Page 10

Thea

Henry: Looking forward to our date tomorrow night.

My music blasted out of my phone as I sang along to the latest Bailey Hill album. Perfection. That was all that tiny blonde pop princess was, and after last night’s confrontation with Jackson in the kitchen, I hadn’t stopped listening to her. So much so, I fell asleep with my noise canceling headphones and her music in my ears.

Waving my arms in front of me, I copied her routine as much as I could while my fake tan dried. With a bikini on, I was a sight to see. A sight I wanted no one to see, but I didn’t care because no one was home and I had a date tomorrow night.

Suck on that, Jackson.

I gleamed with excitement thinking about the date. It had been so long since I’d been able to say that and not feel an ounce of trepidation in my stomach. Okay, that might’ve been an exaggeration. I was a little nervous, but knowing Henry lived in my apartment block and Brandon would know if anything happened to me, made me feel marginally better about the whole thing. Maybe this date would be as healing for me as it was for Henry.

My upper lip tingled, the bleach burning my skin a little as it lightened the hair there. I was determined to cover all bases tonight, just in case we decided to take things further. I wasn’t looking for a hookup, but it had been so long that I wouldn’t complain if I got something.

The music lowered as my phone dinged with another message. I tiptoed over like a mummy, assuming it was Henry texting again, only to frown when I saw the preview of the message.

Tanner: Jackson told me …

Ugh, Jackson. He’s such a rat. I knew what this text was about, my date. No doubt, he told Tanner about it to get me in trouble, but the joke was on him. Tanner was miles away, and by the time he got back, I’d be able to prove to him I would be fine.

I opened my brother’s message and started to read it.

Tanner: Jackson told me you were spending your nights watching The Baseball Bachelor. I know I said you should spend time at home, but I think you should go out and have some fun too. You’re only in college once.

My brows furrowed. That was a completely rational response from my brother, which felt a little odd. So, Jackson hadn’t told him about my nonexistent date last night? Why was he so hell-bent on finding out who it was, then?

Just as I was about to respond to Tanner, the apartment door opened, and I dropped my phone.

“No. No. No,” I squealed, dropping down so the kitchen counter was protecting me, and cursed myself for the tan lines this move would create. “You weren’t supposed to be home for another hour,” I yelled into the abyss as feet shuffled through the hallway. It was in that moment I realized I still had white cream on my upper lip.

“Shit.”

I grabbed a kitchen towel and scrubbed at my face, hoping any evidence of the bleach was gone even though I knew full well it left a red mark last time.

“What’s going on in here?”

Her voice. I crept down even lower. I could have handled Jackson and his obnoxious responses to me trying to beautify myself, but I couldn’t handle her.

“Nothing,” Jackson mumbled, and I closed my eyes, hoping the fear of embarrassment would be worse than the actual embarrassment itself.

“Oh. My. God. What is she doing here?”

There it was. My sorority sister’s voice was heavy in the air. Grace. Out of all the people in this college, why did he have to bring her home? He had to pick the girl who hated me yet liked to flaunt her power over Jackson James.

Tears threatened to spill, but I sucked it up, refusing to feel lesser. That was what she’d want, and I couldn’t bear to see her grinning in satisfaction.

“Hey, Grace.” I tried to sound as unaffected by this woman as possible as I stood to my full height. Grace was standing in the middle of the living room, and Jackson was on the other side, looking absolutely pissed that I was here, getting in the way.

I could feel heat rising to my cheeks, which I thought was probably a good thing. It might mask the red of my upper lip.

“Are you lost and looking for Tanner?”

Her voice had the ability to make my flesh crawl. Bitchy with a side of sass, she made me feel like a fool, or more of one than I already was.

“I live here,” I retorted, gathering my things and holding them away from my body as I tried to make a quick escape, fake tan be damned. I needed to get into my room and away from her as quickly as possible. “I have every right to be out here doing my thing.”

“Ah, okay. Makes sense why you’re wearing that, then.”

I could feel it. Her eyes roaming the parts of my body which weren’t covered by my bikini, monitoring every wobble as I moved. I knew what they thought of me. The suggestion I sit on a washing machine while it was on so they could mark every part of me that jiggled came to mind. Something I tried to forget about because I knew Tanner would go ballistic if he found out about it. I hated how she made me feel, but I refused to be owned by her.

“Can’t fake tan without a little flesh on show,” I said, hoping I sounded confident as I strolled to my door.

“Why are you bleaching your mustache at the same time, then? Feels a little counterintuitive, don’t you think? Maybe you should consider dermaplaning. It’d be more effective and has the added benefit of removing the fluff all over your chin.”

Jackson, the baseball cap wearing idiot, was too busy looking at the floor to tell his love interest for the night to back off, and my bravado shriveled. I had no ounce of dignity left, so I might as well answer the question.

“I don’t tan my face because I use foundation for that, and I always break out with dermaplaning.”

Why was I explaining myself to this woman? I shook my head and stomped to my room. It was my own fault I was here, stuck rooming with my twin brother and his teammate, but I thought we’d planned everything out. Tonight was supposed to be my night at home. I didn’t need anyone walking in on me like this.

“Explains the neck lines and peach fuzz, then,” Grace said just as I slammed my door shut and dropped all of my belongings on the floor.

I exhaled slowly, then rested my head against the wood as I closed my eyes.

Fucking embarrassed wasn’t even close to how I felt right now. Grace was a queen bee at the sorority. Everyone listened to her, and she always had the best gossip. I was already an outcast, and I had no doubts that everyone would know about this encounter by morning.

“What is wrong with her?” Grace asked Jackson, and my heart thumped loudly. I should walk away from the door and put my headphones on, but I didn’t. Some sick part of me wanted to hear it. I needed to hear it. And that was what was wrong with me. I was always looking for reasons for people to hate me because it acted as confirmation as to why I hated myself so much.

“Come on, Grace. Let’s go.”

Jackson didn’t answer, but that told me enough. He agreed, and he didn’t think it was worth discussing.

“What? You’re just going to ignore my question as though you don’t live with the biggest pick-me girl on campus? I mean, come on, she’s such a loser. She tried to burn down the entire sorority because she was upset we were all prettier than her.”

That was it. That was all I needed to hear to justify all the self-hate I had inside me. She was right. I was terrible, but I wasn’t a pick-me. How could I be when no one wanted me?

Grossed out by my now streaky and too-orange tan, I shuffled over to the bed, not caring that my sheets would be ruined. Not like any guy wants to come near me anyway. I only got a date with Henry because he was desperate. There was nothing special about me. I had no doubts that if any other girl even looked his way, he’d drop me in a heartbeat.

When I heard Jackson’s door shut, I knew I was in for a long night. This was what I was trying to avoid with the schedule, but as usual, Jackson acted as though rules didn’t apply to him.

Maybe they didn’t.

I quickly put my headphones on and turned my music up, refusing to listen to Jackson having a good time with a girl who was out to get me. I shouldn’t expect any loyalty from him. He was my brother’s teammate and my roommate, but that was as far as our comradery went, so it was no surprise that he’d sleep with someone who despised me so much.

Pulling the covers over my body, I lifted my knees to my chest, hugging myself to keep me from crying to sleep. She wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t either. I was better than them and what happened to me, even if sometimes I didn’t feel it.