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ALLIE
After sliding out of Jace’s Maserati, I walked up to Nicole’s front door and gulped. For years, I’d hated this woman with my entire being, and now, I needed to apologize to her for not believing her sooner and not stepping up at the game. She should’ve never had to go into that building with that officer, but she had done it for me.
I glanced back at Jace, who offered me a supportive smile. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to the door and knocked twice, hoping that Nicole was the only person home. I didn’t know what I would do if her father answered the door and saw Jace out in the driveway.
When she didn’t answer the first time, I knocked again.
“One sec!” someone called.
A few moments later, Nicole opened the door in some fluffy cheetah-print pajama pants and a Redwood sweatshirt. “Allie, what are you doing here?” She glanced over my shoulder to see Jace and scrunched her nose at the car, as if Jace Harbor, who she had once claimed to love, was nothing to her. “Why is he waiting there? Do you guys wanna come in?”
My eyes widened slightly. “Oh, um, I … can I?” I asked. I hated barging in on people, but I needed some time away from the Harbor drama to think, and I really needed to apologize to her for everything.
She opened the door wider to let me in. “Is Jace coming?”
“No, he’s going to Jamal’s.”
After waving Jace off and texting him to reassure him that I’d be fine, I walked farther into her house and stared around at all the stuff. Nicole wasn’t rich, rich like Jace was. She had gone to elementary and middle school with me and Poison, but she had suddenly come into money when the high school that poor kids on this side of town were supposed to attend suspiciously burned down. The town claimed that some of the rich kids had done it—and that was why us “trashy” kids could attend the great and prestigious Redwood Academy—but I thought Poison had secretly been behind it. I just didn’t know how Nicole fit into any of that.
“Do you want something to drink?” she asked me, heading toward the kitchen.
I followed her and nervously rubbed my sweaty palms together. “Sure,” I said awkwardly, not knowing what to say to her.
I needed to apologize, but how? How could I casually bring up something like that? Did she even want to talk about it? Did she just want to forget it?
She pulled some orange juice out of the refrigerator and grabbed a glass, her hand trembling as she poured me some. She spilled some over the edge and cursed when it rolled down the side of the cup and onto the granite countertop. “Sorry, I have, uh … tremors,” she said, whispering the last word. She grabbed a rag from the sink and wiped up the spilled orange juice, then handed me the glass.
“You do?” I asked, raising my brows.
Cheeks flushing, she nodded and sat on a stool at the kitchen island. “Um, yeah.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. “The only people who really know about it are Jace and some of the girls on the cheer team.”
“Oh,” I said, sipping my orange juice. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
She stared at the countertop, frowned, and shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with it until your friends stop inviting you to their sleepovers and want nothing to do with you because all they want to do is do each other up in makeup and eyeliner, but you … you can’t even hold your damn hand straight.” She blew out a breath and looked back over at me. “Sorry, you probably don’t care. I’m just salty.”
“If it means anything, I really like the way you do your makeup.”
She gave me half a smile. “Thanks. I wake up a couple hours before school to get it done. I really love doing it, but it’s hard, especially when you don’t have anyone to practice on besides yourself.”
After taking another sip of my orange juice, I slid onto the stool next to her. “I, um, I wanted to apologize for last night. I shouldn’t have let you leave with that officer. I … I don’t want you to feel like you’re alone. Poison might need proof, but I don’t. It’s terrible, what you’re going through. And I’m so sorry that nobody believes you.”
Instead of crying like she had the other night, Nicole just looked empty. “It’s okay.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not okay. We’re going to stop it.”
“Poison won’t … not unless I give them proof,” she said, drawing her finger against the countertop in patterns. “I don’t have proof. I can’t get proof, not alone. The girls on the cheer team don’t even speak to me because of what my father has made them do in the past. They won’t admit to it either.”
Unsure about what to do, I gently patted her shoulder and turned toward her. “For what it’s worth, I believe you. I’ll try to convince Poison to believe you too. You … you took the fall for me yesterday with that man. I don’t need any more proof than that. You’re so strong, and I’m sorry for thinking that you were a bitch all these years.” A tear rolled down my cheek, but I quickly pushed it away. “I could only think about myself. I wasn’t thinking about what could be happening to you to make you act that way. I’m sorry.”
“I’d do it again for you,” she whispered. “I’m numb to most of the pain. Nobody should have to live through something like that …”
A deafening silence fell upon us, and I swished the rest of the orange juice around in the cup. “Why don’t you come hang out with Imani and me today?” I asked her, hoping that Imani wouldn’t mind.
She knew how much I’d hated Nicole these past few years. If I asked her, she’d think I was on drugs or something, so I just wasn’t going to ask Imani. I’d bring Nicole and deal with Imani later.
“As you can see,” I said, gesturing to my face, “I have not worn makeup for two years. I think having a makeover done by a friend would be fun.”
Nicole’s eyes widened. “Really?” she asked, hope in her eyes. “You would really let me?”
I smiled at her. “Yes, I would.”
