Perfect Lie(41)

“I didn’t want you to wake up to your friend trying to fuck me on the couch five feet away from you.”

“Why do you even care?”

“Because she wasn’t the one I wanted to kiss during that game. No one here has ever tried to get to know me. All they ever want is to find their next high. I thought you were different, but it didn’t matter because you’re hung up on some asshole a thousand miles away.” He took a step back, and now he was the one who looked pissed. “Go home, Delilah.” He turned back toward the old house.

“What happened to ‘Kettle’?” I called after him.

“You tell me,” he yelled back without turning back around. He disappeared inside the house, and my shoulders sagged in defeat.

“Way to fucking go, Lie,” I mumbled, as I got back into Trish’s car and left.

I arrived home to a still‐sleeping and none‐the‐wiser Trish. I was thankful that I at least had another day to wallow in pity before it all came crashing down and I’d be on a bus to nowhere. By nighttime I had myself convinced that Abel was going to be long gone, and Tuesday would be like every other worthless day in my life. He had to be growing tired of his relationship with Trish. Guys like him didn’t get attached. It couldn’t be too long before he was nothing but a memory.

I fell asleep to images of a very different version of spin the bottle and awoke to the still‐dark sky. I slipped out onto the fire escape and watched the sunrise through the clouds and wondered whether Abel was doing the same.

I was a zombie in all my classes, and I did my best to avoid Trish, no longer feeling up to playing the game that was my life. It was no use, though, because she was unavoidable at home.

“What should I wear?” she asked me.

“For what?” I kept my eyes glued to my Kindle, as I desperately tried to escape reality.

She sighed dramatically as she stared at me. “For my date with Abel.”

“You’re still doing that? I thought you would have lost interest by now.”

“Yeah, right. I need to hit that first. There’s something about that guy…”

“I get it.” I held up my hand to stop her from continuing. “Wear something tiny. Show him what he’s missing.” I wanted her to hurry up and get it over with so he wouldn’t be at our apartment anymore. I wanted things to go back to our own fucked‐up version of normal. I didn’t like Abel stealing my dream time from Brock.

“That’s a given. I’m thinking the black mini with that pink halter. Put my girls front and center.” She grabbed her boobs, and I rolled my eyes.

“Sounds great. Whatever you think.”

“Awesome! He’s going to be here any minute.”

“Wait…what?” I put down my Kindle and looked up at her.

“Change of plans. He called me last night. He’s dying to get in this.”

That son of a bitch. After his whole “I wish it was you” speech, he called Slutty McBoobs and moved up their fuckfest? Wow. This was just freaking amazing. I tossed my Kindle and got up from the couch, determined to prove I didn’t care.

I stalked off to my closet and began to rip through my clothing, but nothing could compare to what Trish would have on. I ran out of my room and knocked on her door.

“Come in,” she practically purred.

“Calm yourself. It’s just me.” I stepped inside her room. “I need to borrow some clothes. I’m going out.”

“Really?” She jumped with excitement. “You have a date?” Why did she have to sound so surprised?

“Not yet, but I will before the night’s over.”

“That’s my girl. Take what you want.”

I made my way to her closet and dug through it, trying to find something sexy that still kept everything as covered as possible. I pulled out a deep‐purple V‐neck top and an off‐white skirt that barely covered my ass if I stood perfectly straight.

I took off to my room and changed into my super‐slut gear. I kept my hair down because I knew there wasn’t much time. Instead I focused on my face. I gave myself smoky eyes and used three coats of mascara. This was as good as it was getting.

I hurried out of the bathroom and ran into a brick wall, better known as Abel. My eyes traveled up his body to his eyes; they were locked on my chest, which was pressed against him and pushing out of my top.

“My eyes are up here,” I repeated his words from the other day with a confident smile. I wasn’t going to let him know he bothered me.

“I know where they are, Delilah.” His eyes lingered on my chest for an extra second before they met mine.

“Have fun on your date.” I pulled out of his arms and walked around him to my room, letting out the breath I was holding as I stepped inside. The door closed behind me, and I whipped around to see Abel standing in my room in front of the closed door.