Page 45 of Ride or Die
“This is exactly the shit I wanted no part of Colt! This is so fucking toxic! The fact that people are this mean and would go to these lengths to break us up? Really? I’m not having that shit. It's drama I don't need!” I snap.
The rain batters my cold skin, but I’m so mad I barely notice. Colt’s long strands drip with water, his eyes searching mine desperately.
“So you’re going to punish me because some petty fucking people are setting shit up?” he yells in frustration. “You know me, Layla! You know I didn’t do that! I went inside and took a piss after I told them they were pathetic for putting on that display. That’s what you see me saying in the video. Then I came straight to you!”
His eyes are wild with worry and hurt, like he can’t believe I would think he had a threesome with my sister and Serena. “How could you even think I’d do that to you after everything I’ve shared with you? No one knows me the way you do. I’d never do that to the closest person to me!”
“I don’t know what to think, Colton. Maybe because the video looks pretty fucking convincing! Part of me is worried it actually happened and that you’re lying to me. That all this,” I wave around us, “is too good to be true. You’re you, and I’m just me. We’re from different worlds.”
“No, we’re not. We both live in this shithole and are trying to get out. We’ve just done it differently. Baby, it was stupid of me, but I wanted to fuck with them, lead them on for a second, and that's what you saw," he tries to explain.
I roll my eyes and look away, but he grabs my chin between his fingers, tilting my face to pull my gaze back.
"I swear, I called them fucking pathetic because they are. They were trying to lure me, thinking I’m weak, but I’m not like that anymore! Please, you have to believe me. It looks awful, I know, and when I find out who recorded this and sent it to you, I’ll fucking destroy them.”
I shift uncomfortably. “I just need time to think, Colton. I work and go to school full-time. I have to maintain grades to keep my scholarships. I don’t have time to put up with teenage drama just because I’m your girlfriend. Just leave me alone for a bit, okay? And please don’t come over tonight.” I turn to walkaway, leaving him standing in his front yard, watching after me in disbelief.
As I round the corner, I hear him yelling at everyone, but I can’t hear the words. I know I’m being overly dramatic. It could easily be a setup, but it might not be.
Do I trust him? If I don’t, is this even a relationship?
All this fucking drama from these girls. The glares, the snickers, the hurtful words, all because we are in a relationship. It’s so stupid, and as much as I try to ignore it, it still hurts. I thought they were bad before, but now they are just ruthless, and I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
NEW FRIENDS
LAYLA
I head back home, tuck myself into bed, and wallow in self-pity while I cry myself into a half-ass sleep. Mad at him, but also at myself for reacting this way.
The next morning, I wake up to two texts from Colt.
Colt: You know I didn’t do it Layla. I love you.
Colt: I should be there holding you right now, baby. Please let me come over.
But I don’t respond to either.
Shuffling my way downstairs to the kitchen, I make a bowl of cereal and sit, barely eating my food. My parents come downstairs a few minutes later, dressed in their work uniforms.
Mom huffs when she sees me. “Who pissed in your cornflakes?”
“None of your business,” I mutter.
“Well, eat your fucking food. We don’t pay for it so you can waste it. Better yet, why doesn’t your boyfriend buy you groceries?”
My eyes flick up to hers, filled with hatred, and my dad chuckles into the fridge, grabbing the carton of milk and drinking straight from it. Disgusting.
“Because it’s not his responsibility to feed me! Christ, I don’t ask for shit from you two. I pay my own way. I give you money every month and clean up after you. But thanks for the nearly condemned shelter and a bowl of cereal? Great fucking parents you are,” I snap.
“You can be such a little bitch, you know that—” she spits back, her eyes angry and narrowed at me. She opens her mouth to continue, but my dad grabs her arm.
“Sue,” is all he says, shaking his head. She looks back at me and lets out another huff, reaching for her bag.
“Clean this fucking place up today, will ya?” She glares at me.
