Page 15 of Should Have Been Me

It took everything in me not to react when all I wanted to do was reach out and snatch the silky-smooth blonde hair right out of her scalp. Instead, I ripped the box out of her hands and passed it over to Grace, the smile on my face feeling as fake as the Tofurkey my mother tried to pass off as the real thing last Thanksgiving—thanks, dad’s crappy cholesterol.

I was determined to take the high road, damn it. Even if it killed me.

“Will you ring this up for me please? I’m in a bit of a hurry.” Then I turned back to Leighton. “Congratulations. I hope you two will be very happy together.”

What I really hoped was that they’d both fall in a pit of poisonous snakes... but high road and all.

“Oh, we will. Barrett said he couldn’t wait to make me his wife.”

My face was starting to feel like it was encased in plastic. “Yes, well, I’m glad you weren’t bothered that the ring he’d given me was so much bigger. You know, some women can be so petty about things like that. It’s nice to see you aren’t one of them.”

Welp, so much for the high road.

With my shopping bag in hand, I stormed through the doors of Sinful Sweets Café like a pissed-off tornado, hell bent on destruction. I didn’t miss the curious eyes drilling into my skull from all sides, and could only assume it was because everyone had seen the announcement in the Pembrooke Press.

Ignoring the stares, I moved straight to the table Ryan and Tarryn were currently sitting at, the two of them leaned in close together like they were reading something.

“You won’t believe what just happened,” I stressed as I dropped my purse and the box containing my new boots in an empty chair across from them and collapsed dramatically into the one beside it.

They shot straight up at my arrival, hands fluttering frantically to slap closed the copy of the Press they were looking over, but they weren’t fast enough.

“Oh, hey, babe,” Tarryn greeted, her voice pitched way too high.

“You look great,” Ryan added, then pointed to my shopping bag. “Whattaya got there?”

“A pair of the hottest boots in the world. But more on that later.” I pointed to the paper Ryan was trying to slide off the table discreetly. “What were you guys looking at?”

“This? Oh, nothing.” Tarryn folded the paper up as small as she could. “We were just looking through the coupons. I’m thinking of becoming a coupon clipper. I saw this show on Netflix that got me interested. And you know how I love a good deal.”

Tarryn would hate clipping coupons, she didn’t have the patience for something like that. But I appreciated the lie all the same. It was good to know my girls were looking out.

I arched a brow at her. “You were looking at Barrett and Leighton’s engagement announcement, weren’t you?”

Their shoulders slumped at the same time, their frames deflated and twin looks of sympathy spread across their faces. I loved my friends to death, we were closer than any blood relation. But the pity radiating off them was enough to make me ragey.

“You’ve seen it already?” Ryan asked, her hand moving across the table like she was reaching out to soothe me until she caught the look of pure murder on my face. Wisely, she pulled back.

“I haven’t, actually,” I grumbled as I grabbed the empty coffee mug sitting on the table and proceeded to fill it, using the pot they’d already ordered before I arrived. I ripped open a sugar packet with more force than necessary, spilling half the contents onto the table before trying again. My spoon clanked loudly against the inside of the cup as I aggressively stirred in the cream and sugar. “I got the wonderful news up close and in person when she tried to steal my boots right out of my hands.” A smile that felt downright vicious pulled at my face, making me look like a maniac, I was sure. “But I got the last pair in our size, so she can suck it.”

Tarryn’s hand made the journey across the table, coming down on the one I was still using to stir my coffee violently. “Okay, crazy. I think maybe you should take a second and breathe. Your smile has a real Pennywise thing going on right now.”

Ryan’s brows pulled together in a worried frown. “She’s right, honey. You look downright feral. I think you’re actually scaring some people.”

I toned down the killer-clown grin that was creasing my cheeks and picked up my coffee cup, taking that first fortifying sip. I swallowed down the caffeinated goodness and let out a sigh, feeling a little saner with each passing second.

My friends gave me a much-needed minute to properly collect myself after the bomb that had dropped on me earlier. I closed my eyes, counting to ten in my head and taking calming breaths until I felt stable once more.

“Okay, I’m better now,” I assured them.

Their relief was palpable. Tarryn leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table and cradling her chin in her hand. “Okay, so what happened?”

I recounted the whole scene with the boots from start to finish before pulling them out to show them to my friends.

“What a nasty little bitch,” Ryan seethed after I shared all the nasty, underhanded things Leighton had said to me.

Tarryn nodded vigorously. “Agreed. She’s the worst. But I love that you managed to still get the boots and insult her ring.”

I chuckled, feeling pretty damn proud of myself for that as well.

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