Page 120 of Pretty Poisoned
"Luca has never killed anyone."
"Open your eyes! How do you know? You haven't even known this person for a month; look what he's capable of. What do you think he would do if he found out that you pursued him to expose him? Why do you keep looking behind me?"
She whips around in her chair, looks directly at Rhett, and then turns back around. "Oh my god. That's the drummer from the band, isn't it?"
I shrug.
"They're having you followed, Teagan. Do you know how fucked that is?"
She gets up and stomps over to the table. "Hey! I know who you are."
"I know who you are, too," Rhett says.
"I'm not afraid of you! You leave my sister alone, or I'm calling the police."
"Go ahead and call them," Rhett challenges. "What are you going to tell them?"
"You're following her," Blakely says. "You're trying to intimidate her."
"Blakely," I say, putting my hand on her shoulder. "You need to calm down. They're going to throw us out; everyone is staring."
"I'm not trying to intimidate Teagan," Rhett says. "We just want to make sure that wherever she goes, she goes willingly—that's all."
"You thinkI'ma threat to her? She'smylittle sister, and I love her."
"She's our friend, and we love her," Brady says. "I heard what you called her."
"Blake, we need to sit down," I tell her. "Sorry, guys."
"Are you fucking them, too?" she asks loudly.
I lower both my gaze and my tone. "No, Blakely, I'm not."
"I wouldn't say no," Rhett taunts.
"I would," Brady says. "It's not personal—I just don't like women."
"This is so fucked up," Blakely says, throwing her arms up before stomping back to the table.
I sit down in my chair and go back to my sandwich. Blakely rests her head in her hands with her elbows on the table. When she looks up, she has tears in her eyes. "Teag?"
"Yeah?"
"Teagan…please let me help you. I know that you've been through some fucked up shit, and maybe we didn't do a good enough job helping you after it happened. Maybe…we didn't realize how bad it was, but I want to help you now. I'msorry,Teagan. I'm sorry I didn't realize how they were treating you at school; I'm sorry I didn't realize how lonely you were. I was too young and too self-absorbed, and Mom and Dad were too busy—"
"I don't want to talk about that," I tell her. "I don't want to think about that."
"We didn't want to talk about it either, and maybe that was the problem, Teagan. You're my best friend. I don't want to lose you. I don't want to bury you."
"I don't want to lose you, either."
Blakely reaches across the table and takes my hand. "Our flight is at three," she says. "Finish your food, and I'll call an Uber, okay?"
"You said I was disgusting." My lower lip starts to shake; I choke on a sob, and this time, I do let the tears fall. "You said I make you sick."
"I'm sorry," Blakely says. "I didn't mean it."
"You said I embarrass you—that I always embarrass you—the day before I left. You're throwing me out, and I'm going to be homeless."
