“Is that how you want to play it?” With an incredulous laugh, I got up from the bed and took a step toward her. “Where did you get the fucking money, Jasmine?”
She pulled down the corners of her mouth and shrugged. “My parents, like I said.”
“I fuckinghateliars,” I spat in a low voice.
She flinched slightly, as if my words had been a physical blow. “Si…”
“Come on, Jas,” I mocked. “You had the balls for this whole scheme. Now at least have the balls to admit it.”
Jasmine said nothing, her arms crossed over her chest, but I knew I had rattled her. She knew I knew something, and it was freaking her out. I took another step closer, looking down at her.
“You know,” I let my gaze sweep across the room, shaking my head, “you shouldreallypay attention to who you CC in your emails.”
Was she going a little pale there, underneath all that foundation? Her eyes darted away again. ”Seriously, Sierra. What the hell are you talking about?”
“What do luxury hotels and designer clothes have to do with our charity event? At first, I really thought it was nothing more than a few slip-ups, but then I began to realize what’s going on. What you guys are pulling, especially with David’s frat. Tell me, Jas, who’s all involved? Who else knows?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what you’re talking about! You must be mistaken.” She raised her hands defensively and took a small step back.
“Your dress says otherwise. How long has this been going on, Jas?”
“Oh my God, Sierra. Can you just drop it? This is why we didn’t tell you. Weknewyou’d overreact!”
I stared at her in disbelief, blinking a few times. “Are you fucking serious right now? You’re siphoning money for personal gain, ripping people off, andI’moverreacting?!”
“Everyone does it, Sierra,everyone. How do you think we got the idea, huh? The only difference is that others are content with crumbs, while we had a bigger vision.“ She shrugged, unconcerned, and tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear.
“A bigger vision?” I repeated.
This wassomuch worse than I had imagined.
“It’s really not as bad as you think. We would have told you, but we thought it would be better for everyone this way.”
Did she think this would make the situationbettersomehow? Who was this person in front of me? It couldn’t be my best friend because I didn’t recognize the person staring back at me.
“Are you telling me that everyone is involved in this?”
“Everyone who matters.” Her tone was so nonchalant, as if we were discussing something trivial, an everyday matter.
I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging at it briefly, and then let my arms drop again. “Guess I know where I stand with you, then. If it hadn’t already been abundantly clear, that is. Just so we’re on the same page, you’re stealing from donations and funds for your own benefit? Is that what’s going on here?”
“Sierra, I swear to God, you’re acting like we’remonsters. So what if we try to get a little more out of the situation for ourselves?” Her eyebrows rose briefly, and she shrugged.
“Out.”
Jasmine recoiled. “What?”
“Get out. Right now.” I turned away. “I can’t even look at you.”
She scoffed. “You’re being ridiculous, Sierra.”
I snapped back around, my hand shooting out to point at the door. ”Get the fuck out of my room, Jasmine!”
She flinched briefly at my thunderous tone before she scoffed again, rolling her eyes like none of this mattered. Like I was the one making things difficult. Jasmine turned and put her hand on the doorknob.
“Just let it go, Sierra. It’s not going to end well for you otherwise.” Then she slipped out, the door clicking shut behind her with an infuriating calm.
The silence that followed pressed in on me like a weight. All that was left was me, alone, disillusioned, and boiling with rage.
