Page 37 of Get Even

“Taylor has placed a formal complaint against me with the school,” I sighed, slumping forward a little and resting my elbows on the table and fighting back the unexpected memory the action sparked of one of my mom’s druggie boyfriends slapping at the skin of my forearms with a metal fork.Bad manners,he’d spat,didn’t yo momma ever teach you about no manners?Clearly it had been a trying day if this was what my brain was giving back to me tonight. “She’s saying I harassed her and that I hit her to get her to leave the apartment.”

“Did you?” Kat asked, eyes wide, and I shot her a withering look.

“Of course not. Fuck sake, Kat, what do you take me for?”

“Sorry, sorry,” she muttered, pink mouth curling down into a small pout, “got lost in the drama for a sec.”

I waved her off and Liv placed a hand over mine on the table, as if she could sense I wasn’t as okay as I was pretending to be. “What are you going to do?” she asked quietly and I knew that what she was really saying wasHow can I help?and my eyes filled with tears for a second as I saw the same look on Kat’s face. How had I got so lucky?

I smiled my thanks and Liv let go of my hand, her cheeks taking on a slightly pink hue as she looked down at her food. “I’m going to blackmail her.”

Kat burst out laughing and Liv dropped her fork with a clatter that made me wince.

“Oh,” Kat said, “you’re serious.”

I shrugged, “You know how she leaked my nude the second time? Stuck it right in Davis’ presentation slides?”

“Yeah…?” Kat’s thick black brows drew together and Liv sucked in a sharp breath. “You’re not going to–”

I shook my head, “No, but I suspected I’d find some less than ideal pictures of her on Aaron’s laptop. I was right. I’m going to tell her to back off or else.”

“You need to be careful,” Liv said and I nodded, grateful for her concern – after all, Liv knew more than most how it felt to be burned by an institution you trusted.

“I will,” I promised her and then I waved my hands about like I was brushing away invisible mosquitoes. “Anyway, tell me more about you guys. Work? Boys? Girls? Class?”

Liv groaned, “Ugh, don’t even mention class to me. Sometimes I wonder why I’m bothering with this degree considering I hate it so much.

“You’re only in your second year,” I said carefully, Liv was a year younger than me and, unlike me, hadn’t waited a year before enrolling in college. So she was a year behind me and Kat, unsure of what she really wanted in life and her studies – her parents had pretty much decided her whole life for her, Liv had explained to me, and it was hard to go from having practically no choice to making all of them. “If you wanted to transfer into something else, maybe something similar, I bet they’d let you transfer your credits because of your… special circumstances.” It was unusual to transfer schools mid-way through a semester, but Liv hadn’t been given much of a choice, if she didn’t complete the make-up work she would end up in summer school, or having to re-sit the year.

Luckily, Liv’s parents weren’t totally heartless and had given her a hefty trust fund before rinsing their hands free of her, so at least she was able to pay me rent. But she wasn’t yet used to the freedom she had, in some ways I envied that. It must feel so weightless, to have every option open to you.Or very suffocating,I sighed.

“Liv, honestly, you can do what you want. You can quit altogether and re-enroll elsewhere or on a different course, you have time to figure it out.”

Kat nodded, fingers drumming on the table, “If you really hate the course that much then maybe it’s not for you.”

Liv was nodding slowly but still looked scared and I pecked her on the cheek as I stood and gathered up the plates to carry them into the kitchen.

“What about you, Kat?” I called back as I placed the plates in the sink and started running the tap to rinse them. “Got any spiritual healing you want to confess to while we’re all here?”

She laughed and Liv snorted, “I confess…” Liv and I fell silent, waiting. “That I need a margarita. Please tell me you have tequila.”

I snorted and Liv moved into the kitchen, rummaging for limes for the drinks, and Kat began to dry the plates as I set them on the side. A warm feeling swept over me as I looked over at them and smiled softly.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

LOVE ME LAND - ZARA LARSSON

“You are such a bitch,”Taylor growled, her entire petite frame practically shaking with tension and anger as I carefully placed my phone back into my front pocket. I’d found her exactly where I’d expected her – at the sorority house. Despite me kicking her out nearly two months ago, I knew Taylor would never have put in the effort to actually find a decent place to stay. Not when she could mooch off of someone else.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile and watched the rage on her face heighten. “Next time you decide to plastermynudes all over some public presentation slides, maybe put two seconds of thought into being a little more sneaky about it, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said stiffly but the smirk attempting to turn up her mouth spoke volumes. I rolled my eyes, why had I ever been friends with this girl? She was toxic on a good day.

“I’m not here for your excuses. Frankly, I’d rather fuck Aaron again than be here, having to talk to you. But, well, you’ve made that impossible by submitting this stupid complaint and I honestly don’t really understand why.”

“Because you’re a–”

“Yeah, I’m a bitch. You already said that,” I rolled my eyes and Taylor’s small frame seemed to vibrate with anger.

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