Page 22 of Reviving Kendall

“It’s never a good idea to start a friendship with a lie. You don’t expect me to believe that shit, right? Teagan won’t,” she warns. Damn. I really need to work on my bluff and kick myself in the ass while I’m at it for not calling and canceling our shop date.

I grab her hand and beg, “Don’t tell them Ryleigh. Please.”

“One condition,” she says. I nod, and she continues, “You tell me what really happened.”

What choice do I have? If the guys find out, they’ll come over here and get into trouble starting shit. I’m not sure about all of them, but Maverick seems the type for sure.

I sigh and nod, “Can we skip shopping today though?”

She gives me a smile, “Sure. We can always do that tomorrow.”

My laugh is cut short when my smile pushes my cheek up and sends a jolt of pain down the side of my face.

“Want to go to Pete’s?” she asks.

“Umm,” I start, “That may not be a very good idea. What are the chances the guys would be there or show up?”

Her finger taps her chin, “True true.”

I don’t think that the guys have told her where I live yet, and I’d rather keep it that way as long as possible, so my house is out. We can’t go to hers because of Teagan. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to ask her to go to a fast food restaurant.

That thought process takes less than five seconds, “Fuck it. Let’s just go to the mall.”

Clapping her hands in glee, she grabs ahold of my hand and pulls us to her Jeep. Seems like everyone is doing that lately.

“You both have brand new Jeeps?” I ask her as we buckle in.

She sighs dramatically, “Yes. I don’t want to sound like a spoiled rich kid, but it wasn’t my first choice in cars. Dad is a bit of an over protective helicopter parent when it comes to me and he seems to think that this was safer than the little Audi that I wanted. Teagan, the traitor, wasn’t any help either. At least I got to pick the color. It’s custom. I did good right?”

“Yeah definitely,” I tell her in truth. The dark purple is pretty and has a weird blackish blue transition color, depending on the light.

We’re already driving down the road, so I’m hoping that she doesn’t notice me watching her out of the corner of my eye. Long blonde hair that matches Teagan’s falls around her shoulders and frames a petite face that wears light makeup. Her brother came off as a spoiled brat the first time that I met him, but there’s no way that I could think that about Ryleigh. Even from first impression and dressed in new clothes, she is sincere and doesn’t seem fake at all.

We make small talk on our way over to the local mall, which is actually only like twenty stores. It’s pathetic compared to most, but if you can’t find what you need to in those twenty stores or in the super store around the corner, then you really didn’t need it in the first place. Ryleigh parks the Jeep and I pull down the visor to have a look at my face.

“Shit,” I say out loud not meaning to. The bruising is getting worse by the hour.

She digs around in her purse and hands me a small compact, “You can say that again. Try a little of this. It won’t cover it up completely, but it’ll help you not look like a battered housewife.”

I nod and thank her as I put it on. It does as she says, taking away some of the darker coloration. Can’t do anything about the little butterfly bandages on the cut though. Eh, fuck it.

Ryleigh is a single-minded shopper and I love it. We don’t have to peruse every single store to find what she’s looking for. She tells me that there is one store that she swears by and it’s the only place she ever buys clothes.

“Most of the girls that go to my school spend so much money on clothes. It’s disgusting,” she says perusing the clearance rack at the back of Forever 21. “Call me a freak if you want, but it’s such a waste when there are so many more important things in the world than clothes. I always take an extra fifty bucks off dad’s credit card every month and donate it to the Feed the Hungry thing that they do in Brinkley. They need it more than I need a pair of designer jeans.”

Her confession knocks me speechless for a long while, until I say, “But don’t your friends and stuff say anything about you not wearing designer shit?”

She shakes her head, “No. Rich kids aren’t half as bad as the rep that they get. Now, don’t get me wrong, some are straight snots, but most everyone at Prim Wood are pretty decent people.”

I find a cute skirt and legging set on sale for five bucks. I’m still undecided until Ryleigh’s eyes light up and she says, “You’re definitely getting that.”

“I don’t know,” I say still unsure.

A winning grin crosses her face, “Teagan would love it and the others would too, if I’m being honest.”

I sigh, “It’s been a really long time since I tried for anyone.”

She nods, “Then don’t do it for anyone else. Do it for you. I’ve already seen it on you in my head and you look marvelous.” At that, she flips her hair and walks away leaving me with this crazy feeling in my chest.

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