Page 24 of Nightmare

I swear my head hurts from how loudly I’m screaming at Summer in my mind, trying to use the best friend telepathy I know we have.

Summer leans against the bed and twirls a strand of her hair around her finger, “Are your hot friends going to be there?”

Travis nods and the screaming inside my head gets louder and louder because she’s not fucking hearing me, or even looking at me, for fucks sake.

“Yeah okay, what time?” Everything around me goes mute as I silently make promises to put a hex on her later tonight, then curse the day she was born.Normal girl stuff.

Travis holds his phone towards me, “Time to give me your phone number, pretty girl.” He winks at me and it’s gorgeous.Of courseit fucking is. Fuck me fucking sideways, I’m fucked.

I groan and roll my eyes, to which he laughs.

I type my number into his phone, he says he will text me the details then he turns to head back out to the elevator. I squint my eyes at Summer while she stares back at me with a blank face.

“You’re not my best friend anymore.” I turn on my heel and walk after Travis, “Travis, wait!”

He spins around and laughs as he presses the button for the elevator, “Yes, Olivia?” He pops his head to the side.

“Why are you really inviting us?” The elevator dings and he gives me a little smile as he walks in.

“I told you, I just want to spend some more time with you.” He pauses, looking me over, “I like you.”

He shrugs and gives me another one of his dimpled smiles before the elevator doors slide closed.

I stomp my way back to the bedroom, where Summer has taken her spot on the bed again, pulling things out of our shopping bags.

“Did you not hear me yelling at you telepathically?” I plant myself down on the foot of the bed, and she rolls her eyes at me.

“Don’t be an idiot. He’s hot. You’re hot. He clearly likes you. The only problem we have is that he might want to murder us,” She shrugs, still not looking up at me from her task at hand. “In that case, I have mace. If he doesn’t try to kill us, then you get to fuck a hot guy and drink his booze.”

She looks up at me from the Chanel sunglasses in her hand, “Win-win, Olivia. You’ve got to get out there again. The shit that happened in Cali was months ago.” She gives me a sad smile before she continues.

“I know it was fucked. I know you’re hurting, and I know it’s hard to trust anyone, but you can’t just stop feeling all together, Liv. I’m not telling you that you have to fucking marry this guy, but I can see the way you look at him, I know you want to hang out with him. I’ll be there with you and I will never let anything happen to you. Ever.”

I let out the breath I’m holding and put my attention on my fingernails, unable to look her in the eyes because I feel like I’m going to burst into tears at any moment. “Are you suggesting Idatehim?!”

She rolls her eyes, “Of course not. It’s hot girl summer.”

I chuckle, watching her as she examines my face, reading the nerves right at the surface.

Summer sighs, “Liv, we’re going to get dressed up, you’ll put on your bad bitch boots, get fucked up and hook up with hot guys. That’s what this summer is all about. Meaningless fun.”

But she’s wrong because what I’m feeling for Travis doesn’t feel meaningless. It feels like he has his claws in me and he’s setting a fire inside of my chest. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him since last night. There’s something about him that draws me to him, and I don’t want any part of it.

I. Don’t. Fucking. Want. It.

Because that’s what got me here in the first place – trusting the wrong person.

Chapter Twelve

Olivia

I’m applyingthe darkest red lipstick I can find when Summer walks into the bathroom with a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses in her hands.

Ariana Grande is playing out of the speakers and she starts singing along as she places the shot glasses down on the vanity and starts pouring.

She grabs both glasses in her hands, holding one towards me, wiggling her eyebrows up and down. “Liquid courage.”

“I don’t need liquid courage. I’m wearing my bad bitch boots and a dress that shows off my tits.” I take the shot glass anyway and we both throw them back together.

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