I sit for a moment with my mouth open. Fuck Tristan? Is she crazy? Had she been drinking before she came here? What she was suggesting was that I just do whatever I wanted? That would be...chaos. My mind flits back to Tristan’s words that echoed the same sentiment before I shake away the thoughts. “How can you be encouraging that?”
Shrugging, she moves towards the door. “This is the life we live and only the strong survive.” There’s a soft, sad note to her voice, and I wonder who made her feel this way.
“Mother—”
It’s almost like her mask has fallen back into place as she gives me a 1,000-watt grin, even though her eyes are cold. “Well, I’ve enjoyed our little mother-daughter chat. Let’s do it again sometime.”
With that, she leaves the room, and I’m sat confused about the conversation I’ve just had with my mother. A woman, it turns out, I barely know at all.
Chapter Twelve
Tristan
Silence. That’s all I get, all weekend. The woman rubs herself all over me, then runs out of my house and won’t take my calls. I spend my free time avoiding Blythe’s texts, Serena’s friend requests on almost every social media platform, getting high, and painting. I paint all weekend, from dusk until dawn and again when I get up for a few hours in the afternoon. It’s like that kiss consumed me because she’s all that I see as the colors bleed into one another. I paint until it’s like I can no longer remember her face, and I need the canvas to remind me. That’s why I’m already agitated when I get to school on Monday. I thought we’d finally been making progress, but the lack of response was saying something else.
“Hey, where did you go on Friday? I looked all over for you,” Serena purrs as she comes up to me in the hallway, linking her arm through mine.
“I went home,” I reply, shrugging her off. I can’t see Lena at her locker, which means she’s either late or already in class. If she thought she could avoid me today, she had another thing coming.
“Alone?” Serena says, suspicion in her voice. Still trying to cling to me.
“What’s it to do with you?” I stop in front of my locker, take a quick look at the timetable stuck to the inside, and see that Elena has free period right after lunch, which means she’ll be practicing her stupid violin again.
“I was thinking maybe you should come over tonight. My parents are out at some charity dinner.” She slides her fingers in the belt loop of my jeans and tugs gently.
“And?” I’m bored now, her whiny voice grating on me. I only ever showed interest in Serena to get under Lena’s skin, but now she was clinging onto me like a fucking barnacle.
“And we could have some real fun,” she breathes into my ear, lips brushing against my skin, making it crawl.
“Look, I’m not interested,” I say, closing my locker and stepping away from her.
“I knew it.” She scoffs, holding her hands up in disbelief. “It’s Elena, isn’t it? Always fucking Elena.”
“Yeah, it is.” I lean in, keeping my voice low. “And don’t think for a second I don’t know what you were playing at setting her up with Sam. I mean, it was your suggestion, wasn’t it?”
I wasn’t sure how I was going to deal with her yet, or whether I should just leave her to Elena’s mercy, but if she was bitter enough to risk her friend’s safety, then she definitely needed to be punished. People like Serena were dangerous if you left them to their own devices, and while I wasn’t against getting my hands dirty, it might just be the push Lena needs.
She crosses her arms and leans against my locker, the over-friendly facade vanishing as she scoffs, “So? She needed to be taken down a notch.”
“You’re a fool.”
Her mouth twists, and it’s like I’m seeing the real Serena. “I’ll show you. I’ll show all of you. Elena Montgomery isn’t anything special, she’s just another rich kid with the right people backing her.”
“You’re a fucking idiot if you think that,” I scoff. Yes, Elena had connections, but that wasn’t why we were her friends. Serena, who was supposed to be Lena’s best friend, should know that.
“What’s going on here?” Quinn asks as she strides over, dirty blonde hair in a messy bun, green eyes blazing. It was easy to tell that she was Elena’s cousin, they were similar in looks but opposites in personality. Quinn already knew who she was, what she wanted, and she wasn’t taking any prisoners, while Elena needed a push. Harlyn and Belle stand close behind her, and together they look like some sort of girl gang, ready to defend Lena.
“Nothing.” Serena gives a sweet sickly smile that’s more fake than her nose. Don’t get me started on her tits.
Grabbing Serena’s blazer, Quinn hisses, “If I hear Elena’s name in your filthy mouth again, you’ll regret it.”
“You’re all just proving my point!”
“Watch it,” Quinn warns as the class bell rings. Letting go of Serena, she glares at the girl as she rushes away down the corridor like her ass is on fire. Her lip curls with disgust, and I know Serena is on her shitlist, and that’s not a place anyone wants to be.
The small crowd that gathered to watch the interactions breaks up, and I wonder how long it will take to get back to Elena that her best friend is a snake who tried to set her up with a rapist.
I planned to look for Elena at lunch, but instead I’m on a call with Reid who’s pestering me to donate some pieces to a fundraising auction Elena’s father is throwing as part of his stupid ball. Everyone who is anyone in this town will be there.
“It’ll be great publicity,” he coaxes down the line.
“I don’t want publicity.” I chuckle. I own
