Page 210 of The Surprise Play

Jade leans back, her eyebrow arching as she crosses her arms and sneers, “Oh, you must be on crack if you think you can speak to me that way.”

“Yet you’re allowed to speak to me any way you want?” I argue. “What makesyouso special?”

Jade gives me a pointed look, like“Isn’t it obvious?”

But it’s not.

It’s seriously not.

These girls may be beautiful on the outside, butthey’re horrible people, and they’ve made a sport of trying to ruin me.

Well, fuck that.

I’m not letting them make my night any worse than it already has been.

Staring at them, Mom’s words filter back to me, and even though she probably had the same message through my high school years, for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m actually getting it.

Jade is unhappy.

And her little minions are too lost to think for themselves… so they’re unhappy too.

Their treatment of me has nothing to do with who I am as a person and everything to do with them.

Expelling a pitying laugh, I shake my head. “You know… you have been tormenting me since I was ten years old. And I never did anything to deserve it.” I scan Jade’s expression for even just an inkling of remorse or guilt, but all I catch is a slight squirm from Kelsey, who hides it by crossing her arms the way Jade is doing. “You made me feel so small.”

“Small?” Viper Girl lets out a mocking laugh.

I ignore it and keep going, fueled by a courage I’ve never felt before. “Small and insignificant and like I was less than you.” I point to myself. “But that’s all bullshit! None of this is my problem—it’s yours!” I point at them, my voice rising. “So whatever hole you need to fill by putting people down all the time, you have to fix that shit and stop making me part of your problems.”

Jade’s face contorts into a comical frown. “What the fuck?”

“I’m a good person!” I slap a hand against my chest,and it finally starts to dawn on me like the sun rising over a lake. Staring past them, I let the words soak into me and whisper, “I’m a really good person. I’m… I’m fucking amazing.” I smile, the look on Wily’s face coming back to me in a rush.

“You have to believe that. Promise me you will.”

My eyes snap back to the girls, and I look each one in the eye, something I’m not used to doing. I think it unnerves them a little, and it gives my voice the strength it needs to be unequivocally clear. “I’m not going to let you do this to me again.”

“What?” Viper Girl looks at her friends, pointing at me like I’m weird.

So I spell it out for them. “You’re not my problem anymore. Your opinion means nothing to me.”

Jade’s eyes narrow into a dark glare.

“And you can try to taunt me or hurt me, but it’s not gonna work. I have people in my life whose opinions actually count, and they think I’m beautiful. And they love me just the way I am. They don’t have to mock me or rip my clothes or ruin my birthday party to feel better about themselves. They care about me, and they treat me like I’m important. And they’re the people who deserve my time and attention.”

My mind flicks immediately to Wily lying in a hospital bed, tortured and vulnerable.

Shit, I shouldn’t have let his father kick me out of that room.

I don’t know why Wily didn’t claim me, but I should have claimedhim… no matter what the consequences were.

Because I love him.

And I need to stop letting my doubts and insecurities take away the things I want most, like being there for my boyfriend when he’s hurting and stressed.

Shit, I need to go to him.

Right now.