Gary’s place happened to be several houses down from Christy’s, so she arrived on foot with a gift for James-y under her arm. But if she had to be honest, it was a second-hand gift--a baseball cap--that Ava Welch had given to then-lovesick Mark. Since the breakup he’d barely worn it, instead storing it underneath the rest of his caps and beanies in his closet. But Christy bet he still thought of that cap, to this day. Pedophiles had a way with screwing you up long-term.
If the cap would be--supposedly--forever forgotten, giving it away wouldn’t hurt, right? If Mark got pissed then she’d buy him a new one. Besides, she had zero ideas of a spontaneous gift for James. It’d been a nice and slow two weeks since she high-key casually ran into him at school, and from there she picked up on some of Paige’s baggage from his social circle. It was too bad James didn’t help her as much as his friends did.
But he did make a good poker face whenever Paige’s name was brought up. Glancing down at the cap, she thought, I’ll open you up somehow.
She stepped onto the worn-out doormat of Gary’s house and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, Mila, sporting colorful clothes and a high ponytail, opened the door.
“Hey,” Christy said as she stepped inside. “Where’s everyone?”
“Living room.”
Christy followed her to find the whole group sitting in front of a small TV with Gary and Andrew playing some kind of post-apocalyptic video game. The stench of weed filled Christy’s nostrils.
Spotting James on the loveseat, she snuck up behind him and put the cap on his head. “Surprise!”
He took it off to look at it and seemed confused.
“It’s yours,” she explained.
He grinned. “Sweet, thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She leaned forward till her lips found his. He was such a good kisser, even when they finally used tongues this time.
He broke the kiss as he put the cap back on. “I don’t have anything for you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just felt like giving you something.” She plopped down next to him as he wound an arm around her. “I want a hit, too.”
“Carter hogged it,” James said as he rolled his eyes. “I only took a few.”
Carter puffed smoke in their direction. “I got here first.”
“I was the one who brought it,” Dave said, “and you didn’t share.”
Christy wondered who was the highest person in the room, until Carter’s kid-like pout answered her question. “If y’all hate me so much I’m leaving.” He stood up with his cigarette and headed toward the backdoor in the kitchen.
“Seriously?” Christy asked. “I just got here.”
“He’ll be outside,” James murmured. “He never leaves.”
She got an idea. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Back of the kitchen, to the right,” Gary said without taking his eyes off the screen.
She went to the kitchen, and when she made sure everyone wasn’t looking, she went out the backdoor. Carter was sitting on the ground next to the door with his back against the wall. He didn’t seem to care as she sat next to him. He was probably too high to even notice.
Most high people were pretty honest, but she didn’t know how high he was. She ran her fingers through her hair as she inhaled some of the smoke floating in the air. “I didn’t get to mention this, but you don’t sound like you grew up here.”
“Texas. I moved here when I was nine.”
“Oh.” She nodded slowly. It explained the mix of Southern and basic Californian accents.
He smacked his lips. “Dad wasn’t really in his right mind back then. I mean yeah, he wanted a new life since Mom died. I just wish we didn’t have to move.” He sighed. “I visited him in prison this morning and he still ain’t in his right mind.”
She squinted her eyes at him, wondering if he even knew whom he was talking to. At least he was high enough to be honest.
“Harsh,” she commented.
He rubbed his bloodshot eyes with his fingers. “Paige’s family ruined everything for me. Even her mom’s new surgeon boyfriend.”
What a perfect segue, and she didn’t even try. “Oh, really? Paige’s family?”
“Dad treated her right. He was so fucking happy with her, and all of them, but then Nolan fucking Perez came along to ruin everything.”
“Nolan Perez?”
“Paige’s perfect surgeon stepdad. But he ain’t married to her mom, just the asshole that cockblocked Dad. And I was in eighth grade at the time. I didn’t even know Paige led me on till she dumped me like I was nothing to her.” He shook his head and took another hit.
Christy was swimming in info. “Geez, and then she slept with some other guys.”
He shrugged. “That’s a rumor I made up.”
Widening her eyes, she said, “Hang on. You made that up?”
“I did it so everyone knew she was worth shit,” he mumbled.
Christy leaned her back against the wall, just astounded. It was this guy’s fault Paige got the slut label? She glanced back at his red eyes and disheveled blonde hair. It was like he began her work when she was gone.
“I bet Hailey’s dating that scumbag ‘cause he’s filthy rich,” he said, seeming to forget about what he just revealed about the rumor, and she was pretty sure the group didn’t know about it. “They got a new home and Jerry got therapy. But fuck ‘em. I don’t care about ‘em anymore.”
She grinned as she stood up.
He turned and wrinkled his eyebrows as he looked from her feet to her face. He was most likely gonna forget what he just told her. “Where you goin’?” he slurred.
“Inside.” She already heard enough for the next step.
Throughout math, Christy resisted the urge to squeal in excitement, and it wasn’t just lunch that she was excited for. Each day her plans just got better and better, and Paige, today especially, had no idea what Christy had coming for her. Paige was easy prey, with Christy the predator waiting for the right moment to pounce. Where was Paige with the comebacks she warned her about that night? It was almost getting too easy.
When the bell rang to end the period, Christy nearly sprinted out of the classroom to the group’s usual spot near the cafeteria entrance. A few moments later, everyone except Becca met up as most of the student body either entered the cafeteria or headed outside in the quad.
“My mom got pissed at me about the smell in the living room,” Gary complained.
“It was Carter’s fault he smoked it all inside,” Dave said.
Carter shrugged. “I just remember waking up outside, okay? Sorry.”
He didn’t even remember what he said to Christy? Too. Easy. At least she didn’t have to explain herself to him about what she was about to say.
“Guys,” Christy said, “you have no idea what Paige told me in English.”
“What?” Carter asked, raising his head to look at her. She felt a rush from just seeing him looking as excited as her.
She slowly grinned. “She’s fucking her mom’s boyfriend.”
“Really?”
“I knew it!”
“Once a slut, always a slut.”
“Plus,” she continued, “she’s doing it just to make him pay for her family’s problems. Even Jerry’s therapies. I bet you she’s just as retarded as him.”
Everyone lost their minds as Christy stood back to watch it all. All it took was bullshitting to get them fired up. Carter seemed to believe it as he planted a foot against the wall and smiled smugly. Although, for a moment, she felt he still needed to know the truth.
And just then, Paige appeared with Selah Wynters--also a backstabbing bitch--down the hall. It seemed Selah hadn’t changed, what with being scared of her own shadow and backing away from any kind of conflict she came across. It wasn’t a shock to see her befriending Paige, also a backstabbing and pathetic bitch.
The both of them weren’t even that close to the group yet when Dave yelled, “Christy said you’re screwing your stepdad!”
“Trash,” Carter spit. “You still got daddy issues.”
“You’re a retard like your brother!” Dave said.
“I got a lot more dick pics if you wanna see them!” Andrew called after her. Kylie made a face at him, but Andrew didn’t seem to get what she meant.
Paige didn’t falter as she passed them, but before she entered the cafeteria, she gave Christy an extremely unattractive look that she probably meant to intimidate her with. But Christy was too busy living one of her greatest fantasies, next to imagining her parents being a normal, happy couple before Dad passed away. In some ways, she was avenging him.
Sometime down the line, Paige would have to know exactly everything she did to Christy’s family. Everything.
Selah whispered something to Paige as she took a long look at James, who stared back at Selah with some guilt in his eyes. When the cafeteria doors closed behind the pair, the group was still reeling.
“I told you guys,” Carter said, “she didn’t change. And have you even met Jerry? One time he had a fight with his special ed teacher when he started walking. He’s a psycho on foot.”
Everyone else either roasted Paige some more or whined about getting food, all while Christy leaned against the wall next to Carter as she listened to what sounded like poetry to her ears.
But James--almost always--was silent. He scrolled down his Facebook feed on his phone, and though Christy wanted to snatch it out of his hands, she decided to still let it go. She was going to get to the bottom of his weirdly selective attitude around Paige. There was still some more digging Christy had to do after all.
She had a feeling she could do something much, much worse than a simple rumor.
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