Page 20 of Hate to Love You

I sigh and launch into the whole sordid story from last evening. “After you abandoned me—thank you very much for that, by the way—” I give her a sharp look. Oh, I haven’t forgotten her part in this debacle. That girl is in deep doo-doo with me. “I ran into Reed, and he started talking crap. Brody was there and told him to knock it off.” I’m not going to repeat what Reed said. I still don’t understand why he would deliberately try to hurt and embarrass me.

It was a dick move on his part.

I could kick myself for wasting so much time on him. Not to mention, giving him my virginity. I’d waited to have sex because I never found the right person and I wanted it to be meaningful. At the time, I’d thought Reed was a good guy. Turned out he was the furthest thing from it.

“I never liked that douchebag,” Zara says baldly. “But that still doesn’t explain why Brody told everyone you guys are together.”

I shrug. “He told Reed that to shut him up. That’s it. Brody and I are not a couple. Our relationship is exactly what it’s always been, and that’s nonexistent. I doubt anyone paid attention to what he said anyway. You know how those parties are. Everyone was trashed. Half of them probably can’t remember who they slept with last night.” I’m deliberately choosing to forget about the dead silence in the room when he shouted the announcement or the cheer that went up when he kissed me. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s no big deal.”

Both of her brows shoot up, and she laughs. “You’re joking, right?”

I shovel another spoonful of cereal into my mouth and chomp it a few times before swallowing. “Nope. Not even a little bit.”

She shakes her head. “Natalie, it’s all over the place. That’s all anyone at the party could talk about after you two took off. Together, I might add.”

I shift on the counter as an arrow of unease slices through me. “I think you might be exaggerating just a bit.” Contrary to what Brody said last night, I’m no drama llama. For the last three years, I’ve kept my head down and worked hard in my classes. I have no interest in the popularity game or making a name for myself. “No one knows who I am. And furthermore, they don’t care.” Which is exactly how I like it.

Zara’s tone softens. “It’s all over Facebook.” Sliding her phone from her back pocket, she taps the screen a few times and shoves it under my nose. I pluck it from her fingers and stare at her Facebook page. A sharp breath hisses from my mouth as I see a picture of me and Brody locking lips on the staircase.

Son of a monkey.

All right.

Calm down.

One picture isn’t a huge deal. I mean, I’ve seen photographs of Brody making out with other girls before. Tons of them. It doesn’t mean a thing.

As I scroll through her feed, my heart sinks. The majority of posts are pictures of me and Brody.

There’s one of us standing on the landing.

Another of us holding hands as he drags me up the staircase.

Here we are kissing again.

Oh, look…There are numerous photos of us in the kitchen where Brody is all up in Reed’s face.

Perfect.

Here’s a video clip of Brody and Reed brawling for everyone who wasn’t able to witness it in person last night.

I lock my jaw as I come across a meme.

This is so much worse than I allowed myself to believe.

Zara nips the phone from my fingers and taps the screen before shoving it back at me. “Now check out Instagram.”

I shake my head and push it away. No. I don’t want to see anymore.

Ever since opening my eyes this morning, I’d convinced myself that what happened with Brody wasn’t a big deal. Easily forgotten. Obviously, that’s not the case. Operation Forget-All-About-What-Happened-Last-Night is a no-go. Now I’m going to have to figure out another way to tackle this problem.

Zara rubs my back in soft, comforting circles. “You need to see what people are saying.”

Steeling myself, I force my eyes to the screen again.

It’s just more of the same.

A.

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