually says. It’s a question that is so out of left field that it takes me a while to respond.
“Because you’re a Klepto?” I say with a smile that seems unnatural given the conversation.
“Yes, because I’m a Klepto who likes pretty things. But truthfully, it’s the high I get when stealing. That rush of adrenaline and endorphins. I don’t steal out of necessity, or even because I particularly like the item I’ve nicked. I steal because it makes me feelalive…” She looks at me then, her head cocked to the side. “Do you want to know what I think about all of this?”
“No, but I’m guessing you’re going to tell me anyway.”
“I think you’re joining the HH crew for the exact same thing. You like the danger, Asia, the rush of adrenaline you feel when you’re around Camden. I get the allure. But not everything that glitters is worth having. There are some pretty things that are tarnished on the inside no matter how much they shine.”
“You’re wrong,” I protest, but a huge part of me knows she’s right. Iamdrawn to Camden. To the external beauty he presents to the world. I’m also acutely aware that whilst he glitters just like the jewels his sister loved so much, he’s damaged,tarnishedjust as Pink suggests. His grief, Ford’s betrayal, the loss and disappointment he feels have all carved deep cracks in his façade. Bitterness and pain shine through if only you look close enough. He’s jaded by a life confined to the rules of the streets. Then again, aren’t we all? But that’s what I’m drawn to, the broken parts not the parts that shine, not the danger.
“Maybe Iamwrong. Maybe not. Either way, I guess it’s irrelevant. You’ve made your choice.” She shrugs, going back to swishing her feet in the water. “So, Camden, huh?” she muses after a beat.
It’s not really a question, more a statement of fact. Only I haven’t really chosen him, I haven’t chosen anyone. Well, I guess Ihavechosen Eastern… but if things were different and our futures weren’t at risk, would I have picked him above the others? Or would I have fallen for someone else… Maybe I’d never have been able to choose given the chance. Maybe I wouldn’t have had to choose just like Kate had suggested. I guess I’ll never really know now.
“I mean, aside from Camden being freaking hot,” Pink continues with a wry grin, “And the whole danger thing he’s got going on, I’m actually surprised he had any good points on your list.”
“He had enough,” I mutter.
“And what about Eastern?”
“Eastern will be okay.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Asia. I’ve only known him five minutes, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to watch the girl he loves shack up with the boy he hates.”
“No, but he is the kind of guy who respects his best friend’s wishes. Will you do the same?”
Pink nods her head, her long, hooped earrings glinting in the soft overhead light. “I can. I know I’ve taken the piss out of yourlove pentagon.” She grins then. “But I mean it when I say who you choose to love makes no difference to me.”
“I don’tloveCamden…” I say, disgusted.
She laughs. “Yeah, lust is a pretty potent emotion too.”
I feel my cheeks redden, and duck under the water for a moment. When I break through the surface, Pink is grimacing.
“What?” I ask.
“Kate… she’s pissed off. She nearly took my head off when I tried to talk to her about you and Camden. She feels betrayed somehow. That girl has a messed-up past. She doesn’t trust easily, and she trusted you.”
“Why? I never promised her anything.” My gut twists, I knew it. From the look she gave me earlier, I knew she’d hate me for this. That hurts so much more than I thought it would.
“No, perhaps not. But she believed you were different. That you were the type of girl to stand up to the bullies. That’s what she sees when she looks at the HH crew.”
