AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When it came to Una Nielsen, the questions kept adding up.
And so did the secrets.
Chapter 10
Una
Ali didn’t meetme before school today. Not that he did every day, but I really hoped that he would. Especially since he hadn’t answered any of my messages this weekend.
I slammed my locker shut, ignoring the constant buzzing of my phone in my jeans pocket. Unless it was coming from Ali or Malia, I didn’t want to deal with it.
The silence followed me until lunch, where I figured I could corner him and explain what happened.
There was no way I could change his mind about what I did. Begging for forgiveness wasn’t my style, but I could at least give him my point of view. And hope that Aria hadn’t told him all the details about our deal.
The boy was already infatuated with her. That much I gathered when he took off with her at the party. When I first saw them dancing together at Homecoming, I thought I could stop anything before it started. But I must have missed other cues along the way.
Now, Ali was bound to be wrapped around Aria’s little finger. He would drop me in a hot second.
Love made people do stupid things. I tried to protect him from that, but he didn’t seem to appreciate the effort I went through. When he eventually got his heart shattered into a million pieces, I would still be here for him.
I couldn’t promise not to say ‘I told you so,’ though. No matter how hard I tried, Ali would have to learn his own lesson.
When I made my way through the doors of the cafeteria, it didn’t take long to find my friend. He sat at our normal table, Jessa and Adam at his side.
Andher.
She sat to his right, in the spot I normally occupied, like it was meant for her. They were even sharing a plate of fries between the two of them.
I didn’t stand a chance. But I at least had to defend myself to them. I couldn’t go running like a puppy with its tail between its legs.
As soon as I approached, everyone went silent. I sat down across from Ali, next to Adam, and arranged my braids over my shoulders. I had been in such a state over the weekend that I didn’t even get my hair done like I wanted.
“Looks like we’ve done some rearranging,” I said cooly. I let my hands fall under the table, twisting my fingers around my ever-present black scrunchie on my wrist. I turned all my energy to that instead of throwing out more witty remarks I was sure Ali wouldn’t appreciate in the moment.
“Look, the tables have turned,” Ali snapped back. Aria exchanged glances with Jessa across from her.
I rolled my eyes. I got it—he was mad at me. But there had to be a way for us to all move on. By move on, I really meant Aria moving on to another table, another guy, another world, but whatever. If this is what he wanted, then fine. I would play nice for a while.
“One Fairview princess gets with a Teller guy, and now the whole school thinks it’s okay, huh?” I mumbled, digging into my bag of chips.
Aria opened her mouth to debate my comment, but I cut her off.
“Don’t bother. I know what you’re going to say.”
“Meddling with love lives and taking people’s voices too now, Una?” Ali retorted. His face had yet to change from the stone deadpan look, which was not flattering for him. Ali normally was a happy, chill guy. That’s why I liked him—he knew how to get me out of my head a lot.
But right now, it seemed like he wasn’t ready to forgive or forget. He was still pissed off and wanted nothing to do with my comments.
With a sigh, I reached into my bag and pulled out a small wad of cash. “Here,” I said, shoving the bills toward Aria. “Your money back. Consider it a refund for services non-rendered.”
I didn’t look at Aria when she took the money. I kept my attention on Ali, wanting to make sure he not only saw the transaction, but realized the apology behind it. He stared at me as well, but didn’t say a word, his face remaining neutral.
“Fine. I see how it’s going to be. Call me when you’re ready to talk like adults,” I said, standing up and excusing myself from the table. Everyone around me stayed quiet as I left, not trying to call out or tell me to come back. No one followed me or chased me down.
I stomped into the hallway, turning the corner right as someone came from the other direction.
“I feel a little distressed not receiving an invitation to the party,” Malia said. Her raven-colored hair was in two braids, making her look like Wednesday Addams. She could totally pull off the character too, with her scary blank stare and sharp tongue.
