Page 72 of Room to Breathe

I looked down, thinking about the night we’d broken into the school.

“Did you know he stole the lab acid?”

“He didn’t,” I said, even though in the back of my mind I knew he probably had. On purpose. Right in front of me, without me even knowing. Put me at risk of getting into more serious trouble.

Beau just tilted his head, challenging me.

“Well, what do you want me to do? We’re broken up,” I said defensively. “You want me to get back with him so I can break up with him a second time?”

“I just want you to admit he’s not a good person. That he’s not right for you. He was never right for you. That you two aren’t similar. I’m not the only one who thought that. You should’ve heard the things people said.”

“You care more about optics than I do, Beau. You always have. Something your mother pounded into you, I think.”

“This isn’t about my mother,” he snapped. “Why won’t you admit that he brought you down?”

That familiar fire I’d been feeling for months scorched my chest. “Youbrought me down, Beau. You.”

Chapter 30

Then

I was glad Mr. Frasermade me take my things, because I did not want to go back to class. I went and sat in my car, seething, until lunch. I’d worked myself up pretty good by the time the bell rang and the hallways and parking lot filled with students. I opened my car door and marched with all the indignation in the world to our lunch spot. Everyone was already there: Ava and Caroline and Harper. Even Luca joined today; he had never done that before. And, of course, there was the object of all the anger coursing through me—Beau.

He didn’t see me until I was standing right in front of him. He looked up, a half-eaten sandwich in his hand. His eyes seemed cold, shut off completely from any feelings toward me.

“Youtattledon me?” I spit out.

He just shrugged. Shrugged!

“Six questions, Beau! It was only six questions.” My nails dug into my palms from how hard I was clenching my fists.

“And breaking into the school?”

So the principalhadshown him that video?

“We didn’t do anything!”

“So you admit it?”

“What is happening?” Caroline asked beside him.

“Indy cheated off Beau,” Harper said. “And broke into the school the other night after my party.”

“That’s what you ditched us for?” Ava asked.

I was too busy glaring at Beau to respond to Ava. “You toldher?” TheherI was referring to was Harper.

She knew that too, because she said, “Of course he told me. He tells me everything.”

My eyes whipped over to her. “Did you encourage him to do this? To turn me in?” Because why else would he? I thought I could trust him with secrets, with important information. Apparently not.

“Don’t talk to her,” Beau said to me.

“Gladly,” I said back. “Just so you know, they’re making me retake every test I took this entire year.”

His eyes went wide for half a second before they settled into smug again. “Good,” he said.

Something occurred to me in that moment that hurt even more. “You’re only pissed because I jumped ahead of you in rankings.”