Page 15

CHAPTER NINE

Once Leo’s gone, the party resumes. Without the potential for a fight, no one cares about Zander and me.

I don’t feel like drinking or dancing anymore, so when Zander spins me around and ushers me toward his room, I don’t protest. He holds onto me as if I might make a break for it, like I’m a suspect he’s taking in for questioning.

As he steers me up the stairs, I barely notice the other people passing us on their way down. Not until someone grabs my free arm and jerks me to a standstill.

It’s beautiful Peyton, wearing an ugly sneer. “Tell your little slut friend we don’t let trash into KPT.”

She’s gone before her meaning sinks in, but when it does, I groan. Oh god no, Liv. Don’t tell me she’s caught you with Braden. Zander is still trying to get me up the steps, but all I want to do is collapse right here and cry. Somehow, I keep the tears at bay until we’re alone in his room.

He paces while I drop onto the bed. “Who is he and why are you hanging out with him?”

Leo. Half an hour ago I was with him, content and safe and relaxed. Now I’m swimming in jealousy and anger. Everyone else’s, not mine.

I let out a sob. “He’s just a friend.” Mindlessly, I reach for my amethyst, remembering just in time that I don’t want Zander to notice it.

He scoffs. “He doesn’t want to be your friend .”

“Yes, he does!” Leo said so himself. I’m not looking to date or anything . “Lara’s full of shit.”

Zander scowls, bewildered. “Who said anything about Lara?”

Wait, what? “She wasn’t telling you a bunch of bullshit?”

“No.” His lip curls in distaste.

Oh. Then who was?

He stops stalking and glowers down at me. “Stay away from him.”

“But he’s my friend.” And I need him.

“You have me. And Liv.” Zander waves a hand to encompass the house and everyone in it. “And you have all the guys. Why do you need any other friends?”

At the mention of Liv, I flash back to the encounter with Peyton on the stairs. I shake my head and choke on another sob. “They’re not gonna let Liv into KPT.”

“What? Who cares?”

“ I do. She does. She had her heart set on it, and now they’re not gonna let her in. Because of stupid Braden!”

“What the fuck are you even talking about?”

I try to explain, but thanks to my wrenching heart, I’m not particularly coherent.

Zander shrugs. “So what if she can’t be a KPT? She can be a Sweetheart too.” He’s been nagging me for months to be an O-Chi Sweetheart next year instead of joining a sorority. But I’m not sure I like the idea of being the O-Chi brothers’ little pet.

I jump to my feet, hell bent on getting out of here.

“Where’re you going?” he demands, blocking my path .

“To get another beer.”

“No way. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Not letting me?

I’m gaping, scrambling for words, when there’s a knock and a wail, “Betts? Are you in there? Betts?”

I shoulder Zander aside and throw open the door. There stands Liv, eyes red and cheeks streaked with mascara.

She’s sobbing so hard she’s hyperventilating. “Peyton hates me!”

I lead her to the bed where she collapses into my arms.

Zander throws up his hands and shouts at her. “We’re trying to talk in here!”

I give him a pleading look.

“I asked him,” Liv moans. “I asked him, and he said they weren’t together anymore!”

“Who? Braden and Peyton?”

She sniffs and nods. She’s getting tears, snot, and mascara all over me. I’m going to have to buy Caitlyn a new dress.

“What happened?”

“She saw us kissing.”

Considering Braden’s reputation, I have a hard time believing someone as self-assured as Peyton would be shocked to find him with another girl. Was she actually hoping he would commit to her?

I try to comfort Liv with the requisite best friend pep talk: Peyton’s insecure and jealous, she’s not as pretty as Liv, she doesn’t own Braden, blah, blah, blah. But nothing consoles her.

“It doesn’t matter,” she sobs. “She’ll never let me into KPT.”

“She’s just one sister. If the others like you?—”

“She’ll turn them all against me!”

“C’mon,” I say, getting to my feet and pulling her up with me. “Let’s get another drink.”

My stomach clenches when I notice Zander is gone. He’s probably even more pissed off now than he was before. How am I supposed to fix all this?

Liv and I stop off at the bathroom where I clean both our faces with a musty towel. We smell a little sour, but at least we no longer look like raccoons.

Downstairs, I lead Liv straight to the laundry room and my cooler.

I wish we could hide in here and finish off these beers, just the two of us alone, but of course we can’t get the caps off.

In the kitchen, I choose from a sea of scattered bottle openers, pop off a lid, and hand Liv the bottle, a little curl of mist rising out of the top.

After I take a long gulp from mine, I gaze at the counter where Leo and I talked, my fingers toying with the pendant under my throat.

I’m tempted to run off somewhere to charge it, because right now it’s not absorbing anything. I’m drowning.

A male voice croons, “What’s the matter, baby? Where’d you go?”

Recognizing the voice, I whirl around. Sure enough, there’s Braden, his arms wrapped around Liv and his face buried in her hair.

I should’ve locked her in the pantry.

“Liv.” I reach for her arm but she swats me away.

With a sharp glare and a low voice, she tells me, “I’m fine.”

I back up against the counter, shoulders sagging.

What’s the point of fighting with her? The damage is done.

I knew this would happen and I did nothing to stop it.

A few weeks ago, while she was here, alone and vulnerable to Braden’s charms, I was at Avery’s eating frosted animal crackers.

And tonight, while she was making out with him, I was oblivious to everything but Leo’s dark brown eyes?—

I have to find Zander.

When Braden informs me he last saw him by the keg, I rush outside.

I don’t care that it’s freezing and I’m in a short, sleeveless dress.

I don’t care that the backyard is muddy and crowded and that the air smells like weed.

As soon as I see Zander, I run for him and throw my arms around his shoulders.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I pepper him with kisses, clinging to him, terrified he’s going to push me away.

His aquamarine eyes are missing their playful spark, but he manages a sad smile. “Don’t do that shit to me, babe.” He holds me tight and groans against my mouth, “Don’t do that again.”

And to my relief, he kisses me back.

For the past few days, Liv has been one wrong look away from bursting into tears.

As I feared she would, she slept with Braden the night of the Halloween party, Peyton’s threats nothing but hot air in the face of his biceps and blue eyes.

Since then, she’s shot him a few casual texts, but of course he hasn’t replied.

I’ve been tempted to call Zander and demand he tell Braden to stop being a dick, but the heaviness in my gut tells me I’d only be delaying the inevitable.

Braden isn’t the “dating” type, and the sooner Liv realizes it, the better.

Even if it kills me to see her so dejected.

I coax her off her bed where she’s been lying flat on her back, mindlessly tossing her scrunchie in the air.

The sorority open house I’ve been most looking forward to starts in less than an hour, and Liv seriously needs the distraction.

She also needs to explore some other sororities because, let’s be honest, KPT may no longer be an option.

“Get your coral sweater on,” I command. “You’re going with me to GKA.”

She grumbles as she drags herself to her wardrobe. “I’m not that into GKA.”

“So? It’ll be good practice for DAE and Iota Tau.”

Begrudgingly, she agrees. I’m sure she’s hoping that by the time Rush rolls around, the whole Braden fiasco will be forgotten, and maybe it will be.

But if you ask me, Peyton’s animosity isn’t actually about Braden.

She and Liv are opposite sides of the same coin: one blond, one dark, both beautiful.

Once she relaxed, Liv charmed the pearls off the sisters at the KPT open house. And Peyton was threatened .

Too bad I’m the only one who knows Liv is too sweet and guileless for all that juvenile Queen Bee crap.

At tonight’s GKA open house, however, Liv is too sullen to charm anyone.

She spends most of the evening planted on the couch nibbling shortbread cookies, quiet and distracted.

Whenever anyone strikes up a conversation with her, she’s polite and engages, but I can tell her heart isn’t in it.

Several times I give her a subtle signal to smile, but all I get in return is a half-hearted grimace.

Eventually I give up on encouraging her.

As she says, she’s not into GKA anyway. But I am—even more so after tonight.

The sisters are friendly but not fawning.

We talk about our classes, families, and hometowns, and no one showers me with effusive praise or gets swoony over Zander.

They’re more “girl next door” than Junior League, which makes them exactly my speed, and after the open house, they’re still at the top of my list for Rush Week.

When we get back to our room, Liv collapses on her bed and stares up at the ceiling. “They were nice.”

“Yeah.”

“They liked you,” she says.

“I liked them.” I wave for her to scoot over before I lie down beside her. “Think you’ll put them on your list?”

She shrugs. “Maybe.”

If only she would be open to a sorority like GKA, where the sisters are genuine and so much less… bitchy than those in KPT. I’m guessing KPT no longer wants me either, but if they do, they can forget it. I ruled them out the moment Peyton looked into my eyes and slut-shamed my best friend.

In an effort to comfort Liv, I convince her to let me brush her hair.

Ten minutes later, she’s asleep. I pull her blanket over her and sprawl on my bed, ruminating on my own complicated situation.

I haven’t heard from Leo since the Halloween party.

He didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by Zander’s threats, so I doubt that’s why he’s lying low. Maybe he’s doing it for me.

I want so badly to text him, but I don’t.

Yeah, Zander overreacted, but that’s because, underneath all that anger, he was afraid he was going to lose me.

I’ve been working hard this week, showering him with apologies and reassurances, and I’ve finally managed to restore his gorgeous, dimpled smile.

So for now, I’ll take my cue from Leo. It’s too soon to rock the boat.