Page 44 of Destroying Everleigh

I snorted in response. “Yeah, because I totally have the money to splurge on materialistic bullshit.”

“Ugh. You’re such a bore. Do you think I would have invited you if I didn’t intend on paying?” She stood, offering her hand out for me to take. “I mean, seriously. What kind of friend do you take me for?”

Hesitantly, I slid my hand into hers and allowed her to pull me to my feet. “I don’t want your money, Amber.”

“Well, one thing’s for sure. You’re not going to a fucking frat party wearing athletic pants and an oversized T-shirt. You did that last year. Never again.” She propped a hand on her hip and gave me a pointed look. “I’ll make you go naked before I let you out of the house wearing something like that again to a party.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’d definitely be the talk of the school then, huh?”

She placed a hand to her chest, pretending to clutch her nonexistent pearls. “The talk of the school? Oh honey, no. You’d be the talk of thetown.”

I shoved her playfully and she giggled, looping her arm through mine. “Now let’s go, bitch. We have to find you something that’ll make your sorry excuse of an ex-boyfriend pissed that he’d ever lost you.” She paused, looking over at me. “And don’t think we’re done talking about that by the way. I need deets, hoe.”

I knew it was only a matter of time before she brought him up again. I’ve been avoiding her like the plague since he openly told Lucas that we used to date. The truth of the matter was that I never got used to them leaving without so much as an explanation. I’d spent countless nights bawling my eyesout because I was so confused and heartbroken. It was so bad. They just vanished right after it happened. Didn’t even finish out junior year. After about a week of their absence, I went to Ashton’s house. His mom looked at me with so much disgust and anger that it made me sick. The woman who once treated me with so much love and respect. She informed me that he’d be finishing high school online and told me not to come back again, right before she slammed the door in my face.

After that tragic heart-to-heart, I decided showing up at their houses was just self-destructive. They absolutely wanted nothing to do with me and as much as it killed me, I needed to respect it.

To make matters worse, Dad left us about a month later when he fully understood what Mom’s new diagnosis meant.

When we made it outside, I slipped in the passenger seat of her Mercedes Benz. Amber’s parents were loaded, and she was a spoiled little twat because of it, but I still loved her. She was the one person in this world who stuck by my side and liked me for who I was. She didn’t care about the amount of money I had, or about who I was dating. She just wanted me to be happy.

“So,” she began once we were on the road. “You want to fill me in on the notorious Ashton Banks?”

Sighing, I turned to look out the window. “What do you want to know?”

“For starters, why the fuck didn’t you tell me that you dated a billionaire?”

“His dad is the billionaire,” I pointed out. “And I didn’t think it was important. They weren’t that well known when we were dating. His dad’s company blew up toward the end of our relationship and just kept getting bigger from there.”

She hummed in response, tapping her acrylics against the steering wheel. “Were you guys serious?”

A laugh got lodged in my throat and I choked it down. “He popped my cherry. We dated freshman year through the end of junior year. Does that tell you enough?”

“Why did you guys break up if you were so in love?” she shot back with a smirk, raising her eyebrows. Amber didn’t believe in perfect relationships. But my relationship with Ashtonwasperfect. To me, at least.

I swallowed thickly, not even knowing how to answer that. I didn’t want to tell her the truth. I wasn’t even really sure what happened the night everything went to shit. “I’m not really sure,” I admitted. “Can we not talk about this? It’s still a sore subject for me.”

Her expression softened and she nodded. “Sorry, babe. I didn’t realize…”

“It’s fine. Let’s just have some fun.”

A grin broke out across her face. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

When we pulled up to a store that looked more expensive than my life was worth, I turned to her, ready to find some excuse to hit a thrift store instead. But she was already climbing out of the car. Sighing, I followed suit and stepped out onto the pavement. I felt completely out of my element as I peered through the glass where three mannequins stood front and center wearing more fashionable clothes than I’ve ever owned. Even back when we had money, I never had expensive clothes like this.

“We’re not here to window shop, skank. Get your hot ass in there.” She slapped my ass playfully before skipping toward the door. “Moment of truth,” she continued, turning to face me as soon as we entered. “I’ve always wanted to give you a makeover.”

I laughed in response. “Am I that fugly to look at?”

“Ew. What are we, in high school? Never use that word again. And you arenotugly.” She looped her arm through mine likeshe’d done earlier, pulling me close to her small body. “Your look is just…bland. You could easily be one of the sexiest girls on campus if you put a little bit of effort in.” She paused, her eyes skimming over the side of my face. “Are thosesplit ends? That’s it. We’re hitting the salon next.”

I laughed again, feeling lighter already than I had before seeing her. A weight had been on my shoulders, and she came in and erased it like it had never been there to begin with. Despite our vast differences, I liked that about our friendship. She pushed me outside of my comfort zone and made me try new things.

Amber turned to the nearest employee. “I need two clerks pronto. We’ll be here for a while.” She flipped her burgundy hair behind her shoulders like she owned the damn place and then shot me a sly smirk.

I shook my head with a small smile touching my lips. While this might not have beenmyelement, it was definitely hers.

She led me to the back part of the store, her eyes roaming over the expensive clothes. While she was busy, I checked the price tag on a random dress and nearly screeched.

---