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“Hi, Jack,” Casey said warmly, looking behind me. “Aren’t you here with Ava?”
“I was. Just broke up,” I said, though every word felt it was extracted with pliers.
They both gasped. “Really?” Addison asked.
“Yep.”
“Oh my god, are you alright?” asked Casey. “Do you need anything? Do you need to talk?” Casey asked, concern written all over her face.
Addison shot her a hard look, then smiled at me. “Yes, Jack. Do you need anything? What happened?” She laid her hand on my forearm and all it did was fill me with rage.
“I don’t know. I just got fed up with all this drama. Ever since we got together, it was one thing after another.”
Casey looked startled. “What do you mean? Are you talking about the…picture?” she asked tentatively. I’m sure she was remembering Crenshaw’s broken face, so she was treading lightly.
“Jack, I couldn’t believe that. Do you think she posed for it?” Addison asked, and I reflexively shot her a look of disbelief before frowning, as if considering that possibility.
“Don’t know. Maybe,” I muttered, thanking god that even though Ava knew this was all fake, she couldn’t hear our conversation.
Addison put her hands on her hips, warming up to the idea of a conversation focused on bashing Ava. “I can’t say I’d be surprised, she seems like such an attention whore. Honestly, Jack, I don’t know what you saw in her.”
“Addison, you shouldn’t–” Casey interjected, her gaze batting back and forth between me and Addison, knowing just yesterday I put Crenshaw on his ass for this shit.
“No, Casey,” Addison cut her off. “She’s the worst. It’s about time Jack figured out that she’s not good enough for him.”
I nodded, trying to think of a way to get Addison alone and lead her into a confession so I could end this stupid charade, when Donovan Carter did me a solid. He burst into the room calling Casey’s name.
“Hey, Case, a guy just threw up in the formal living room on some old rug…”
Casey squeaked. “Oh no, hold on.” She ran toward the formal living room, wherever that was, and Donovan shot me a half-grin as he left behind her. I gave him a chin nod in appreciation.
“So, Addison, do you happen to know who I should thank for helping me shake Ava off?”
Addison frowned. “What do you mean? Helping you shake her off?”
“Yeah, you know the pictures, the other stuff. The stuff that made me realize dating her is such a hassle.”
Addison shook her head. “What other stuff?”
“You know the shit with her locker, pointing out what a whore she is, shit like that.” I practically choked on those words, but I wanted to move this the fuck along.
“Oh, that stuff. No, I don’t know who did that.”
I smiled what I hoped was a charming smile at her. “C’mon, Addison, you don’t have to pretend with me. I’ve known you my whole life, I can tell when you’re looking out for me.”
Addison gave me this really strange look. She looked like she was racking her brain to give me an answer. She wanted to take credit for this, but I was beginning to think she didn’t know what I was talking about.
“Oh, well, yeah, I wanted you to know how bad Ava was for you. You know how much I’ve always cared for you, Jack,” she said, and put her hand on my arm again. Unbelievable. This bitch was taking credit for vandalism, property damage, and stalking didn’t even fucking do.
“How did you manage to superglue Ava’s laptop shut? That was genius.” I lied to make sure she didn’t know what I was talking about.
“Oh, that? Um, well, I found it in one her classes, so, you know…” she trailed off and took a sip of her beer taking the bait like the snapping trout she was.
“Okay, cut the shit, Addison. You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”
“What do you mean? I do look out for you, Jack. I’ve been trying to tell Ava to leave you alone all semester. I’ll admit, it didn’t occur to me to do the stuff you’re talking about, but I should have,” she finished vehemently.
Fuck, this had backfired magnificently. I texted Donovan and asked him to come back in here, so I could find out why the fuck Ava’s picture was taken on Addison’s phone when she didn’t know what the fuck I was talking about. I considered texting Ava and Nik, so they’d know what was going on, but thought this would be easier with less people.
