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When I nod, she gently sits down and wraps her arm around my shoulders.
“It’s okay.”
“I’m mortified,” I mutter.
“It’s not your fault,” she says, sucking in a breath.
I glance her way. “Please promise me you won’t tell my dad or my brother.”
She places a hand on my knee. “I won’t. I promise, but I can’t guarantee other people won’t.” Her eyes travel off. “Most of the students at school already saw it.”
My nostrils flare. “I hope the one who spread it dies a miserable death.”
She rubs her lips and shivers a little. “You know what? I think you need some ice cream to cheer you up.”
“Ice cream?” I parrot as she gets up.
She pulls me off my bed and drags me out the door. “Yeah, let’s go. Before you turn into a pile of mush.”
* * *
Crystal takes me to Ice,Cookies, & Cream down in Crescent Vale City in her car and gets me two flavors on her. Chocolate and strawberry, my favorite. We sit on a park bench and watch the animals casually stroll by, looking for a nibble.
I take a bite and almost moan. “God, it’s so good!”
“I know, right? This shop’s my fav.”
“I get why you wanted to come here now,” I muse, taking another bite.
“Yeah, they’re far better than the one on campus. I mean, no offense if that’s your fav.”
“None taken. I don’t have a fav, but this one might just be it,” I reply, and we both smile.
“You know what? We should grab some food after,” she says, winking.
I snort. “We’re literally eating ice cream, and you want more?”
“Yeah, it’s almost dinnertime.” She points at the large outdoor clock hanging from the park entry. “I’m more of a ‘have dessert first, then food’ girl.”
“That’s actually a great idea,” I reply. I guess we could. I mean, it’s not like I have anything else to do now that the boys are out of the picture. “All right, let’s do it.”
“If you want, you can invite over those boys you’ve been seeing.”
I almost choke on some of my ice cream. “Ah…”
“What? You four are an item, right?” she says, taking a bite out of her ice cream.
I take another bite from my ice cream, determined to get brainfreeze before I have to answer, but a peculiar van outside the park catches my attention and I forget what I was about to say. I don’t know why, but it feels familiar, somehow. I just can’t put my finger on it. It definitely doesn’t belong to Kai, Milo, or Nathan, though.
“Hi, ladies,” someone behind us says.
I turn my head.
CLICK.
I know that sound.
The safety has been pulled off a gun aimed directly at my back.
