Page 133 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
Maisie looked down at her empty hands. “I left it with Connor?—”
Before she could finish, the bathroom door shoved inward, and another person stepped into the already cramped space. A person who made everyone fall silent.
Jade.
Another person I was destined to have bathroom conversations with.
Riley was right behind her, of course, smiling like a maniac, while Jade was expressionless. She wore the same glittering gold gown from the homecoming game last night, though her makeup was more smudged than usual. It looked like she’d rubbed her fingers into her eyeshadow. “Oh,” Jade said sweetly. “It’s already a party in here.”
Maisie took a step forward. “A partywithoutyou, so get lost.”
Ava’s eyes widened at her friend’s boldness. Heck, mine did, too.
Jade barely batted an eye at her. “Madison,” she said, expecting me to understand her meaning.
And I did. Of course I did. I could understand Jade like the back of my hand. “Give us a minute,” I murmured to Maisie, chest buzzing like a shaken soda bottle. “It’s okay.”
I expected Jade to direct Riley out, but she didn’t. It was two against one as they faced me, their superior expressions matching.
My stomach turned, but not because of the situation. Staring at Riley tucked right behind Jade, I had a clear view of what I looked like for years. Beyond Jade’s shoulder, mimicking her expression, looking absolutely soulless. For years, I’d never thought twice of standing behind Jade, never dreaming of being shoulder-to-shoulder. Always underneath, never equal.
“Kyle did the design,” Jade started off nonchalantly, shifting on her heels. “So you understand why it’s ugly.”
I just stared at her.
“You finally got your big article, Mads,” Riley said from behind Jade, grinning like a court jester. “You’re the talk of the Brentwood halls now. How does it feel?”
I pictured taking my stupid sash off and wrapping it around her neck. I turned back to Jade. “Nine years of friendship,” I began quietly. “All down the drain. And for what?”
“Don’t give me that,” she said tiredly. “You made that decision first when you picked Logan Castle over me.”
“Ineverpicked him over?—”
“You knew it was wrong. You hid him from me. Fromeveryone.” Jade’s heels clicked as she stepped forward. “You didn’t step down from the squad. You didn’t fall in line. Mads, I gave you a chance. I really did. You’re the one who didn’t take it.”
“A chance to live my life howyouwanted me to live it.”
She tipped her head, as if to saywell, yeah.
“And the second I do something you don’t like, you cut me out.” I tightened my hands into fists. “So, what? You found out about Logan, and you’ve been collecting evidence against me ever since? When did you even find out he was from Jefferson?” She’d taken a photo of us before the school year started—before I even knew.
Jade’s eyes bounced between mine. The brown in hers was so dark they almost looked black. “You really want to know?”
No. In that moment, hearing her question, I was suddenly sure I did not.
But Jade just lifted her chin. “The open house.”
It shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did. “So you did recognize him.”
Her lips spread into a condescending smile. “Why do you think he was there?”
Abort mission, my brain was screaming. “His friend dared him?—”
“Is that what he said?” Jade gave a light, little laugh.
“She didn’tfind outabout Logan,” Riley told me in her snotty little voice. “She planted him.”
I suddenly did not know what those words meant. “Plantedhim?”
