The Missing- Volume II- Lies by A. Meredith Walters, A. M. Irvin

on saying it?
    I smiled to myself.
    She didn’t realize she’d get nowhere with him. That she could try to peek behind his wall, but he’d never let her see anything.
    Mine.
    I sat down at the table while Maren went to get some lunch. I watched as Bradley came in and joined her in line.
    They spoke. Not much. He barely looked at her.
    See, I don’t have anything to be irritated about. He’s not even talking to her. And she doesn’t seem to be that interested anyway.
    I relaxed.
    Then she touched his arm. I waited for his inevitable retreat.
    The excitement bubbled up inside of me as I anticipated his shut down. The moment when he’d push her away and come to find me.
    I licked my lips, feeling the scar, barely able to contain my pleasure.
    Bradley went rigid.
    Here it comes.
    He smiled and said something to Maren that made her laugh.
    Bradley Somers made someone smile.
    It wasn’t right.
    It was so, so wrong.
    You love them, but in the end, you will be all alone.
    “They’re awfully friendly.”
    I groaned. “Don’t you have anything better to do than harass me? I thought you worked or something.”
    Rosie ignored my statement and pulled out a chair next to me, sitting down. She crossed her legs together and watched my friends as they waited to get their food.
    “So what has you in such a tizzy, sis?” Rosie arched her lovely eyebrow.
    “I’m not your sister. I never have been,” I reminded her. At one time I wished she had been. In the beginning, before I saw how horrible she could be.
    “Did you put on makeup this morning? You look ridiculous,” Rosie spat out. Was she annoyed at my rejection? Could it possibly bother her? I hoped it did.
    I self-consciously wiped at my face. “I just wanted to try something new,” I said softly, lowering my face, hiding away as I always did with Rosie. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. No sense in wearing a target she could shoot at.
    Rosie snorted. “What’s the point? You’re still disgusting.”
    It hurt.
    It would always hurt.
    Nora Gilbert is ugly.
    Nora Gilbert is a freak.
    “Why do you think those two are spending so much time together?” Rosie asked pointedly. I lifted my head and watched my friends again. They were still in line and though they weren’t chatting any longer, something was different between them. It made me nauseated.
    “How do you know they spend time together?” I demanded, hating how easily Rosie made me doubt.
    Rosie didn’t bother answering me. She let my mistrust linger in the air between us.
    “I never understood why Bradley was so attached to you. It never made any sense to me. He’s ridiculously hot but incredibly weird. He and I hung out a few times and he would never say much,” Rosie mused, staring off into space.
    Her long, brown hair was swept up into a tidy bun at the nape of her neck. Her nails were freshly painted and her silver ring glinted in the overhead lighting.
    I frowned.
    She was wearing her ring.
    I pulled the ring out of my pocket and put it on. Just for a moment. I didn’t want Mother to see. I could only imagine her reaction if she saw it. It felt good to slip it over my knuckle so that it sat snuggled on my thumb.
    I held my hand up to admire it. It was too big. My fingers were much smaller than hers. But it still looked nice.
    I realized what Rosie had said and I couldn’t keep quiet.
    “What are you talking about?”
    Rosie grinned maliciously. Her favorite kind of smile.
    “Didn’t Bradley ever tell you that we would meet after school when we were younger? He’d walk me home. While you waited for him at school, he was with me.” Rosie giggled. “I liked the strong silent thing he had going on at first. But then it just got weird.” Rosie frowned. “There’s something wrong with that guy. But I guess that’s why the two of you get along.”
    I felt the stirrings of an all too familiar anger.
    Bradley and Rosie had spent time together?
    My head started to throb.
    I had to close my