Page 50 of Things Good Girls Don't Do (Rock Canyon, Idaho 1)

“Great.” She looked at the clock and frowned. Chase was fifteen minutes early. Didn’t he know a girl liked to take her time?

Walking out to the front door, she looked through the peephole and saw it wasn’t Chase but Steph.

Pulling the door open with a confused smile, she said, “Hey, what’s going on?”

Steph cocked a perfectly arched brown brow and looked her up and down. “Well, you don’t look sick.”

“Oh, like you’ve never called in to work?” Katie said.

“Sure I have, but you don’t. Ever. Unless you’re dying, and only then because you don’t want to get anyone else sick.” Steph walked past her into the house, and Katie closed the door. “What’s up, Katie? This isn’t you. You don’t do weird things with your hair or dress like a . . . well, actually, the clothes are cute, but still. And the guy . . .” Steph said.

Katie was caught between surprise and anger. “What is wrong with Chase?”

Steph snorted. “Besides the fact that he’s got heartbreak tattooed on his forehead?”

“In case you don’t remember, I had my heart broken about eight months ago and I’m finally over it.” Katie laughed bitterly and said, “You should be happy for me.”

“I know that you were broken up over Jimmy and I was worried,” Steph said, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. “And if a little fling with a hot guy gets you back in the swing of things, then great. I just don’t want you getting attached to him and getting hurt all over again. And I don’t like the influence he’s had on you. You aren’t acting like yourself, and I feel like I don’t even know you.”

That stung a little, and Katie wondered why Steph was being so dramatic. “Why are you being so down on Chase? You don’t even know him. I dated Jimmy for years and you never liked him, but you were never this adamant. Is this really about Chase, or something else? I don’t think I’ve changed that much, and if I have, it’s because Chase makes me stronger. He makes me not want to be the meek little mouse and stand up tall and say what I think. What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s not wrong. You just used to care if you hurt people or made them feel bad, and now it just seems like you’re only out to please yourself,” Steph said.

“And what’s wrong with that? I have done what other people wanted my whole life. Why can’t I, just once, do what I want? Be happy and not constantly worry about what other people think!” Katie said, her voice rising.

“Because you’re better than that!” Steph yelled back.

“God, I am so sick of everyone saying that. I’m too good, I’m better than this and that and whatever. It’s my life and I want to live! You of all people should get it and support me. You’re my best friend, Steph, not my mother,” Katie said firmly, trying to calm down.

Steph’s face went red and she snapped, “Yeah, well, if she was here she’d be ashamed of the way you’re acting.”

Katie felt like she’d eaten six bad tacos and they were all making her sick at once. She had never been a violent person, had never even been in a fight before, but right now all she wanted was to slap Steph’s horrified face. Of all the things Steph could have said to her . . .

And part of you thinks she’s right. Your mom would be ashamed of you.

It was one thing for Mrs. Andrews to say something like that, but for Steph, it was almost unforgivable. She had said the one thing she knew would hit Katie the hardest . . . and hurt her the most.

Katie’s eyes stung as she growled, “Get out of my house.”

“Katie, I’m sorry . . .”

“I want you out of here now!” Katie yelled, her vision blurred with unshed tears.

Steph turned with what sounded like a sob, opening the front door with a jerk, and burst out of the house. Katie slammed the door behind her and leaned against it, trying to stop the tears from overflowing. Straightening up, she walked into the living room to sit down on the couch, swiping at her wet cheeks.

Steph was wrong about her. She was just having fun. Trying something new. And as far as Chase went, they were good together. She was happy, and Steph hadn’t respected that. Hadn’t respected her.

I’m sure she didn’t mean it. She was just worried about you.

Katie knew that Steph was protective of her. They had been friends since preschool, and Steph had always been there to support and defend her. While Katie had smiled and taken things with all the grace her mother had instilled in her, Steph had been outspoken and sometimes impulsive, shooting off her mouth without thinking. She had been Katie’s champion more times than she could count, but that didn’t give her the right to push her opinions on Katie now. Especially about what her mother would say or do.

Steph had loved Katie’s mother too, but that hadn’t stopped her from telling Katie that she needed to stand up to her. Tell her she was an adult. Funny how Steph had forgotten all that rebellious talk today and tried to use her mother to control her.

But it had worked, like kryptonite; Katie couldn’t stop thinking about what her mother would say.

“Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time, Katie? Boys only want one thing and if you give them that, you might as well show them the door.”

Another knock pulled her out of her own self-doubt, and she tried to sound normal as she called, “It’s open.”

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