Page 47 of My Million Dollar Secret

Some of the girls I know think I should have joined a sorority, but I had absolutely no desire. I may have grown up as privileged as most of these girls, but I have absolutely nothing in common with them. Nor am I interested in being a part of their plastic, superficial worlds.

Holding my arms protectively over my chest, I ignore them and walk a bit faster, trying to put some distance between us. I just want to go back to my dorm and figure out what I'm going to do. Obviously, I'm going to be heading home in a few days for the funeral. I have so much to do now. I have to contact my professors and try to reschedule my finals. If they’ll even let me.

Even thinking about that right now just feels callous and horrible. She just died, and all I can think about is how I might have to miss finals and start looking at flights back to LA. But I've always been the kind of person who thinks in terms of the practical. At times like this, I hate that about myself.

“What's wrong, Emily?”

I know Martha doesn't give a shit about me. The giggle of her henchwoman only confirms it for me. They're just trying to get under my skin. As usual. I have no idea why they take such pleasure in tormenting me. Not with any certainty. But she and her sorority sisters make a point of harassing me and doing their best to make my life a living hell.

While I don't know for sure why they love making me miserable, if I had to venture a guess, I'd say it has something to do with Aaron. Everybody knows how into Aaron she is – and how not into Martha he is. I guess the fact that Aaron pays so much attention to me bothers her. A lot, apparently.

Martha steps in front of me, forcing me to stop short. A surge of irritation rushes through me and I glare at her.

“Get out of my way,” I demand.

She exchanges a look and a devious smile with Laura. “I'm assuming you're crying because you heard.”

“Heard what?” I sigh.

I really don't care what she has to say, but if I don't let her spew whatever's on her mind, it's only going to be worse for me.I want to be alone, but if I don't let Martha have her say, they'll follow me back to my dorm, yapping at me like a couple of chihuahuas the entire way.The sooner I let her speak, the sooner I can be done with her and go on my way.

“About Aaron and me?” she chirps brightly, then quickly adds. “I mean, I know how bad it has to hurt, so I wanted to say I was sorry. It just – happened.”

“What in the hell are you talking about, Martha?”

The irritation I'm feeling is quickly morphing into outright anger. Ever since Aaron and I got together, Martha has been a constant thorn in our side, doing everything in her power to get in between us. We've managed to ignore her for the most part, but she makes it next to impossible sometimes.

That sly smirk touches her lips again. “I'm glad you didn't hear it from anybody else. I know people can make things sound so lurid,” she crows, her voice dripping with triumph.

“Spit it out, Martha.”

“Well, Aaron and I ran into each other at the Sig Ep party last night.”

“Yeah, so?” I snap.

As I stare at the smug look on her face, I have to resist the urge to slap that smirk off her perfect, pouty lips. In my heart, though, I think I know where this is going. A dark, sinking feeling settles in my stomach.

“Well, we slept together, Emily,” she continues, doing her best to not sound too triumphant about it. “And I think he wants to be with me. Said he wanted one last fling before he goes overseas.”

None of it makes sense to me. I shake my head, trying to deny it all. Aaron has been nothing but kind and patient with me. He’s told me more times than I can count that even though I don’t have much experience, he doesn’t want to sleep around with other girls. Not while we’re together. And even though he’s going to travel overseas, he’s sworn up and down that he will wait for me if I wait for him. I can't believe he'd sleep with Martha, let alone tell her he wants to be with her – a girl he says he despises.

“Yeah, sorry. I'm just glad you didn't have to hear it through the grapevine and that I could tell you I was sorry,” she goes on. “I know how hard this must be for you.”

“You don't know shit about me,” I growl.

She shrugs. “You don't need to get so heated with me, Emily. You should talk to your boyfriend,” she beams. “Like they say, it takes two to tango.”

I stare at her, wide-eyed and filled with rage. I can't believe this. This can't be happening. Not right now. Not with everything else going on.I don't want to believe that on top of everything that's happened, that Aaron would have betrayed me.

“You're lying.” I wince at the whine I hear in my own voice.

“You’re still a virgin, right? Maybe if you'd actually put out, he wouldn't have been looking to get laid so bad.”

I react before I can stop myself to think about it. Even though I’m not a virgin anymore, I don’t have to stand here and take this. My hand lashes out, and I hear it connecting with her face like the sound of a baseball hitting a mitt. The crack is loud and echoes across the empty quad. Holding her hand to her cheek, Martha stares at me with an expression of pure shock on her face. Laura looks from her friend to me and then back again, not sure what to do.

“You don’t know anything about me. And you're a fucking liar,” I spit as I move around her and walk off.

I make it back to my dorm room, slamming and locking the door behind me. I collapse onto my bed and sob uncontrollably. I feel like my entire world is crashing down around me. With everything happening with my mom, I hadn't even stopped to think about what that meant for me and Aaron.

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