Page 71 of Spite

Chapter Twenty-Six

The next day passed slowly. I ignored my phone all day, aware that I was probably missing calls and texts from Georgia. I couldn’t force myself to look at it, mostly because I was nervous of what I’d find. If none of the boys had tried to get a hold of me…did that mean they were done with me? I hated the thought, but I understood it. After all, I’d played them from the beginning.

I came here to break them, to get revenge and sate my spite, and here I was, the broken one instead.

I didn’t eat much on Sunday. When Monday rolled around, my dad went into work, and I stayed in bed, really wishing I had a TV set up in here. But no—it was all pink and stuffed animals. Yuck. It needed a paint job and some redecorating badly.

Diane poked her head in, saying, “I made breakfast. Come downstairs.”

I really didn’t want to. I really, really didn’t want to. So I responded the only way I could: I rolled onto my side and faced the wall, tucking my head under the comforter to block both her and the light out.

Was I acting stupid? Probably. But with all the posturing I’d been doing, I think I earned some stupidity.

It was hours before she tried to get me to come down again. I dozed off and was awakened by Diane yanking the covers off me, tossing them at the foot of the bed, instantly making me cold and yearn for my comfortableness again. Her hands were on her hips, and she looked like she meant business.

“Come downstairs, now.” It was not spoken as a question, her tone level and steady, almost like a mother’s tone. I let out a moan, rolling out of bed. When I followed her into the hall, she added, “You might want to change.”

I only looked at her. Wasn’t it lunchtime? We weren’t going anywhere, so why the hell would I change? Shaking my head, I headed down the stairs and turned into the kitchen…

…where Alec stood?

I froze, causing Diane, who was behind me, to nearly walk into me. Meeting Alec’s green stare, I felt pulled to him. I wanted to rush to his side, throw my arms around him and kiss him, but then I remembered what happened. He might not want to kiss me anymore.

“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” Alec asked, far too serious.

I shrugged, feeling awkward before him.

His eyes took in my pajamas, completely calm when he said, “Come on.” He started out the door, leaving me clueless and glancing at Diane.

All Diane did was shrug. “What are you waiting for?” she asked. “You’re not grounded anymore. If you want to go, go.” She was going to let me go off with Alec when I should be miserable because I’d been suspended?

I didn’t linger long. I followed Alec, because how could I not? I went outside, squinting at the light of day, heading toward his car, where he was waiting for me. I said not a word to him as I got him, and he said nothing to me. I had no idea where we were going, but we were going somewhere.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Alec, I—”

He shushed me, keeping his eyes on the road. I wouldn’t say he was cold to me, but he was far from his happy-go-lucky, smiling self.

We ended up parking in the same parking lot where he told me he and Xander used to see each other. It looked worlds different during the day, the sun shining brightly on all the trees before us. Nature trails went all through these woods, along with the playground not too far from the parking lot, the one where we’d played poker and truth or dare.

Alec got out, and I followed him, taking one step on the pavement when I realized I hadn’t thought to put on shoes.

Oops.

He started walking towards the woods, not to any path in particular. Just…just walking. I followed him, careful not to step on any sharp rocks or anything that might hurt. “Alec,” I tried again, ducking under a tree branch as I hurried to walk beside him. “Where are we going?” We weren’t on a trail; I knew that. Wherever we were going, we’d be alone.

After five minutes of silent walking, we came upon a small clearing of sorts. String lights hung, laced around tree branches—sparkling in the sunlight that streamed past the treetops. Blankets were laid on the ground, all different colors with white stripes. A cooler sat off to the side, almost like this was some kind of picnic.

But that wasn’t the weirdest part.

No, the weirdest part was that Xander and Christian stood beside the blankets, talking.

“Dude,” Christian said chuckling as he shook his head. “You need a haircut.”

Xander touched his long black hair tentatively. “But I like it like this.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure she doesn’t. She’s just too nice to tell you. And, anyway, if you ever want to get a job or have people take you seriously, they’re going to need to see your face—” Christian stopped once he noticed me, and both he and Xander turned to look at me. The blankets on the ground were the only things between us.

“What…” I trailed off.

---