Love Bites

Torn Asunder

Paranoia soon overlapped my rage, and it was never more prevalent in that moment than it was in the twenty minutes it took for me to see the intersection leading to Sitka High's parking lot.

Every sudden movement within the trees, or out of place shadow I passed nearly had me jumping into the pit of my own death. The only reprieve was seeing the occasional passerby crossing the street, or flying past on their bike. I kept my arms clenched around my stomach, protecting my innards from whatever malignant force was reaping around tearing people open like frogs for seventh-grade dissection.

The skies were a murky gray by the time I reached the school, and I was thankful the clouds hadn't broken before I stepped in through the doors. It was only when I reached homeroom that I spotted Jeremiah, Roland, Prue, and her friends by her locker, the girls giggling over something I was too late to hear the punchline of. My paranoia insisting that punchline was me.

Prue turned to me, sighing in agitation. "There you are," she said, her smile twitching when she looked to Amberlyn. "Everyone's been going on about how you ditched the group at Cascade—"

"I ditched the group?" I yelped uncharacteristically, turning my steaming head to face her posse. "They left me!"

"Hey."

We turned to see Ethan striding in from behind me with his bag slanted over a shoulder. I noticed instantly the dried mud caked onto his cheeks and windbreaker, and, apparently, so did Prue.

"Baby, you're filthy. What happened to you?" Prue looked like she was torn between concern and disappointment. "When I woke up this morning, you were gone."

"Sorry, babe, I had some things to take care of before class." He nodded to each of us in greeting, as he wiped the dirt from his face with the back of his hand. "It's no big deal, I'll wash up later. What were you guys going on about?"

"Dodie was just chewing our asses for breakfast. Stick around, E, it was pretty hilarious," Roland smirked down at the M&M's he was popping into his mouth.

"I'm not—all I'm saying is that it was wrong. You shouldn't have left me there." I forced myself not to look at Ethan, but found it difficult to keep gazes with any one of them.

"It was an accident, Dodie," Jeremiah sniped, throwing an arm around his girlfriend's neck. "Amberlyn didn't have to pick you up, anyway. There's a bus stop a block by your house. She was doing you a favor."

The way he emphasized certain words to me was as if he was explaining sums to a first grader.

"Some favor," I mumbled, but I very nearly kept my mouth closed. "Roland knew I was behind him at the register."

"I don't get it—I mean really?" Heatherlyn was fuming, while Katelyn's wide, blue eyes glimmered with anxiety. "You know what, Dodie? Why do you have to be such a b***h?"

Mortification flushed me violently crimson, and I felt my lips part in shock, the feeling of wanting to turn and run at the face of it almost too strong to ignore. I looked to Prue for help, but again, she only had eyes for Ethan. Was she even paying attention?

"Prue puts up with you—I can't imagine why. You're spoiled and standoffish, you don't even look at people when they're talking to you. As if we aren't worth your precious time. We go where you wanna go and leave when you wanna leave, you entitled little tramp, but it's still not enough for you. Nothing's ever good enough for the Goddess of Love."

Heatherlyn, at this point, was seething, while I stood stunned before her, hearing Jeremiah's and Roland's strained rumbles as they struggled to contain their laughter.

Katelyn was still wide-eyed, Amberlyn's smugness was thinly veiled, and Prue—didn't say a word, nor was there anything in her expression to indicate that she felt anything over her best friend being so thoroughly slain in front of her.

I didn't dare look at Ethan.

Heatherlyn took a step forward, chest pumping and fists balling. "You—" she hissed through clenched teeth, making me question where all this hostility was even coming from, "you can be such a—"

"Heatherlyn, shut-up."

Now every pair of eyes were on Ethan's narrowed gaze, a warning swirling through them. His looming stare found Roland's, who stopped his hog fest with his sweets long enough to look back at him. "Why'd you leave her behind, Steinbeck?"

Roland, looking suddenly queasy again, took to chewing on the end of a pretzel stick in place of the candy. "I saw her getting it on with the cashier dude, so I thought she was trying to get ahead, if you know what I mean, and would grab a ride. My bad."

I stilled, unable to believe the foolishness that was spurting from his mouth. What? What kind of excuse was that? What was he even talking about? All I was doing was talking to the cashier.

"Her?" Heatherlyn's outward disbelief was taking most of the space on her gaunt outer shell, bringing life to it. "Seriously, Roland?"

"What? The phrase is called 'getting lucky' for a reason." He shrugged and stuffed two marshmallows into his still chewing mouth.

I felt my face warming again at their subtle insults toward my looks, of all things.

"I had to walk," I said, with much less fire in my voice than before. "I was out there for over a half hour."

"What're you so worried about, Dodie? It's daylight out, the streets are packed, and you're...well, you. It's not like you're likely to be picked up. I think Roland even suggesting you could find a date is pretty damn flattering of him." Amberlyn's smugness had waned at the face of her irritation.

You talk as if a r****t would ponder about the attractiveness of his next unwilling victim over a donut and a cup of tea, you stupid HEIFER!

Is what I wanted to say.

Instead, I stood there like a hanged dummy in a shooting range, bearing shot after shot of their unrepressed anger, all of which was completely undeserved. But like everything else spiraling out of control in my life, I was powerless to stop it.

"Can you believe her?" Amberlyn whined to Jeremiah with a roll of her eyes. "You try doing her a favor, and over some little mix-up, she throws a fit. I'm sorry, Prue. I tried, but this girl's your friend and is staying your friend."

"We get it, Amberlyn, you have the social skills of an app AI," Ethan snapped, efficiently shutting her up. He was like the king lion of his animal kingdom, awe-inspiring in every sense. "Eat-N-Peek over here shouldn't have given the green light to leave. What're you, an i***t?" He directed to Roland.

While I gawped at Ethan, unable to believe what I was hearing, Amberlyn's lips snapped open petulantly. "We weren't that far from the school—"

"It's almost twenty blocks!" I said, but Amberlyn was probably just as good at ignoring me as Prue was.

"So you admit you did abandon her," Ethan huffed, folding his arms over his dirtied jacket.

"She was taking forever."

I should've been pissed at Amberlyn's final admission, but I was still in too much of a shock at Ethan's amiable defense of me at the face of his friends' cruelty. It wasn't the first time that he'd stood up for me, but it was the first that he'd done it with such fire.

"Why were you in such a hurry? Were they serving free rice cakes and cartons of air in the cafeteria this morning?" His dark eyes configured into a snared look that softened when he turned to me. "You walked to school by yourself? After what we went through last night?"

I didn't know what was worse, having Ethan hear his friends bash me, him sticking up for me again like the defenseless little girl I made myself out to be, or hearing him chastise me. I kept my head trained onto my worn moccasins, managing only a quirk of my shoulders.

"You have my number, Didi. You're free to use it anytime, you know." His voice was back to a lightness, though it was firmer than its usual tenor.

I looked at him to gauge his face and could make out the forced leniency in his features, as if he was making himself sound less angry with me. This only helped to deepen my guilt.

Did he really care so much that he'd force his anger down to spare my feelings? However, there was a nagging voice in my head that was telling me I was reading more into this than what was there.

My eyes moved to Prue, expecting to see similar ire, but instead only making out a smoothness of decision in her eyes. She smiled, hard and sweet, keeping her gaze on me until she turned Ethan's face to meet hers in a smoldering kiss.

Normally, this would be the point where I'd turn away to stew in the miserable barrenness that was my love life, but this time something was different.

This time, Prue's eyes remained on me, symbolical, territorial, for a few seconds, then shutting at the sound of her own moans and suckling of her man's lips, with Jeremiah and Roland gagging in the background, and the Three Lyns exchanging quiet, meaningless looks.

I grumbled something about being late for first period, hoisted my bags further onto my shoulder, and stumbled away. I'd only managed to turn the corner when I heard rapidly approaching footsteps from behind.

"Didi!"

I froze, every hair on the back of my neck shooting up in elated terror. I couldn't decide which I was feeling more prominently of at that moment. I turned to see Ethan stopping before me, his face questioningly scrunched.

"Sorry," he said, smiling minutely, "I know you're trying to get to class, but I gotta ask..." he ran a pale hand through his brown tresses, appearing adorably conflicted, "why do you let those guys treat you like such s**t?"

All swooning thoughts ceased with the coming of reality. "I—what?"

"You never say anything," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Although I looked away from him, I could still feel his stare drilling through the top of my head.

"You just let people slight you any way they want, and you never say a word about it. Aren't you tired of it, Didi? I mean...they don't care. Those girls, they know your real name. God knows I've reminded them of it enough times. Every time some asshole comes at you, I'm there hoping you'll do something to defend yourself but...you don't. Why?"

"I'm trying—" I hear myself mutter, but can barely feel my lips moving, "I'm trying to get along with them. They're Prue's friends—it's important to her."

"So you're willing to turn yourself into human fluffy slime for Prue's sake?"

I smiled ruefully at the floor. I hadn't turned myself into anything. I'd been this way my whole life. "I should get going." I moved away, fighting the urge to grab my calculus book and beat my own face in with it.

"Do you have a ride home?"

I tripped in my next step, and could barely turn back around to face him. "Uh, I'll probably call my uncle and ask him to give me a lift."

"Doesn't he live on Halibut Point?"

I froze with my gaze still to the floor, heart speeding a mile a minute. How did he know that?

"Prue told me," he said, as if answering my thought.

But I couldn't help doubting it. I had a very difficult time believing she'd ever voluntarily mention me while in Ethan's proximity.

"Yeah, but he won't mind. He'll be leaving work around then, anyway," I said. Stop talking. "So, I'll just give him a call, later." SHUT-UP AND ACCEPT THE RIDE. "Let him know I'm stranded."

YOU DESERVE TO DIE ALONE.

"Well, if you're sure. Just don't walk home alone."

I felt the sudden, inescapable urge to cry. "I won't," I murmured hoarsely, tearing away from the beautiful concern on his face for me, with my fingers inching towards my throat.

I could just strangle myself.

✧✧✧✧✧

In first period, I took my seat as I always did besides Anthony Calveti, and he, as he always did, blatantly ignored me. At lunch, I sat alone at the end of the band members' table, while Prue conversed with the Three Lyns, Jeremiah and Roland, two tables ahead of me, with Ethan shooting contemplative looks my way from across the room. It was there that flyers announcing the running for student office were posted on the walls in rows, but even this wasn't enough to stir conversations away from the news of Mr. Davenport's death.

He was one of the most revered teachers in Sitka High, amongst the staff and students alike, which was a rarity in itself. So it was no wonder why the very air in every room of the school seemed fraught with a blackened heaviness. Still, I knew Mr. Davenport well enough to know how troubled he'd be at seeing how things were progressing with me, had he been here for me to confide in.

During a time of mourning, a time when people should've been coming together to express their grief and condolences, I felt as if my life had been tossed into a shredder machine and the remnants of it scorched in a wildfire. The absolute horror of witnessing Mr. Davenport's demise, and still be left with questions as to how it happened, riddled and mangled my sleep.

He had fallen from a tree. It was absurd to think he may have gotten up there on his own, did that mean whoever killed him was still around the time he fell into Ethan's car? The thought sent shivers sprawling likes waves through me. Catherine Hansen had been killed in the same fashion, just a month before. What were the police doing? The murders were connected, that much was obvious, but did that mean there was someone going around town disemboweling people at random? Was there a pattern?

"Hey, Didi."

I looked to see my lab partner, Coulson Andrews, with a tray of nothing but mashed potatoes doused in that odd, green dressing, and a carton of chocolate milk.

"Hi, Coulson. Sorry again for bailing on you this morning." I'd skipped on class that morning to spend it in the girl's bathroom, tearing my hair out trying to figure out what Prue's problem even was.

He shrugged dismissively, a sheepish smile spreading wide against his boxy face. "It's no big deal. Actually I—"

"Back away, Jerry Stice. If I wanted to sell my soul to the ringleader of higher educative anarchy, I'd kick Ethan Pierce in the balls and sleep with his girlfriend."

I turned my head to the Sataners' table to see Lenna Hoff swatting away at Jerry Stice's outstretched arm, where he held onto a stack of forums. He scoffed, pushing his black, thickly framed glasses back up his nose.

"I'm only trying to instill some communal order," he snapped, waving a flyer above her head. "I'll be a shoo-in for treasurer, of course, but the student body's always looking for new faces to represent electoral positions. Everyone who's anyone will want a chance to join. You don't wanna be left hanging by the rafters."

"The only thing that'll be hanging by the rafters will be your nut sack if you don't get outta my face."

"Yeah, beat it, Poindexter," snapped Ken through a mouthful of green bean casserole, "before we put an IQ dropping curse on you and compel the dean to ban study hall."

With an exaggerated though totally genuine horrified gasp, Jerry grabbed his papers from off the table and scrambled away, clinging tightly onto his rainbow suspenders, and leaving Ken and Lenna snickering like hyenas in his wake.

"I'll see you at the Steinbecks' party?" Coulson was gone before I could even fully contemplate if my making an appearance was still a good idea or not, what with Prue and I apparently on the outs.

I sighed and had gone back to prodding at my sloppily prepared ham sandwich, tearing the soggy lettuce into bits, when scurried footsteps pausing at my side made me turn. Katelyn stood there, soft blonde curls graced elegantly over small shoulders, and wide blue eyes smiling down at me. She lifted a few forms in a wave, looking inexplicably giddy to see me.

"Hi Didi!" she squeaked, brightly.

"Um, hey, Katelyn—" I stopped to reevaluate what she'd said, "wait, did you just call me 'Didi?' "

"Yeah?" her brow scrunched in question. "Sorry, do you prefer Dodie?"

I sighed. Ethan had been right. Those girls had been purposely antagonizing me, knowing I wouldn't say a word about it. But why? What had I done? "No, no. I just didn't think—well, anyway, what's up?"

"Oh! I wanted to know if you're interested in any of the student council positions?" She held out the applications to me, and I forced myself to briefly skim them over out of politeness, shaking my head. "Sorry, Katelyn, this stuff's never been my strong suit."

"You don't need to buy a suit." She blinked at me, innocent, typically confused. "You could just head to a tailor for a dress."

"No, I didn't mean...Anyway, you know how it is; Sitka student body runnings get pretty feral. I'd rather watch the proceedings from the sidelines."

"That's too bad. Prue's running for class president—"

Big surprise.

"—Heatherlyn's in for vice prez, Amberlyn for treasurer, Prue was thinking I should sign up for secretary—"

For some reason, this irked me. "What do you wanna do, Katelyn?" I asked.

Katelyn paused to skim the ceiling in thought, shrugging. "Secretary sounds fun. I bought a whole new pack of glitter gel pens for notes! I even swiped a podium at a bargain outlet."

"Good for you." I smiled at her, though internally I was banging my head against the table.

"I hope you'll change your mind, Didi. We'd love having you run with us."

"I doubt it. I'm not too popular with your crowd these days."

"What do you mean?"

I paused at the genuine confusion emanating from Katelyn's question. "Ever since last night with...you know...Prue's been giving me the cold shoulder."

"Oh, that, she's just a bit sore, that's all. She and Ethan hooked up last night and your name just sorta slipped out."

My jaw just about hit the floor, my brain scrambling to put my thoughts in order, my lips struggling to voice them. Wait. WHAT?

Poor Katelyn seemed to understand the weight of the situation, her face falling into a drained white hue. "I...wasn't really supposed to say anything. It's a secret. Or it was. Please, don't tell Prue."

I almost didn't hear her as my eyes reflectively landed on said boy from across the room. Ethan sat rigidly in his seat, shoulders hunched to his ears, and eyes pointed fixedly onto his tray. His friends, on the other hand, looked as if they were having the time of their lives, hooting in raucous bouts of laughter that bounced across the cafeteria in echos.

All except Anthony Calveti, who was shooting Ethan glares while continuously stuffing his face with green bean casserole.

It must've been particularly mouthwatering today.

I felt my heart sinking until it dropped clean off into the pit of my stomach. There was no way that what Katelyn was telling me could be the truth. Usually, Amberlyn was the one prone to dramatics, but Katelyn's grasp on reality was a little looser than others.

I felt terrible thinking like this about her, but her actions didn't prove the opposite. So, could what she was saying really bear any truth?

I doubted it. I seriously doubted it.

"I won't say anything, Katelyn, I promise," I managed to murmur through the hollowness of my breathing.

She nodded and took the forms back with her to Prue's table, her head despondently tipped to the floor, leaving me both pitying her and being angry with her for putting such foolish notions in my head.

"So, is the dopey one really running for student council?"

I turned at the sound of Lenna Hoff's suppressed chuckles, heat steadily creeping onto my cheeks. How much had she and the other one heard?

"What's it to you, Lenna Hoff?" I snapped feebly.

"Well, Aphrodite Dolce—"

Cringe.

"I'm just not looking forward to another year overrun by Prudence and the Prissy Pips. That musical tirade is bound to give me an ear-worm infection."

"Ohmigosh, the vanity lights student council added to the mirrors in the boy's lav last year were fabulous," Ken sang, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.

"What they plan on doing is their business. I choose not to be a part of it," I said, feigning nonchalance by dipping my spoon absently into my apple sauce.

"That's probably wise, considering you're apparently in hot semen with your bestie over there."

Oh, fry my lasagna, she did hear. And it took every ounce of self-preservation I had not to run myself head-first into the nearest wall.

I shot a glance at Prue, but she was busy sending Ethan dangerous looks from over her shoulder. It didn't make sense, she didn't look angry with him this morning, though it was clear she wasn't hiding it now.

My mind flashed back to the kiss she'd sucked out of him before homeroom, to the predatory look she'd given me, and the lack of support when Ethan had defended me to Heatherlyn. Then it all came together. I could almost hear the click of the pieces being perfectly aligned.

I was aware that there may have been some things Prue wouldn't tell me, and the fact that her boyfriend voiced my name during s*x would definitely fall under that category. She then would, of course, turn to her other friends, the friends who weren't too sweet on me. It would explain her sudden distance. So, then, was Katelyn right? What reason would she have to lie or exaggerate such a specific piece of information?

Could it be true? Could Ethan...? I chanced a look at him, intending for casualness, a motion served by a quick once-over across the room, but when my gaze landed on his, I just froze. He smiled then, barely visible, but it was enough to get my blood racing. Could I be looking too much into this...or...?

"Amazing what an overly glorified p***s and two covetous concubines can do to a relationship," came Lenna-Freakin'-Hoff's voice again from her table.

When I looked at her, I found her attention was on something across the room and followed her eyes to where Prue sat, now staring absolute bullets in my direction, a manicured hand clutching her plastic spoon in a death grip.

I swallowed. I'd never seen her place such hostility so openly towards me. Never. And I wanted nothing more than to tear my eyes away like I'd grown accustomed, but this time something was stopping me.

Her look was so raw and exchanged such a pivotal display of animosity that I felt it was almost warning me of something, an inescapable glimpse into a future of untold pain.

✧✧✧✧✧

Hey, Uncle Liam, it's me again. I'm just calling to see if you could give me a lift home after school? If it's not too much trouble? Let me know. Love you, bye." I felt the urge to introduce my newly replaced phone to the wall again, but held back. Since I'd gotten back from school yesterday, Uncle Liam had gone completely AWOL.

I felt my stomach twist at the awful scenarios pivoting through my brain once I realized this. After a day off, Uncle Liam would start back at his job at the station tomorrow. So where'd he go? Where had he been yesterday, and why couldn't I get a hold of him today?

I paid little mind to the same couple from yesterday who had decided to camp out at my locker again, fiercely entwined in each other's arms and mouths, as I fought to keep the gruesome images of my Uncle's disemboweled body out of my head. Without saying a word, I pushed my arms in between the couple enough to startle them, as if they hadn't even noticed my presence to begin with.

"Sorry, excuse me," I muttered, feeling both of their glares on my back. It was almost enough to get me to yank the books out from my locker just to clear enough space for me to hide.

"What the f**k?" whined the girl, who I came to realize was Jessica Buler, Brody Sanderson's girlfriend. "What's your problem, skank?"

"Babe, don't worry about it," said her partner, the same red-headed boy she'd been orally assaulting at Mean Queen last night. "It's that goddess girl from the locker rooms sophomore year, remember? Probably just wanted to see how a good time was really done."

Jessica's head tilted back, eyes ignited by a new devious gleam. "Ohhh, you're that slut? What—you couldn't make it work with Cortez, so now you can't stand seeing anyone else getting some?"

It had been the first time all year that anyone had mentioned the incident, let alone with such blatant casualness. Not even Heatherlyn, as heated as she'd been towards me this morning, had said anything about it. I stilled, listening to the two snickering giddily to each other, as they retreated down the hall.

Feeling as if my lips had turned into two lines of concrete on my face, I yanked my books out from my locker, slamming it shut, eyes to the floor until I came across the threshold to my history class.

I walked in only to stop again at the sight of Ethan already at our conjoined table. His eyes were to his phone, fingers furiously tapping away at its screen, a brow tuckered, and it was clear that whatever, or whomever, had his attention was not providing him with welcoming conversation.

I took my seat beside him, feeling grateful that he was too caught up in Prue's—because it just had to be Prue who could rile him up like this—messages to notice me. At the sound of the bell, Mr. Pine closed the door and made his way up to the front of the room.

"Good afternoon," he greeted us somberly, clearing the board from yesterday's assignments.

I realized then that he was just coming in. It was unlike his usual prompt deportment. He set his briefcase onto his desk, eyes grim behind his glasses when he turned to us.

"As you've all probably heard, Mr. Davenport's life was lost tragically just recently..."

There really hadn't been a need to announce the news, which was clearly not news anymore. The whispers that overtook the preceding silence drowned out his voice and made room for others. I leaned back in my chair, fighting the strife clawing its way into my gut.

"Man, that sucks," Brody boomed from his chair behind me. At least he sounded genuine about it.

"The school is hosting a candlelight vigil for Mr. Davenport this coming week on the track field. Anyone wishing to pay their respects is welcomed to visit."

I was grateful that despite our ages, the police hadn't made it known that me, Prue, and the others had been eye-witnesses to Mr. Davenport's—well, what could I call it? His murder? The brutal disposition of his body?

"You will be getting a full-time substitute starting next week, and I will be returning to my position in the library. Until then, we'll be going through SAT and ACT prep studies..."

"My parents found out about it."

I almost jumped at Ethan's voice in my ear. He spoke lowly as we were instructed to take out our textbooks. "Found out about what?" I asked, though the answer came to me even as I was voicing the question. "You mean, your parents know about Mr. Davenport?"

He nodded. "Police told them about their van. I had to fess up. They freaked."

We were both quiet after that, but really, what more could be said? But then I wondered, if Ethan's parents knew, despite him not even living at home anymore, could mine know as well? I was discreet in retrieving my phone from my pocket, skimming through the messages from David.

Why did you leave without your breakfast? We need to talk.

Your mother and I need to see you. URGENT.

Come home RIGHT AFTER SCHOOL!

"I asked them not to say anything to anyone," Ethan said, looking to the board, an apologetic dip in his lips, "but you know how that goes. Parents gossip more amongst each other than mean girl cliques."

I shouldn't have been worried about David or Sheri knowing. David was away from the house nearly every day at "work," while Sheri had her pre-planned dates in the liquor cabinet. But what if this got back to Uncle Liam?

That worry, however, dissipated when I glanced over at the newspaper on Mr. Pine's desk, where Mr. Davenport's picture was smiling back at me through the page. In the heart of things, what did it matter? Somebody we knew was murdered in the most brutal way imaginable, and as to why, was still left a mystery.

✧✧✧✧✧

It finally started to rain by the time classes came to an end for the day, and hadn't stopped for more than a few minutes at a time. I still hadn't been able to reach Uncle Liam and felt my dread expand into the encompassing weight of a boulder onto my shoulders at both my concern for him, and at the realization that I'd have to make the trip home on foot. I shoved my tattered bun into my hood, blowing heat into my hands.

My phone came up empty. I was sure David was carousing with his twenty-eight-year-old harpy, Sheri was probably head deep in the toilet bowl right about now, and Prue—well, the moment I'd arrived at our usual meeting spot out on the lot, I saw her long, dark tresses wisping freely down her back as she made way for her G-Wagon with Amberlyn, Heatherlyn, and Katelyn, the latter who saw me standing there and gestured to me.

Prue glanced right at me from over her shoulder, opened her car door and hopped in, the other girls following suit.

"Prue!" I called to her, bounding for her car, my moccasins now completely drenched through. I was somehow able to convince myself that despite us having met eyes, she just somehow hadn't realized it was me.

Her response was revving up the Mercedes' engine and rolling out of the parking lot, leaving me jogging another foot after her until I finally slowed to a stop. I was stunned, and could only stare after the taillights until they disappeared behind tumultuous, freezing sheets of rain.

How had things gotten so mucked up? How was what had happened between her and Ethan last night my fault. I'd harbored a crush on him for years, it's true, but I'd never done anything to suggest it to him nor to her. Sadly, I knew that even if there was a chance that Ethan returned my feelings, I couldn't be with him. I couldn't do that to her. She was my best friend.

My phone buzzed with a message, and I looked to see her name.

With all that eye-f*****g going on between u 2 at lunch, u could use a cold shower.

What the frolic was she even talking about? And then I remembered the way Ethan had been looking at me as if he was debating whether or not to ask me something, and the way Prue was looking at him, evidently taking notice and blowing the whole thing out of the water.

I just couldn't win. It was impossible.

And for the second time that day, I had to make the nearly twenty block trek back home alone.