for me to play that guessing
game. They congregate by the open bar or eat fancy hors d'oeuvres as servers
pass.
I feel like I’m at a million-dollar wedding reception.
Daisy leans back on the legs of her chair and folds her
cloth napkin into a flower, clearly bored. “How convenient that Maria suddenly
came down with a stomach bug.” Poppy never even made it out of the limo. The
nanny called her as soon as Maria threw up, and she turned around to take her
to the doctor. “I need to have a baby so I can use it as a way to bail.”
Rose clenches a champagne glass firmly in her hand. Her eyes
shoot to our youngest sister. “Let’s not talk about children.”
“Yeah,” I say with a small smile. “The word baby gives Rose hives.”
Rose sips her drink, not disagreeing.
And that’s when I feel a hand plant on my shoulder. And by
the force and the size, I know it’s male .
“Lily Calloway,” he says with added pleasure. I know that
voice. I just can’t place it. I rarely can.
I slowly crane my neck over my shoulder, and my eyes widen
in horror. I recognize the All-American build, blue eyes, and swept back brown
hair. Even outside of prep school, he looks like a star quarterback—even if his
sport of choice was lacrosse.
I didn’t sleep with Aaron Wells. I didn’t touch a hair on his head, and I never
would. Because this douchebag tried to stuff Lo into a locker in ninth grade.
Lo spun out of his grasp and sprinted down the hall, away from Aaron and a pack
of restless bullies. Aaron wasn’t fast enough to catch him.
Lo fights indirectly with people. So I knew he wouldn’t
retaliate with a baseball bat, swinging at Aaron’s head in angry retribution.
There are some things that hurt worse than a punch. I think his father taught
him that. Lo paid a guy to break into the school and alter Aaron’s exam grades,
and his GPA fell. For guys like Aaron, reputation is everything and being on
the bottom of the graduating class can ruin status. He must have realized Lo
was the cause, so one day after school Aaron tried to confront him with fists
bared. He clocked him. Lo escaped. As he always did. Four years passed and
their feud escalated.
I became a target.
Aaron would try to trap me in the bathrooms, and I
vehemently dodged him. I stayed glued to Lo’s side during every hour of the
day. In those couple months, I remember being really scared to go to school. I
didn’t know what Aaron wanted to do to me, but since their rivalry already
became physical, I didn’t necessarily want to find out. I remember skipping
often and fearing moments in between class. I’d jump even when it was just Lo
who approached, and when he could tell I was becoming psychologically fucked
from Aaron’s threats, he decided to do something more drastic to protect me.
He threatened Aaron’s future. Not just a little drop in his
GPA. He would contact the colleges that planned to scout Aaron and pay them off
so they’d reject him on the spot.
And it happened. Aaron’s dream university denied his
application because Lo reached them first. And with the Hale name and a hefty
donation, they couldn’t refuse Lo’s offer.
So Aaron shut up. He got accepted to his safety school, and
he left us alone.
Until now.
I don’t greet him. I turn back to give him the biggest
coldshoulder. I don’t care if I’m rude. Because if my suspicions are correct,
he’s only here to make my life hell.
“Not going to say hi?” Aaron wonders. I watch him circle the
table and sit across from me. He actually takes the centerpiece and puts it on
the floor so I have a direct view of his smarmy face.
I hear Rose beside me. “How old are you?”
I glance at her, and nearly laugh at her date. He’s a twig,
and his suit is two sizes too big.
“Nineteen,” he tells her, fixing his bowtie, but he makes it
even more lopsided.
Rose raises her glass with a bitter smile. “Wonderful.” My
mother set her up with a guy three years younger than her.
He
game. They congregate by the open bar or eat fancy hors d'oeuvres as servers
pass.
I feel like I’m at a million-dollar wedding reception.
Daisy leans back on the legs of her chair and folds her
cloth napkin into a flower, clearly bored. “How convenient that Maria suddenly
came down with a stomach bug.” Poppy never even made it out of the limo. The
nanny called her as soon as Maria threw up, and she turned around to take her
to the doctor. “I need to have a baby so I can use it as a way to bail.”
Rose clenches a champagne glass firmly in her hand. Her eyes
shoot to our youngest sister. “Let’s not talk about children.”
“Yeah,” I say with a small smile. “The word baby gives Rose hives.”
Rose sips her drink, not disagreeing.
And that’s when I feel a hand plant on my shoulder. And by
the force and the size, I know it’s male .
“Lily Calloway,” he says with added pleasure. I know that
voice. I just can’t place it. I rarely can.
I slowly crane my neck over my shoulder, and my eyes widen
in horror. I recognize the All-American build, blue eyes, and swept back brown
hair. Even outside of prep school, he looks like a star quarterback—even if his
sport of choice was lacrosse.
I didn’t sleep with Aaron Wells. I didn’t touch a hair on his head, and I never
would. Because this douchebag tried to stuff Lo into a locker in ninth grade.
Lo spun out of his grasp and sprinted down the hall, away from Aaron and a pack
of restless bullies. Aaron wasn’t fast enough to catch him.
Lo fights indirectly with people. So I knew he wouldn’t
retaliate with a baseball bat, swinging at Aaron’s head in angry retribution.
There are some things that hurt worse than a punch. I think his father taught
him that. Lo paid a guy to break into the school and alter Aaron’s exam grades,
and his GPA fell. For guys like Aaron, reputation is everything and being on
the bottom of the graduating class can ruin status. He must have realized Lo
was the cause, so one day after school Aaron tried to confront him with fists
bared. He clocked him. Lo escaped. As he always did. Four years passed and
their feud escalated.
I became a target.
Aaron would try to trap me in the bathrooms, and I
vehemently dodged him. I stayed glued to Lo’s side during every hour of the
day. In those couple months, I remember being really scared to go to school. I
didn’t know what Aaron wanted to do to me, but since their rivalry already
became physical, I didn’t necessarily want to find out. I remember skipping
often and fearing moments in between class. I’d jump even when it was just Lo
who approached, and when he could tell I was becoming psychologically fucked
from Aaron’s threats, he decided to do something more drastic to protect me.
He threatened Aaron’s future. Not just a little drop in his
GPA. He would contact the colleges that planned to scout Aaron and pay them off
so they’d reject him on the spot.
And it happened. Aaron’s dream university denied his
application because Lo reached them first. And with the Hale name and a hefty
donation, they couldn’t refuse Lo’s offer.
So Aaron shut up. He got accepted to his safety school, and
he left us alone.
Until now.
I don’t greet him. I turn back to give him the biggest
coldshoulder. I don’t care if I’m rude. Because if my suspicions are correct,
he’s only here to make my life hell.
“Not going to say hi?” Aaron wonders. I watch him circle the
table and sit across from me. He actually takes the centerpiece and puts it on
the floor so I have a direct view of his smarmy face.
I hear Rose beside me. “How old are you?”
I glance at her, and nearly laugh at her date. He’s a twig,
and his suit is two sizes too big.
“Nineteen,” he tells her, fixing his bowtie, but he makes it
even more lopsided.
Rose raises her glass with a bitter smile. “Wonderful.” My
mother set her up with a guy three years younger than her.
He
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