Page 51 of Inception

“Oh, you don’t know?” she snorted. “You’re even denser than you look, you know that?”

“Quit giving her a hard time, Nikki.” Taylor squirmed her way in between us. “She’s not after Trace, okay? She’s here with Dominic Huntington so just back off.”

“Did I ask for your opinion?” snapped Nikki as she shoved her back a step.

“Hey!” I flung my arm out in front of Taylor. “Leave her out of this,” I warned, forming a barrier between the two of them.

“Look who’s finally growing a backbone—how very stupid of you,” snarled Nikki, insulting me and provoking me at the same time. “So tell me, Jemma, does Dominic know about your late night dates with Trace? Because I’m sure he’d be interested to hear all about them. I knowIwas.”

“What late night date?” I could hear the hurt in Taylor’s voice at the idea that I was keeping secrets from her.

“There was no late night date,” I said definitively, my eyes never leaving Nikki. “And honestly, I don’t think he would care. He doesn’t strike me as the insecure-raging-bitch type.”

Morgan’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

Oh my God! Who gave my mouth permission to say that?

Nikki took a step into me. “What. Did. You. Just. Say?”

The house lights flickered on and off.

There must have been a storm coming in, though something about the air felt menacing, ominous, like a whispered warning, heeding me to back off. Playing with Nikki was like playing with fire, and I was bound to get burned.

Isodidn’t want to get burned.

I needed to diffuse this, and fast. “Look, I don’t want to fight with you, Nikki. We obviously got off on the wrong foot—”

“Spare me the bullshit,” she cut in, her lips in a frightening curl. “You pretty much sealed your fate the minute you moved here, and the way I see it, any girl with a death wish as big as yours is free game.”

I staggered back a step, her strange threat having just sucker punched me in the gut.

“Whoa!” Taylor raised her arms in the air like a referee. “I think we need to calm down with the homicidal threats and take it down a few notches.”

“She’s right. C’mon Nikki, let’s just go,” said Morgan nervously, turning for the stairs.

Nikki didn’t budge. “The best thing you can do, Jemma, is to stay the hell out of my way. You have no idea who you’re dealing with and I promise you, you don’t want to find out.”

“Oh my God, we get it!” snapped Taylor. “You’re the baddest bitch and Trace is yours. Message received.”

“It better be. For Jemma’s sake.” She gave us the middle finger salute before turning on her heel and disappearing down the stairs with Morgan in tow.

I stood there motionless, caught somewhere between shock and anger. “What thehellis her problem?” How could someone have that much venomous hate for me without even knowing me?

“I know, right?” said Taylor, shaking her head incredulously. “She’s been on mean-girl steroids ever since you moved here. I’ve never seen her this bad.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Sorry, babe,” she laughed, though her smile was short-lived. “Look, I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s obvious she has it in for you and trying to be nice is only giving her more power. I think it’s time to fight fire with fire and give her a little taste of her own medicine—hair remover in her shampoo maybe?” She waggled her brows mischievously.

She had a point—not about the hair remover, that was just insane—but about trying to be on good terms with Nikki. It was the equivalent of trying to put out a raging fire by asking it nicely. It was stupid, and pointless, and would only leave me with third degree burns in the end. Or worse.

Backing down from her time and time again only fueled her inferno and made her bolder and more powerful, and I refused to give her that kind of power over me. I was officially done taking shit from Nikki Parker.

I left the party with Dominic shortly after the altercation and drove out to Northern Peak, a lookout near the old Hollow Hills Cemetery. Though I was undoubtedly relieved to be away from Nikki and her madness, I wasn’t particularly inspired by his choice of destinations. In fact, just hearing the word cemetery gave me the willies, though after a little coaxing and a promise that we’d only benearit, and notinit, I eventually agreed to go.

With the rain finally letting up, we parked at the back of the church and walked on foot the rest of the way. It was just a short march down the gravel path to a small clearing that overlooked the mainland. And he was right, the view was breathtaking. Glowing homes cascaded all the way down the hillside and met at the center of the expansive valley, peppering the town with a web of warm lights for miles in every direction. The bordering, phantom trees on the outskirts held it all together in total isolation, seemingly blacking out the rest of the world around us.

“It really is beautiful,” I said in awe as we leaned against the dry stone wall and took in the haunting vista.

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