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“Becca, sweetie, is that you?”
I rolled my eyes. Of course, it was me. Who else was she expecting?
“I’ll be in my room.” I swung right, but my foot hadn’t even hit the first step when Mom appeared in the hallway. “I made dinner. I thought we could eat together?”
“I’m not hungry.” I grabbed the handrail, but her heavy sigh made me pause.
“I know you’re upset, but he’s sorry. Your father was only trying to protect you. He knows it wasn’t the right thing—”
“Stop. Just stop.” I inhaled a deep breath, and my eyelids fluttered. “Dad should have told me. He lied, Mom. He lied to us both. You might be able to let that go, but I can’t.”
“Becca.” Her voice cracked, but it didn’t work.
I didn’t feel bad for Dad; I couldn’t. He’d known. All this time, he’d known that Kane Larson was lying awake in the hospital.
He’d tried to reassure me that nothing had changed, even though Kane was awake and showing no signs of permanent damage. That the deal Kane’s father had accepted still stood: a hefty payout with all medical expenses taken care of in exchange for their silence.
It didn’t reassure me, at all, and we’d argued when I realized that Dad only had one way of getting that information—talking directly to Robbie Larson. Mom had intervened at that point, insisting we were safe. Insisting thatIwas safe. Kane Larson wasn’t going to talk, and Credence was hundreds of miles away from Montecito. But what they didn’t realize was that my past had caught up with me. Although Kendall didn’t know the whole truth, she’d uncovered enough about my past to make it impossible to forget. And even though I knew Mom and Dad just wanted to keep me safe, they had no idea what it was like for me now.
Moving from Montecito to a place like Credence had been hard enough. A new school, new friends, even a new image. Throw in a mean girl whose current mission was to make my life hell, along with friends who weren’t ever really my friends, and the next eight months were going to suck.
I left Mom standing there and went up to my room, where I busied myself with schoolwork. Halfway through a math problem, my cell phone vibrated. I reached over to grab it, but I hesitated, my fingers hovering over the screen.
Scarlett stopped texting days ago, but Evan still sent at least one a day. I really needed to tell him to stop, but it would mean engaging him in conversation, and I didn’t want to talk to him. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him. He’d betrayed me in the worst kind of way; finally sleeping with me when all along I was nothing more than some charity case to him.
I’m sorry. E
Anger pulsed through me. Didn’t he realize sorry wasn’t going to cut it? Before I could stop myself, I’d typed out a reply and hit send.
Stop. Texting. Me.
It pinged back.
I can’t. Not until you give me a chance to explain.
You had your chance.
And you didn’t take it.I threw the cell phone down on the bed and followed it down, face-first. Curling my arm underneath my pillow, I hugged it closer. I would not cry. Not anymore. He didn’t deserve my tears, and Kendall O’Hare certainly didn’t. They could both go to hell.
All I had to do was get through each day. I still had Lilly and Jay, Malachi, and even Vin. They were in my corner.
People only had power over you if you let them have it. I knew that. I’d lived it. And I didn’t intend to live it again. I couldn’t change the past, but I could change my future.
* * *
“I bet she tastes good. Like that expensive shit my mom buys.”
The voices came from behind me, but I didn’t turn around. If I acknowledged them, it would only get worse, but something burned inside me. They didn’t know me. They didn’t know a damn thing about me.
“I heard she gave it up to Porter, but I’m guessing she was a shit fuck since he dumped her.”
“Not what I heard, man. I heard she dropped him. Prissy rich girls like her don’t end up with guys like Porter. Now me, on the other hand—”
“Dude, you work at the dime store on the weekend.”
“Fuck you. At least I’m earning.”
The low rumble of their argument bristled against my skin, and I gripped the edge of the desk.
