Page 43 of The Hate We Breathe
Swallowing down a burst of laughter, I leave the guys behind and hurry over to where she’s stopped. “Ugh, ow…” she mutters as I approach, her hand on her lower back.
“Are you okay?” I hold out my hand and she takes it.
“My pride’s not,” she replies. “But other than a few grass stains and humiliation, I think I’m fine.”
Still chuckling, I finish helping her up and then pat her sides as she wipes off the flecks of debris and leaves stuck to her. “Who was that woman?” I ask, keeping my tone light and casual.
Mads goes stiff, her hands falling away from her clothes as she takes a deliberate step away from me. I glance up, a frown on my face. “Mads?”
“That’s my mom,” she murmurs, her own eyes turned up to the hill. I follow, half expecting the woman to be watching us, but she’s not there. Still, her mom? She’d looked much older than other parents. More like a grandmother than the mother of a teenager.
“She didn’t want you to talk to me, did she?” I guess.
Mads turns her attention back to me, but I can read the truth in her wince. “Sorry—” I hold my hand up, stopping her apology before she can really get started.
“I know what the town thinks of me,” I remind her. “I don’t care.” Dropping my hand, I shake my head and then urge her over to the side as a man strides past us on his way to the parking lot, choosing to cut across the ground versus taking the already full trail. “Why are you here?”
Mads looks at me like I’m crazy for asking the question. “Because everyone is here,” she says, then with a grimace, she continues. “And because Mr. Calloway donated to my parents’ church.” She casts a glance back up the hill, but I don’t turn around. After a moment, she returns her attention to me.
“Anyway…” She brightens. “I heard you stopped by The Dionysus Lounge. Are you coming back to work?”
“Maybe,” I hedge. “I haven’t decided yet.” But Icoulduse the money. Even if I trust the Scorpion Kings now and am pretty much moved in with Lex, only spending the occasional night at Nolan’s place, I would still feel better with money of my own.
Mads reaches out and snatches my hands up in hers, startling me. “Pleasecome back,” she begs. “It’s not as fun without you there. The other girls are nice enough, but you were the only one around my age and they all look at me like a kid trying to play adult.”
I snort. “Isn’t that what we all are?”
She frowns. “Are what?”
“Kids,” I say, turning my head to scan the crowd as more people pass us, choosing the same route as the man earlier across the dead grass to get to their vehicles. “We’re all just children who got really good at pretending…” My words drift off as I catch sight of someone in the near distance.
Avery.
Except, instead of catching sight of her across the funeral, this time, she’s caught me. Her eyes are focused on where I stand and she marches like a woman with a purpose in my direction.
“Time for you to go,” I say, whipping back to Mads. I take my hands back and grip her shoulders, spinning her to face the hill. “I’ll see you at school.”
“Jules?” Mads tries to crane her head around to see me. “What?—”
“I’ll tell you later,” I assure her, giving her a little push.
“Oh, okay.” One of the best things about Mads is that she takes people at their word. Instead of trying to dig her heels in and demand answers right now, she merely offers me a small wave and finally starts to make her way up the hill and back towards her parents.
I follow her with my gaze, pausing when I see Roquel up there as well. Dressed in a long black gown that’s molded to her frame, Roquel stands at the edge of the hill, her eyes glaring down on the rest of the people milling about. When her gaze connects with mine, there’s no reflection. I frown and lift a hand in her direction, wondering if maybe she can’t see me from this far. She doesn’t respond.
“Juliet?”
Fuck.I drop my hand and turn slowly to face the speaker. Avery has descended.
“Yo, Prep Girl, you good?” I glance over at Gio’s call. He and the guys are standing several feet away, the trio having moved there when Mads came sliding down the hill.
“I’m fine,” I call back. “I’ll be ready to go in a second.” And hopefully they’ll have done a much better job of scanning the crowd than I have. I face my ex best friend. “What do you want, Avery?”
She twists her hands in the fabric of her black designer dress, biting down on her lower lip. The skin there is cracked like she’s been doing it quite a lot lately. I cross my arms over my chest and wait. Some people are comfortable in silence and I’ve had to learn to be one of them. Avery, however, never has been and she still isn’t from what I can tell.
Avery shifts from foot to foot, her eyes darting from me to the crowds then back. “I… um…” I blink back at her, slowly. She sucks in a breath, and rushes out, “I’m sorry for everything that happened—I shouldn’t have fucked Bran, but I also left youwhen you needed me most and that’s not what friends do and I?—”
I hold up a hand, stopping the spiel. Surprise doesn’t begin to cover my reaction. Avery has never been one to admit to any wrongdoing. Despite the fact that it looks like she’s been through the wringer, her bones practically surging against the inside of her skin and her facial features looking more skeletal than I’ve ever seen her, I didn’t expect an apology from her when she approached.
