Page 90

Laurie stood, her mouth wide as she stared at her twin. Brooke had always seemed to follow along with whatever Laurie wanted, but I guess she’d finally had enough.

As her words started to sink in, I felt the blood rush from my skin. “You were behind all those names I was called last year?” I asked. I felt cold and dizzy, like I was losing touch with reality. Hayley had always suspected that Laurie was the one who encouraged the girls to call me names after the list came out.

“Now look what you’ve done,” Laurie barked at her sister. But Brooke walked away from her and came to stand at my side.

“Come on, Madi, let’s get out of here,” Brooke murmured.

I paused though and set my eyes on Laurie. She was looking down her nose at me, not an ounce of remorse in her eyes. I wanted to run away, but I knew I had to say what I was thinking or I’d regret it later.

“Brooke’s right. I’ve never done anything to you, and I don’t deserve your crap,” I started. I took a deep breath in before I continued. “I could plot my revenge or try to fight you over all the things you’ve done to me, but the truth is that I no longer care what you think or what whispers you spread through the school. If there is one thing I have begun to realize over these last few weeks, it’s that I don’t need anyone else’s approval. And I certainly don’t need yours.”

I let out a breath, feeling suddenly lighter. Laurie seemed surprised I’d fought back, but she also looked ready to start hurling more fury and vitriol at me.

“You ready?” Brooke asked.

I nodded and let her guide me away from Laurie before she could continue to flare the argument. It was only once we started to move away that I noticed a crowd had formed. Some kids had their camera phones out, and I could hear angry whispers about Laurie cheating on True Love. I tried to ignore it all though, because right now it wasn’t my problem.

“What class do you have now?” Brooke asked once we’d moved to another corridor.

“Art,” I replied. “But I’m almost done with my current project, so it won’t matter if I’m a little late.”

Brooke nodded and glanced back the way we had come.

“Thank you for standing up for me,” I said.

Brooke let out an uneasy laugh. “I’m sure I’ll wake up tomorrow and all my lipsticks will be broken, but it felt good to finally put my sister in her place.”

“I’m sorry if I put you in an awkward position,” I said.

She waved my apology off though. “Nah, Laurie needed a bit of a reality check, and I really am fed up with all the mean things she does.” Brooke tilted her head as she looked at me, as though she was considering something. She then gave a little nod as if her mind were made up before she spoke again. “You know that nothing happened between Laurie and Cole on the camping trip, right?”

“It didn’t look like nothing,” I said.

Brooke lifted her eyes to the ceiling like I was an idiot. “My sister is a master of manipulation. She can make almost any situation look the way she wants it.”

“She was in her underwear and Cole was shirtless,” I murmured.

Brooke shrugged. “I only know what Laurie told me the next day,” she replied. “She was all pissy when she got home because Cole had rejected her yet again. You don’t have to believe me, but maybe you should talk to Cole and hear him out?”

My stomach was doing flips as I listened to her. I so badly wanted to believe what she said, but I wasn’t sure if I was brave enough to risk my heart with Cole one more time.

“I’ve got to get to class,” Brooke said.

I touched her arm, causing her to pause and look at me. “Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

“Because unbeknownst to Laurie, I’m team Cadi,” Brooke replied with a grin before walking off.

I stood there watching her walk away, with far too many emotions racing through me. Maybe Brooke was right and I should talk to Cole and give him a chance to explain. But I knew I couldn’t do it while the competition was still on. My heart couldn’t take it if I had to watch him choose someone else, but could I handle it if Cole was innocent and I had wrongly pushed him away?

I didn’t know what the right answer was or what option I should take. Things would all calm down once the competition was over, so perhaps waiting to talk to Cole would be best. I set off toward art feeling a little more confident that I was making the right call.

I just hoped that when we finally talked it wasn’t too late.

25

Cole

Tanner’s eyes were bright as he came to sit in his usual seat beside me in math. He had a look about him that made me suspicious before he’d even opened his mouth.