Page 69 of Counter Bet

She won’t even give them a chance. I’m not sure what reaction I expected from her, but it hurts that she straight out dismisses my new friends.

“You haven’t given them a chance. You don’t even know them, and you already judge them.”

She laughs incredulously. “Do you hear yourself, Em? I’m not judging them. I’m just stating facts. “And you”—she gestures to me—“you’re a good girl. You come from a good family. You’re head cheerleader, for fucks sake! You can have your pick of guys.” She gestures to the other cheerleaders. “Fuck, all of these girls are jealous of you. They’d chop off an arm to be your friend, but instead, you hang out with those misfits. They’re losers, Em. They have no future.”

I pause, shocked by the venom in her voice. She truly believes her own words. “What are you saying, Hailey?” I take a step back.

Regret flashes across her face. She tries to reach for me, but I step out of the way.

“Look, I’m not trying to hurt you, Em. I’m just asking you to be smart about this. It could ruin your reputation if everyone finds out that you hang out with those kids. Fuck, Em, listen to me!”

I grind my jaw. Tears prick my eyes and blur my vision. I can’t believe this from the one girl I thought had my back. Is she only friends with me to have a slice of the cake? Is our friendship genuine, or am I a step on the popularity ladder for her? I’ve never questioned her loyalty before now.

I square my shoulders. “You’re either my friend, or you’re not, Hailey. I don’t care about some fucking high school reputation.”

She deflates. “I’m your friend, Em.”

I glance over at the girls on the bleachers and decide to be honest. “I’m falling in love with her.”

Hailey bristles. She opens and closes her mouth. “What are you talking about, Em?”

The first tear trails a path down my cheek.

“Hey, hey,” she soothes, wrapping me up in her arms. “It’s okay, Em. I’m here.”

I bury my nose in her neck and hold her tight, afraid I’ll fall apart if I let her go.

“Go home, everyone. We’ll have an early finish today,” she tells the others. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I’ve got a freezer stocked full of ice cream for emergencies.”

* * *

“Let me check that I’ve got this right,” Hailey says, licking the spoon and pointing it at me. “Rick fucked Dallas in front of you. Then you played truth or dare at Ben’s house and ended up fucking Dallas, but you also had oral sex with Ben in his car?”

We sit cross-legged, facing each other on the couch in her grand living room.

I cringe and reach for one of the half-eaten tubs of ice cream between us. When she puts it like that, it sounds so bad. “That just about sums it up.”

Hailey shakes her head regretfully. “How did I not notice something was up with you? You’ve been acting differently lately, but I thought it was because of your breakup with Rick. I’ve been a terrible friend. The things I said at practice earlier…” She wipes away tears. “Fuck, Em. I’m so sorry!”

I abandon my ice cream and take her hand in mine. I squeeze it reassuringly. “No, Hailey, I should apologize to you. You couldn’t have known. I should have told you all of this from the beginning, but my feelings were so new. I worried you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore.”

She sighs, squeezing back. “That’s the thing, Em. It shouldn’t have been a thought in your head in the first place. You can tell me anything. I reacted badly earlier because I care about you. I was worried.

You’re falling for Ben and Dallas, and by the sounds of it, they care about you too.” She chuckles. “This thing is crazy.”

I smile. “Tell me about it.”

It feels good to trust my best friend with my feelings. She struggles to understand how this came to be, but she supports me, and she’ll be there even if I fall from my reign at school. I don’t even care about an eventual fallout anymore. I’m a senior. None of it will matter this time next year.

I smile gratefully and lean over the ice cream tubs to pull her in for a bone-crunching hug.

She squeezes me back, burying her nose in my hair. “What are you going to do?”

That’s the million-dollar question. “I don’t know, but we’ll be gone this time next year, Hailey. None of this will matter when we’re at college, so I’m not going to overthink it anymore. I’m just going to take it one day at a time and see where this road leads me. I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I have you, my family, and Rick.”

She leans back, wiping her wet cheeks. “Rick told me he’s taking you to the fair on Sunday.”

“Only as friends. It was his idea, actually. I miss spending time with him.”

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