Page 79 of Disorder (Elite of Elmwood 2)

Anybody who didn’t know the witch in front of me would think she was the cutest, sweetest thing in the world. The bitch was full-on pretending to be somebody else.

At parties, Ava wore a crop top and shorts cut high enough to leave her butt cheeks showing, or she’d wear a tight top with no bra. And always, always enough makeup to practically hide her actual face. The girl was going all-in to impress the parents.

What the fuck for?

To discredit me?

I didn’t have the brain energy to figure it out, not when I had to use all my wits to keep up with their game.

Ava hung on Carter’s arm, her laugh cutting through my ears like glass, and when those unstable eyes met mine, I stiffened. “Hey, Josie. I’m so sorry about what happened.”

I could take that statement two ways. One, she was actually apologizing for what she had done to me. Or two, she was pretending as if she had nothing to do with it.

I honestly didn’t give a flying fuck which one it was.

Don’t let them see what this is doing to you. Don’t give them the satisfaction of seeing you rattled.

That was the entire point of this. To fuck with me. To show me that she’d won. I was beginning to support Brock’s plan to destroy her wholeheartedly. It was so much simpler to give myself a pep talk in my head than it was to carry through with the charade.

No matter what Ava did, no matter what Carter said, I couldn’t let either of them know how their presence affected me.

“What a surprise.” I offered as natural a smile as I could and forced my legs to move, taking my seat across from Ava and Carter.

She had such nerve showing up here. In the hospital, all I thought about was how I’d exact my revenge. That fire kept me going, and here she was, rubbing her fake-ass tits in my face. Had the police talked to her after the attack?

Steven walked into the room and smiled when his eyes landed on me. “Josie, we are so happy to have you home. Your mother has been beside herself with worry.” He gave my shoulder a light squeeze before moving to kiss my mother on the cheek and sit at the head of the table. Still dressed in his shirt and tie, he unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. “Carter.” He nodded to his douchebag son. “Hello, Ava. It’s so nice for you to join us. It’s been too long since we’ve seen your pretty face around.”

“Thank you for having me, Mr. Patterson.” Ava smiled wide, flashing pearly white teeth. “Everyone’s been so worried about Josie.”

I flipped her off under the table. Someone should have warned me to take an anti-nausea pill before coming downstairs. If this was how the rest of the night would go, I wouldn’t last two minutes. I wondered what would happen if I blurted out that this was the bitch who jumped in the alley. Would everyone just keep on eating?

“I always thought you and Carter made such a power couple.” His choice of words had me scowling. Did he know what the two of them had schemed? That they were behind the attack?

“She has a boyfriend, Dad.” Carter groaned. “Let’s not make this embarrassing.”

I choked on my glass of water.

“We’re better friends,” Ava added, grinning at me.

“I just bet,” I mumbled, earning a round of frowns from the adults. “You’re a prettyfriendlygirl.”

“Josephine.” Angie said my name with warning as the first course came out.

“Ava is Elmwood’s head cheerleader,” I explained with a grin so wide my cheeks ached while twirling a piece of hair.

“You are?” Angie squealed, as I knew she would. Angie had been a cheerleader in her day before getting knocked up. How weird to look back at the story I’d heard a million times and realize it was not about me. I was not the little girl who derailed her entire life. Now that I thought about it, why hadn’t the loss of her baby been the answer to all her problems? She hadn’t wanted to be a teenage mom.

While Angie gushed cheer with Ava, I dug out my phone to send out a quick text to Brock.Your girlfriend is here.

Just as I hit send, Angie scolded, “Honey, you know the rules. No cellphones at the table.”

I blinked, slipping the phone back into my pocket just as it buzzed with a new message. “Since when?” I replied.

Carter snorted, forking a bed of lettuce drenched in ranch dressing.

I made a face at him. “How’s the football scouting going, Carter? I heard you missed a big opportunity during detention. Penn State, was it?”

My stepbrother no longer found me funny. “And whose fault was that?”

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