“I’ll do it, but you know what this means, right?”
“What?”
“I need to cut ties with you. At least for a little while. That means no texting. No calling. I won’t be coming over or talking to you if I see you in public. If we are going to sell this, I need to immerse myself in that lifestyle. I don’t think anyone will tell me much of anything if they know I’m still with you. I can’t have someone accidentally reading a text or overhearing us talk. You heard Chase. Since he is the target here, they won’t tell me anything.”
“Okay. That sucks, but I get it. So what’s the plan?”
“I’m going to try out, and if I get it, I cut ties with you. I tell them that now that you’re with Chase, I don’t exist anymore. I’ll make you out to be the witch they think you already are. Then I’ll slowly build their trust. Hopefully, it won’t be for nothing. It may be a dead-end, but it’s worth a shot.”
She nods. “Nate won’t like this. Chase might not either, but I can convince him.”
I shake my head. “No. Don’t. If you have to tell Chase, I get that. He’s your man, but Nate can’t know. Not that he will care. He barely looks my way anymore. If we want to sell this, he needs to think I’ve abandoned you.”
“Hailee, he’s going to hate you for that.” Her eyes are full of concern, making me question myself for half a second.
Then I steel myself. After today, he proved that whatever we had going before isn’t anything now.
I shrug, my heart clenching. “He already hates me. What’s the difference?”
“Fine. I’ll fill Chase in. If he thinks you hurt me, he will lose his shit, but I’ll make sure we keep Nate out of it. Or at least, I’ll do my best. I can’t make any promises.”
“Good.”
I get up to leave, heading over to her to give her one last hug. If everything goes to plan, who knows when I will get another.
She hugs me to her tighter and longer than normal, as if she can feel the same separation anxiety that I am feeling.
I head out, pausing at the entrance to the hall. “Willow. I love you. You’re my best friend, but when you come back to school, you’ll be my enemy. You know that, right?”
She smiles. “I can handle it, Hails. I know where your heart is. You need to remember you are one of us, even if the rest of the world thinks you’re not. Thank you for doing this.”
“I would do anything for you. See you around.”
“Be safe.”
I walk out the door, preparing to turn myself into someone I never thought I’d be again.
Three
“Really,Hailee? You think you can be on our team?”
I never learned their names before, but I made sure to know them now. The one speaking to me like I’m beneath her is Tiffany. The team captain. The same girl who was crying outside of school the day Shannon’s body was found.
Funny how quickly her tears dried.
“I know I can.” I cock my hip, placing my hand on it.
I know how these cheerleader bitches work. Fuck, I used to be one of them.
“I didn’t take you for the team sports type,” Tiffany’s little sidekick, Valerie, spits out.
“I was on the varsity cheerleading team at Brook Heights High in Northbrook. We won State the year I joined. I think I can handle this little squad,” I sneer as if the team is beneath me.
“That’s a lot of talk for trailer trash. Can you put your money where your mouth is?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “You’re cute.”
Turning away from them, I eye the gym. There’s a PE class playing basketball on half the court, leaving the other half for the cheerleading squad.
