Page 18 of Spite

Those kids were nicer to her than they ever were to me. I was a little jealous, but at the same time, I was happy for her. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel what I did in sixth grade.

Georgia and I headed upstairs to my room, and the instant Georgia stepped foot in my bedroom, she froze. Her eyes took in the pink walls, the mountain of old stuffed animals in front of my bed, and the general girlish nature of the entire place. “Wow. I didn’t think your room would look like this.” She was trying to hide her smile, and failing completely.

“It’s my room from when I was younger,” I said, shrugging. “Trust me, I wouldn’t paint it pink now.” There was nothing wrong with pink, but the past few years, I’d preferred stronger colors. Red, blue, black.

Georgia closed the door behind her, meandering to my bed as I stuck my head in my closet. Leah and I had chosen some party outfits, just in case, for situations exactly like this. I had to look drop dead gorgeous at this party, had to make every boy turn their head and stare at me, make them wish they knew me. And since it was Saturday, the basketball team would be there, too. Since Jessie was throwing the party and there wasn’t a game tonight, Christian literally had no reason not to be there.

I was counting on his presence, actually.

I grabbed the clothes and went to the bathroom to change. When I went back into my room, moving before my dresser to find some bracelets to put on my wrists, mostly to cover the scars there, Georgia could not take her eyes off me. I admit, that was the point.

“If you’re just going to this party to get Alec, you’ll definitely have him in the bag,” she mumbled.

I wore clean, dark jeans, the fabric so tight they looked like they were painted on. My shirt was a slimming violet color, cut just below my chest to show my flat stomach. It hung off my shoulders, revealing my collarbone and quite a bit of cleavage. Oh, I’d probably entice more than Alec with this outfit, and that was just fine. The more people that were talking about me, the more Christian would hear about me.

“He’s probably going to lose his mind after one look at you in that,” Georgia went on, nodding appreciatively. “I wish I could go and see it.”

“Why don’t you come?” It wasn’t like there were real invitations to this party. It was a show up whenever you want kind of thing. Theoretically, Georgia could come and be my second eyes and ears, but I wouldn’t put the pressure on her.

She shook her head. “Parties are not my thing. I don’t like all the people, the drinking, the crowded spaces and everyone making out.” She made a yuck sound.

As I started to curl my hair, I said, “I’m not really one for parties, either.” Okay, so maybe Georgia didn’t come here to help get me ready; more to keep me company while I prepped myself for what I had to do. “You know why I’m going.” I’d told Georgia the smooth, more laid-back version of my revenge scheme against the Dick Squad. She knew the general plan, and she was down for it. Mostly because, I think, she didn’t really have a friend before me.

“You could’ve fooled me,” she said, and I turned to face her, letting the most recent curl fall down my back as I pointed the curling iron at her.

“That’s the point. I have to look the part.” I went back to curling my hair. After that, it would be makeup, and a final once-over, and then I’d be done. I’d be ready.

“Oh, come on,” Georgia said with a tiny smile, “admit it. You like getting all primped and ready. And you’re kind of excited to—” I didn’t doubt she was going to bring up Alec, but at that moment, my dad entered the room, wearing his nerdy work clothes. Bright colors, button-down shirt with a tie that had teeth on it.

I know. Hideously ugly.

“I heard someone’s going to a party tonight,” Dad spoke, grinning. His brown hair was short, kind of greasy after a day’s work. He was only a few inches taller than me, a short guy, thin, too. He looked like the typical geeky dad, not at all like the cheating son of a bitch he really was.

“Yep,” I said, sounding bored. I noticed him checking my outfit, and I waited.

I waited for him to mention it, to tell me to change, but he must’ve known better, for all he said was “I hope you two have fun.”

I wasn’t about to correct him, tell him that Georgia wasn’t going, so I simply nodded and watched as he left my room, waiting until I heard his footsteps down the stairs before I carried on with my hair.

“Your dad seems nice,” Georgia muttered. “For a cheater.” Okay, so I may have told her a bit about my past, too. What could I say? Sometimes I couldn’t take the silent lunches. I only chuckled at her comment.

Once my hair was done, I ran my fingers through the brown curls, making their curls looser and wavier. Less like artificial curls and more like natural ones. Next was my makeup—I did a simple smoky eye and bright red lipstick that I knew for a fact would stick on, even if my lips happened to brush against someone else’s.

“Well?” I asked when I was done, spinning in a full circle as if I were in a fashion show. “How do I look?”

“Hot,” Georgia said with a nod. “Sexy. Alec is going to die when he sees you.”

“Good,” I said, going to slide on flats. I went for my backpack next, digging out a sucker I had stored in the front pocket. I stuck it down my chest, right between my breasts. It was the only way I’d get it past my dad, but I had the feeling I’d need a pick-me-up on the walk to Jessie’s house.

Georgia followed me down the stairs. After saying goodbye to the two adults in the house, we went down the driveway, stopping at the base of it. She’d driven here using her mother’s car. “You sure you’ll be okay at this party by yourself? You don’t want me to drive you there?” she asked me. I hadn’t told her strictly about the suicide attempt, but I was sure she’d seen the scars. I usually wore long sleeves to school, but it wasn’t like I always kept my sleeves tugged down.

“I’ll be fine,” I told her. “And no thanks. I’ll text you when I get home later. Thank you for your concern, Mom.”

She chuckled, reaching into her pocket for the keys. “Good. I want you in bed by twelve.”

“Make it two,” I said with a laugh, starting to head down the sidewalk, away from Georgia as she got into the car and drove off. The day had turned dark, and I sighed to myself as I walked, reaching into my chest to grab the sucker.

It’d take me at least thirty minutes to walk to Jessie’s house, but I could handle the walk. Exercise and all that, right?

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