Page 91 of Running from Drac

My whole body goes still, feeling her presence before I ever see her.

The turn is slow and hesitant. Every nerve is on edge, the hair on my arms rising without warning. Then our eyes meet, her smirk condescending and filled with conceit.

Fucking Pippa.

She pats at her long dark hair with a towel, drying it as she walks, not caring one bit about the shitstorm she started by taking me to see Ryder last night.

She blinks at me like I’m some kind of surprise she didn’t see coming. “Oh,” she says, too casual. “You’re back.”

My blood spikes.

She should look worried, maybe even apologetic. She shouldn’t look so fucking smug.

“Did you do it on purpose?”

“Hmm?” she hums, cocking her head to the side. “I’m sorry, I must have water in my ears.”

“I asked you a question,” I say, stepping forward. “Did you do it on purpose?”

She blinks. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Don’t pretend that you’re deaf now. I want the truth, Pippa. Did you fucking plan that shit last night?”

She shrugs. “And if I did?”

“Then consider yourself out of my fucking wedding!”

She smirks, her laughter grating on my nerves. “What wedding, Amber? Do you mean the one that you’re putting together with Elmer’s glue and silly putty? Because that shit won’t stick, no matter how hard you work at holding it together.” Pippa lifts an eyebrow, mouth quirking with amusement as she assesses my shaking fist that I can barely contain by my side.

“Just tell me the truth, Pippa. Did you plan that shit?”

“I just wanted you to see that there were other options out there, Amber. Ones better than Eddie.”

“Do you know how fucked up that is, Pippa? You went out of your way to try to sabotage my relationship.”

“How’d he take it?” she questions, assessing my face for all my tells. “Ah, I see. He took it quite well. And why is that, Amber? Why didn’t he react this time?”

“Because I didn’t do anything wrong.”

She mocks me with more laughter. “Keep telling yourself that, babe. That man’s hands were all over you last night, and you allowed it to happen. Admit it. You wanted it. Fuck, you wanted more.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Or what, Amber? Are you going to hit me? Are you really going to ruin years of friendship over some guy?”

“No, I’m going to end our friendship over a heartless bitch that’s been manipulating me for years.”

Her eyebrow slightly lifts. “If you only knew, girl,” she says, tsking me with her mouth. Something in her tone sets me off. It’s smug. Aloof. It’s the same tone she’s used in every fight we’ve ever had. But this time she’s keeping something from me. Something big.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” she says smugly, still trying to dry her hair. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have hair to dry.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” I snap. “Not till you tell me what the fuck you’re hiding. You’ve been off for weeks. Whispering with Poppy, walking into rooms and going quiet the second I show up. And now you’re standing here pretending like you know something that you’re refusing to tell me?”

“Not everything is about you, Amber.”

I laugh bitterly. My tongue lashes out like a cracking whip. “No, it’s never about me, right? Not when you’re busy making yourself the center ofmywedding.”