Chapter 3

Six Days Pre-Culling…

I never did get to the guest house last night, nor had I seen Spencer at all today, so I still have no idea what he wants to ask me. Curiosity nags at me, but I push it out of my mind. I’m not going to let myself get distracted by thoughts of Spencer. Today’s the last day of school, and I’m determined to enjoy the hype and excitement that’s filling the hallways and classrooms.

“My house after school.” Whitney loops her arm through mine.

The only time we go to her house is when she wants to swim—or show off something new she bought—and considering the temperature is creeping past 90 degrees today, my guess is that we’re swimming.

“I don’t have a bathing suit,” I say.

“You can borrow one of mine.” She waves her hand dismissively.

Whitney has an entire dresser drawer full of swimsuits, most of them still have the tags attached, too, so I know I’ll have plenty of options, but her style is the polar opposite of mine. She likes to flaunt what God gave her. Me—not so much.

“Who else did you invite?”

“Mya and Liz, obviously.” She grins. “Maybe some of the guys.”

My stomach sinks. Some of the guys means Reid and all of his friends. Reid is hands on a good day, but he’s even worse when I’m half-naked in a bikini. I’m tempted to make up an excuse not to go, but no way will Whitney let me get away with that.

“Fine.” I sigh. “But I probably won’t go swimming. Started my period this morning,” I lie and clutch my stomach, pretending to have cramps.

Whitney groans. “You’re so lame, but whatevs.” She glances over my head, then bounces on the balls of her feet. “Mya! Liz!”

My other two friends rush toward us. “Can you believe this is our last day as juniors?” Liz asks with an excited shriek.

I grin, her joy contagious. I’ll never admit this out loud, but I really like Liz the best. She’s a lot more like me than Whitney or Mya, but for some reason, Whitney claimed me as her bestie, and if not for her, I never would’ve become friends with Liz in the first place.

“My house after school,” Whitney tells them. “I need your help picking what outfit to wear to Marc’s party tonight.” She flips her hair over her shoulder.

“Maybe if you didn’t buy thirty new outfits yesterday, you could pick one all by yourself,” Mya says with a wicked smirk.

I roll my eyes. Why does Mya always have to being snarky? She knows that sort of attitude is guaranteed to rub Whitney the wrong way and start an argument. Thankfully, Whitney doesn’t respond. Instead, she turns her attention to Liz.

“Did you pass the math final?” Whitney asks.

Liz nods. “With a ninety-eight.”

“Well, aren’t you a smarty pants.” Whitney tries to keep her tone light and playful, but I hear the evilness hidden in her words.

“You passed, too, and that’s what matters,” I say to Whitney, hoping to diffuse the situation before my three closest friends begin an all-out war with each other. Especially when summer vacation officially starts tomorrow—I don’t want to be stuck in the middle when the four of us should be spending the next two and a half months together.

Whitney’s face brightens. “I did pass, didn’t I?” She throws her arms in the air and lets out an ear-piercing shout of victory.

Several students respond in kind, and soon, the hallway erupts in deafening cheers. Papers fly through the air like confetti, and sounds of lockers slamming is a symphony to excited voices. I can’t contain my smile.

Just then, Spencer strides down the hall with a confidence that’s palpable. His back is straight, his head high and self-assured. Has he always moved like that? I honestly can’t remember. Then again, I haven’t paid him much attention the past few years.

His gaze zeroes in on me, and my heart suddenly starts to race. He raises a single brow and grins as if he can sense my reaction, but he never once slows his pace. I vaguely acknowledge my friends crossing themselves and laughing because I can’t seem to tear my gaze from Spencer, almost like he’s got me under some sort of weird spell.

Only when he finally disappears around the corner do I let out a pent-up breath. I blink and will my pulse to slow. What on earth just happened?

“Earth to Everleigh.” Mya snaps her fingers in front of my face and shoots me a dirty look. “What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” I clear my throat. “Just not feeling the greatest today.”

“She’s PMSing,” Whitney says.

All three of them offer sympathetic nods and murmurs of encouragement. I shake my head, but nothing helps to clear my thoughts or settle the unease churning inside of me. I have no idea what’s up with Spencer, but I do know two things for certain. One, he’s changed, and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. And two, he seems a lot more interested in me lately, and I have no idea why, but I am going to find out.

* * * *

“Where is my lipstick?” Mya curses and dumps the contents of her purse onto the backseat of Whitney’s car.

Liz laughs and turns on the overhead light. A moment later, Mya lets out a whoop and holds up a tube of blood-red lipstick. She leans over the back of the passenger’s seat and flips down the visor, nearly smacking me in the face as she does.

I give her a dirty look and lean to the side so she can use the small mirror. “Seriously, that couldn’t wait until we got there?”

She applies a generous amount, then smacks her lips. “Nope.” She pats my shoulder and returns to her seat. “Thanks, doll.”

Shaking my head, I laugh. But I can’t deny how good that shade looks on her. The bright red accentuates her dark complexion and makes her hazel eyes pop.

“Whoa.” Whitney whistles as she slows her speed. Both sides of the street are lined with cars. Loud dance music blasts from the house. “Looks like we made a good choice. This seems like the place to be.”

She loops around the block twice before finding a suitable parking spot. We get out of the car and do a quick makeup and hair check for each other before heading inside. The house is packed, and we have to shoulder our way through the crowd. I swear it takes almost half an hour just to get through the living room and into the kitchen.

“This is insane!” Liz shouts over the music.

I nod and look around for Reid, knowing within an hour my friends will scatter to various rooms with a guy of their choice. But I don’t see him anywhere. Whitney thrusts a plastic cup into my hand, and I take a drink without a second thought. The liquid burns my throat, and I gag.

“Ugh, what is that?” I take a whiff and am met with an overwhelming cinnamon smell. I scrunch up my nose and set the cup on the counter. The aftertaste is even worse, and my gag reflex is once again engaged. “Yuck.”

She laughs. “It’s Fireball whiskey.”

“I hate you.” I playfully punch her arm, and she laughs harder.

She’s always pulling pranks like this. I glance over my shoulder to find Liz and Mya chatting with Marc McCain, the recent graduate and host of the party.

Whitney clutches my arm. “C’mon, let’s go see who else is here.”

“I need some water or something first.” I stick out my tongue and make a disgusted face. “Seriously, Whit, I’m gonna kill you for that.” I’m going to get even with her, too. Eventually.

She giggles. “Oh, stop. It’s not that bad.”

“Oh yeah?” I grab the cup and hold it out to her. “Then you take a drink.”

With a wicked glean in her eyes, she snatches the cup and downs the whiskey in a single gulp. I watch her closely, but she doesn’t have any reaction.

“See? Not that bad,” she says.

I narrow my eyes. She’s barely holding it together, and I think her eyes are starting to water.

Finally, she caves. “Okay, so it’s a little bad. It kinda burns.”

I laugh. “Told ya.”

She grabs another cup, fills it with water from the sink, and drinks the entire thing. Then she refills it and hands it to me. I barely get a mouthful when a familiar voice sounds behind me. Reid!

I spin around and then freeze, eyes wide. Busty Belinda Scott is hanging all over him, and he doesn’t seem the least bit upset about that. I watch in horror as he slips his arm around her waist and pulls her closer, his lips landing on her cheek. She runs her hand down his chest and tugs on the waist of his jeans. My stomach rolls.

“Oh, hell no.” Whitney starts to push through the crowd, but I grab her arm.

She’s the type to make a scene, and the last thing I want right now is to have my personal embarrassment broadcast to a room full of people.

“Don’t,” I say.

“He’s not going to get away with this, Everleigh.” Her tone is firm, and the fierce loyalty in her expression calms me a little. She’s got my back.

I chew on my bottom lip. Part of me wants to let her loose on him, but a bigger part of me just wants to slip out the back door and pretend I didn’t see anything. If I break up with Reid, in the middle of a huge party for everyone to see, will my popularity take a hit? Or will people side with me against the cheater? He’s got way more friends than I do. My mind races with indecision. Letting him get away with this simply because I’m worried about losing my social status is stupid, but I’ve been a nobody before, and I don’t want to be one again.

“Reid, there you are.” Alex stumbles into the kitchen and knocks into Belinda. She wobbles, but Reid steadies her. “Been looking everywhere for you, man.”

I curl my hands into fists. He’s so focused on the busty blonde, he hasn’t even noticed me. The longer I stand there, the hotter my anger burns.

Belinda leans in and whispers something in Reid’s ear. He lifts his brows and smirks—a gesture I used to find sexy—and then says, “Again?” She nods, and he laughs. “Can’t get enough of the Reidster, huh?”

I clench my jaw. As if him flaunting another girl in front of me when everyone knows we’re a couple isn’t humiliating enough, he then all but announces he’s having sex with her? Guess all those predictions Liz and Mya made the other day won’t come true now.

I shove past Whitney and march up to Reid.

When he sees me, his face falls, and he drops his arm from Belinda. “Everleigh,” he says.

“You’re disgusting!” I shout the words, and the room quiets, but I’m so angry I can’t see straight. My hands and legs shake as adrenaline spikes through my system. “I cannot believe you’re cheating on me with boobs-for-brains.” I jerk my head in Belinda’s direction.

“Maybe if you put out, I wouldn’t have to go to elsewhere to get off.” His lips curl into an evil smile. “Guess I should’ve known better than try to pry open a virgin’s legs.”

My heart stops, and my ears ring. Flames of embarrassment lick up my neck and face. He just blurted out my biggest, most private secret. I’m stunned speechless. How dare he blame me for his decision to cheat? I take a deep breath, then another, and another. But it does nothing to calm me.

Around us, people start to whisper and snicker. I need to get out of here. But I’m not going to let him have the last word. I pour what’s left of my water over the top of his head. He gasps and jumps back.

“Good luck getting rid of whatever she gave you.” I slice a look at Belinda before storming out of the kitchen. By the time I’m out the front door, tears are silently slipping down my cheeks.

“Everleigh!” Whitney catches up to me outside. She hugs me, then laughs. “That was the best thing I have ever seen. Seriously, where did that come from?”

I force a smile, but my heart splinters as the realization of what just happened settles heavily on my mind. In a matter of minutes, I went from girlfriend of the hottest, most popular guy in school to single virgin who couldn’t keep her boyfriend satisfied.

“Wow.” Liz bursts out of the house, clapping and smiling. “You are hardcore, Everleigh.”

Mya rolls her eyes. “I cannot believe he’s messing around with Bindy Snot.”

I laugh at Mya’s nickname for Belinda, and soon, they join in on my desperate laughter until we’re a huddle of giggles. Whitney pulls us into a group hug, and I let out a pent-up breath.

“Thanks,” I say, happy they aren’t upset with me for dumping Reid.

“He’s a jerk,” Mya declares. “And I, for one, am not going to hang around and watch him be an idiot. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Whitney nods, and we head back to her car. She starts the engine. “Where to?”

“Home,” I say quietly. Not that I really want to go home and listen to my parents fight, but I’m no longer in the mood to party, or be around people.

She gives me a sympathetic nod, then pulls away from the curb. I rest my head on the window and close my eyes. How long has Reid been cheating on me? And how many girls has he done it with while we’ve been together? Now, more than ever, I’m glad I didn’t give him my virginity. He doesn’t deserve something so special. I wait for one of them to ask me if what Reid said is true, but none of them do. I should probably just address it and get it over with, but my throat constricts with emotion, and I can’t form the words.

“So, my parents are taking me to Europe for summer vacation,” Mya says, breaking the awkward silence that settled over us.

And with that single declaration, she takes the focus off me and Reid. Gratitude fills my chest.

“Europe is so boring.” Liz fakes a yawn, then grins. She’s always teasing Mya like that. “I’m going on a Caribbean cruise this summer. Sun, surf, hot pool boys waiting on me hand and foot.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

“Well, you know that guy I’ve been sorta seeing?” Whitney glances at me, then looks in the rearview mirror at Liz and Mya.

“The Snapchat guy?” Liz asks.

“The older guy?” I add.

Whitney nods. “That’s the one. He’s planning to drive his RV across the country this summer, and he invited me to go with him.” She lets out a tiny squeal of excitement.

My jaw drops. “And you said yes?”

“Yeah.” She laughs. “Crazy, right?”

“More like suicidal,” Mya says from the back seat, her tone disinterested.

“You’re totally going to end up on like Dateline or something,” Liz says. “I can see the headline now. ‘Where’s Whitney?’ Or, ‘Young, beautiful, and missing—The unsolved case of Whitney Monroe.’” Liz’s joke doesn’t garner much of a laugh from any of us.

I twist in my seat so I’m facing Whitney. “Do you really think this is a good idea? What if Liz is right, and this guy turns out to be a freak? Or a serial killer?”

Whitney rolls her eyes. “He’s not dangerous. He’s romantic.” She juts out her chin as if that’s the final word on the subject. “What about you? What’re your plans for this summer?” Her gaze lands on me.

I shrug. I don’t have any plans, but I don’t want to tell them that, not when they are all going on these glamorous vacations. Besides, last I knew, the four of us were supposed to spend the summer together.

“My mom’s new boyfriend has a condo in New York. Maybe I’ll hang out in the city with them. Or maybe I’ll go to Cali with my dad and his girlfriend. She has some auditions lined up.” The lies fall from my lips much too easily. I figure I’m safe, though, considering all of them will be gone soon, and they won’t know if I’m home or not.

“I’d go to New York,” Liz says with a firm nod.

“Yeah, me too,” Mya says.

A moment later, Whitney pulls into my driveway. Both of my parents’ cars are here, and my stomach knots. “Thanks, Whit.” I glance over my shoulder. “Sorry I cut the night short.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mya says, but I can’t help feeling guilty. She’d been talking about this party all week.

“Well, thanks.” I open the car door and get out.

“Call if you need us,” Whitney shouts as I swing the door shut. And then she’s speeding out of my driveway like her tires are on fire.

I take a deep breath and stare at my house. All I really want to do is curl up in my bed and forget tonight ever happened, but I can already hear my mother’s high-pitched voice hurling insults at my father. I turn and head for the guest house.