AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did you see that boy of yours again?”
“Not talking about this,” I said. Because I hadn’t. Since Friday. And I didn’t want a reminder.
“Oh, humor this old woman. My Dirk isn’t exactly chomping at the bit for it anymore.”
“Too much information, Cindy.”
“Oh, I remember senior year well.” She leaned back against the counter, a dreamy look plastered on her face. “The dances, sneaking around on the weekend, prom, what happened after prom.” Cindy waggled her eyebrows, earning an eye roll from me. “Tell me, you’re not a tiny bit excited it’s senior year?”
“I hadn't really thought about it.”
At least, I was trying not to.
“Sugar, this year could change everything. Just don’t go kissing too many frogs to find your prince. Learned that one the hard way.”
“Noted.” I grimaced.
Noticing my strained expression, Cindy sighed. “So much to smile about yet you’re over there like the world’s about to end. I’ll never understand the youth of today. Homecoming is right around the corner, and you have a drop-dead gorgeous date. What’s to be glum about?”
If only you knew. The words teetered on the edge of my tongue. Cindy didn’t understand. How could she? To her, I had the world at my feet. Senior year. A cute guy turning up at the diner to see me. College on the horizon.
But some days, I was barely holding on by a thread. I walked the hallways of school wearing my I-don’t-give-a-shit smile, but it was exhausting. And even though I’d accepted the new Becca and everything that came with her, some days I still missed the old Becca. The Becca before my life turned to shit.
When we first moved to Credence, all I could think about was getting as far away from Montecito as possible. But now that I’d been here a while, it was impossible not to compare my life now with my life then. And a tiny bit of me was mourning for a life I never got to live. Like right now, my old friends at Montecito Prep would be planning for homecoming. The dresses, the limos, who was going to ask who. And I’d loved it, despite wishing that my regular date, Liam Deveroe, would treat me like something other than a fragile piece of glass. At Credence High, I didn’t even know if there was going to be a homecoming.
Every day, I woke up, picked out an outfit I thought would help me blend in and plastered on my everything-is-fine smile. But everything was not fine, not by a long shot. I had friends who thought they knew the real Becca; a girl out to ruin me; and a guy who wanted me, but not enough to shout it from the rooftops. Not to mention how strained things were with Mom.
Every day, I lost another tiny piece of myself to a white lie or whispered taunt. But I no longer knew if that was a bad thing. Maybe it needed to happen for me to survive Credence High. For me to find out who the new Becca really was. What she was made of.
“Becca, earth to Becca.” Cindy snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I jumped.
“Huh?” Blinking at her, I exhaled a long breath. “Sorry, I’m a little tired.”
“Yeah, tell it to someone who believes you.” She winked and went off to greet the new diners while I tried to push all the thoughts of Montecito and Credence out of my head. But no matter how hard I tried, some things refused to budge.
Lilly and Scarlett.
Evan.
Even Eli and Cindy.
And I didn’t want them to. Because maybe Cindy was right. Maybe I did have things to smile about.
I just had to find a way to keep them.
CHAPTER28
“Evan,”I said, trying to pull out of his grip. “We need to get to class.” Giggling as he nibbled on my neck, I half-groaned, half-moaned in protest.
“Not yet,” he rasped.
“The bell rang already.”
“So let’s hang out in here.”
My hands pressed harder. “No, we need to—”
Warm needy lips covered mine, and I sunk into the kiss wondering why I even bothered trying to fight it. The more time we spent together like this, the more I wanted Evan. But we were at school… in a closet… with our classmates right on the other side of the door.
