Page 15 of The Good Girl

There are murmurs around us, and I know the cheerleading bimbos behind her are all watching carefully. I may be the stoner who never attends class, but I’m still considered one of the best catches in the school.

“That’s definitely hate,” Attie agrees, clapping her hands together gleefully. They’re enjoying the little spat, pretending to be helpful while mocking the situation.

Atlas stands with his hands on his hip as he offers, “Hmmm, but she’d be naked, so it could just be foreplay.”

Tabitha pretends to stroke her chin, as if she’s given the issue some deep thought. Finally, she points out, “Love and lust are different though.”

Attie shuffles forward, so that she’s shoulder to shoulder with me and we’re both watching Elena carefully. “That’s true. Hmmm hate, love or lust…” Her tone is speculative, but I know she’s taunting Lena, trying to get a rise out of her.

“Which is it, Lena, do you want to murder me, marry me or just fuck my brains out?” I wink, and the huff I get in response makes me grin even wider.

“I don’t know why you even ask.” Her voice is flat now as she struggles to keep her annoyance in check, I can see it in the way her jaw ticks and her finger twitches. I know she’s fighting the urge to grab her pen off the table and stab me with it.

“Murder,” both Attie and I say at the same time Tabitha and Atlas say, “Fuck.”

Chapter Thirteen

Elena

The four of them burst out laughing, which causes even more heads to turn our way. I don’t know why today of all days they’ve decided to come over and interrupt my revision time. I should have gone to the library, I knew I should have, but I was getting sick of looking at the same four walls every day. Well, lesson learned.

“This is ridiculous.” I groan, shoving my pen and my water bottle back into my bag, ignoring Tristan’s stares. If he thinks he can reach me, get inside my head or bring me to heel then he has another thing coming. I refuse to be his plaything. Speaking of which….

“Tristan, what’s going on, babe?” Blip’s voice is almost hesitant as she slides onto the sofa next to him, sliding her arm through his. He doesn’t respond, his dark eyes still fixed on my face as I try to avoid meeting his gaze. I notice the mark on his forehead but I say nothing, not wanting to give him the impression that I care because I don’t.

Shuffling over closer to me, Tabitha grabs my bag out of my hands and pulls me to my feet with her. “El, there was a reason we came over to bug you.”

Narrowing my eyes, I look at her suspiciously. “Was there?”

She smiles, and I’m reminded of the summers we used to spend running wild at her house. I know whatever comes out of her mouth is going to get me in trouble. “Yeah, we know you have a free period next and we’re heading to Greenville. Come with us.”

Okay, shopping. Shopping was fine, it wouldn’t anger my father, it was just a waste of my time. “I can’t. I have a paper due, and debate club has a meet next weekend I need to prepare for.”

“C’mon, Els. Tabi and I will even stop at that bookstore you like.” She’s practically begging, and I’ve always struggled to resist her when she gives me the puppy dog eyes. At seventeen, her and Poppy Grimaldi were the youngest current Society children, something Tabitha had no issue using to her advantage. Poppy was abroad, at some posh English boarding school this year, and without her partner in crime, Tabitha was more restless than usual. It’s probably why she was trying to rope me into this little shopping trip.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I feel an ache in the pit of my stomach. “I shouldn’t…” Tabitha and Attie had this easy bond, they did what they wanted and consequences be damned. They had fun, they didn’t take anything too seriously, and I wanted that, I longed for it on one level. I wanted to be normal.

With a nudge to my side, Tabitha keeps smiling. “C’mon. You’re so smart, you always need new books.”

I can feel my cheeks twitch, as my mouth pulls up into a matching grin. “Stop buttering me up. I’ll come.”

Attie barks out a chuckle, as she gets to her feet too, and I hear Atlas murmuring ‘pushover’ under his breath. Serena stands and almost skips towards us, it was a side effect of being on the cheerleading squad, excess peppiness. Clasping her hands together, she looks excited before reaching over the sofa to grab her bag. “Ohhh, what’s this? Shopping trip to Greenville? Count me in!”

Tabitha makes an apologetic face, making me wince a little. “Sorry, Serena, we were hoping to make it just a family thing since our aunt’s birthday is coming up and Elena needs to help us choose a gift.”

That was a lie. Well, partially. My mother’s birthday was still another month away, so shopping for her gift wasn’t something that needed to be done urgently. Attie shrugs softly. “You know she avoids us otherwise.”

“I don’t—” I protest, but Tabitha cuts me off with another nudge to my ribs.

“We know, you’re just always busy trying to take over the world with that big brain of yours.”

Serena steps back, and her bag falls back onto the floor with a soft thud. “Oh, cool. Okay, I’ll stay here with Destiny and Shanice then, we’ll start practicing that new cheer routine you put together last week.”

I frown, reaching out to lay a hand on her arm. “Sorry, I’ll make it up to you?”

“Hmmmm, it’s fine,” She shakes her head gently, before giving me a small smile. “But sleepover at yours on Saturday?”

“Urm…” Her request catches me off guard, we weren’t usually the type of friends that slept over each other’s houses. “Yeah. Sure. If you want.”

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