Page 10 of The Promposal

Mercedes Bentley, my nemesis, stood about ten feet away and stared with an evil grin. She’d been punished and lost her university of choice from all her bullying toward me earlier in the year. Instead of giving in and admitting defeat, it felt like she was biding her time. Waiting for a chance. Like some poisonous, vengeful viper just lying in wait until she could fill me full of poison.

Or maybe I just had a really overactive imagination.

This wasn’t the first time I’d caught her blatantly staring at me. I might have been tempted to question her level of interest, only I happened to know she was madly in love with Jake and hated me for dating him. That she’d become the girlfriend of his former best friend, Scott, just to be closer to him. And despite the fact that Jake and I had been together almost the entire school year, I knew she still wanted him.

But this was more than just that. She smiled like ... she knew something.

What if she did?

I mean, Scott and Jake didn’t ever hang out anymore, but they were still on the school’s various sports teams together. What if Jake had said something to Scott? And he’d immediately run and told his awful girlfriend? And now she knew some secret about Jake that I didn’t?

Or worse, what if she had tied Jake up and left him in a basement somewhere? I reminded myself that nobody in Malibu had a basement and he was fine. Even if he wasn’t answering my texts.

In fact, I was freaking out about nothing. Jake could miss one night and one phone call. It didn’t mean our relationship was falling apart. We were solid. Totally solid. Like one of those couples who smushes their names together. Jattie. Make. Totally fine.

So, so fine.

And I’d nearly convinced myself of this fact up until the moment when everybody suddenly headed to the football field and my distraction caused me to get carried along by the tide.

Scott was in the bleachers, singing a song I’d never heard to Mercedes. He actually had a decent singing voice, which surprised me. He said something about Mercedes being too good to be true, and I half expected a bolt of lightning to suddenly appear and strike him down for lying.

Then the school marching band started up behind me, playing along to Scott’s song. Mercedes stood on a large wooden box that the cheerleaders used for one of their routines, enjoying every second of being in the spotlight.

Which made zero sense, because Mercedes had ignored her suspension back in September and had come to the masquerade ball. Ms. Rathbone had caught her, rescinded her letter of recommendation for college, and then banned her from every future dance. She couldn’t even go to prom.

And she was still getting a promposal.

“It’s from that movie.Ten Things I Hate About You? The hero does this same thing for the heroine,” I heard someone in the crowd say. Reenacting a scene from a movie? That belonged to Jake and me. Even as I thought it I knew how ridiculous I was being, but I couldn’t help how Scott’s actions made my intestines tie themselves up into knots.

Not wanting to subject myself to this particular kind of torture any further, I pushed my way back through the large group and headed for the doors.

My mother denied my existence, and Mercedes freaking Bentley got a marching band singing her praises. Yep, the universe was definitely fair.

Once I got back inside, I crashed right into Jennifer. Or Ms. Putnam, which was what I was supposed to call her at school.

“Mattie, are you okay? Ella told us that you saw that video of your mom.”

Jennifer looked so concerned, so kind, and gentle. I loved how soft she appeared, like a master artist had deliberately blurred all her edges. She’d pulled her hair into a high ponytail, and her brown, frizzy natural curls spread out like a halo behind her head.

I opened my mouth to tell her I was fine, but nothing came out.

“Your dad didn’t want you to see that video. He feels terrible about leaving his laptop out where you could find it. He wanted to know what your mom was saying so he could protect you.”

I didn’t need them to protect me. I just needed to find a way to cope with my mom’s crappiness. I nodded, thankful that there were some people on my side who loved me.

“Sweetie, I think you need a big hug.”

I was on the verge of telling her that I didn’t like hugs when she enveloped me in her arms.

And it was ... not terrible.

Actually, it was how I imagined a mom’s hug would feel. She smelled like oil paints, chalk, and pencil lead. Which was kind of how I pictured heaven smelling.

She let go and patted me on the back a few times as the first bell rang. “We should get to class. But come find me if you need to talk.”

I realized that I felt ... better. Jennifer had done that for me.

Although he hadn’t proposed yet, and despite my disdain for his multiple past marriages, I found myself desperately hoping that my dad would be smart enough to make Jennifer his wife.

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