Monica’s eyes widen for a split second before she goes back to spewing her venom. “Yeah, well, Clayton is as much a victim in all of this as I am. She’s going to leave him high and dry and run off into the sunset with her best friend.”
Is she for real? Does she live under a rock? My brother has no problem with the world knowing that he’s head over heels for Grace. Anyone with two eyes can see she feels the same way.
“Uh, I love Clayton. If I’m running off with anyone, it’s going to be him,” Grace says.
“Leave him. Leave him before it’s too late,” Monica demands, looking at me.
“No,” I tell her plainly.
“Monica, you need to walk away,” Peyton warns her.
“No, not until she does as I say,” Monica hisses at Peyton before looking back at me.
Slowly, I push my chair back and stand. I lean forward, resting my palms on the table and putting my face so close to hers that I can see how caked on her makeup is. “I don’t know if I can say this any clearer, but let me try again. No.”
Monica slaps her foot on the ground. “He was mine first.”
“And he’s mine now.”
“He was supposed to come back to me. We all know that I would look best on his arm,” she tells us.
As soon as the words leave her mouth, I feel sad for her. I can’t imagine being with someone just because of what they could give me and not because I want them for who they are. It’s obvious that she has this obsession with him because she wants what his status can give her.
I hate that Grace and he went through what they did last year, but if one good thing came from it, it was Monica no longer being his girl.
“You might believe that, but Kellan doesn’t. He’s with me. You need to move on. This whole schtick is reeking of desperation. He’s moved on.”
A wicked smile takes over her face. “We will see about that. I wonder, does he even love you? We will find out.”
“What the fuck is going on here?” Kellan gruffly asks.
Monica spins so fast on her heels that her hair slaps me in the face, poking me in the eye.
“Kellan!”
Perfect. Just fucking perfect.
* * *
My heart races at the scene in front of me.
Grace is pale, Peyton looks like she’s ready to stab a bitch, and Monica is trying her damnedest to appear innocent, but it’s Cora I can’t look away from. I can’t read her at all, and it’s killing me.
“Is anyone going to answer me?” I ask again.
“Oh, I was just having a little chat with your friend here. Encouraging her to leave your ass behind,” Monica says.
Peyton scoffs.
Monica looks over at her and glares.
“I mean, you did tell her that, but you also admitted you wanted to be his arm candy again. You probably shouldn’t have left that out.” Peyton picks up a fry and eats it.
The corner of Monica’s eye twitches. It’s obvious that she doesn’t like being called out.
I look back at Cora and see that she’s glaring at the back of Monica’s head, making me worry that she just might do something irrational. Like pull out Monica’s extensions or something.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. How the fuck did we end up here?
