You Had Me at Halo

add.

“Oh, Amy, I suppose you’re wondering what’s going on here?”

Dr. Hill coughed.

“You mean about why you’ve been acting so strangely?” She quizzed before she did a scary little half smiley thing with her lips and reached out to touch Holly’s arm. “Though I think I know the answer to that.”

Holly had always thought Amy Jenkins was two sandwiches short of a picnic, but now she was just being weird.

“I mean about my…er…friend here.”

Dr. Hill coughed again. You know he should really get that checked out because it was becoming a bit annoying.

“What friend? Vince I think that hanging out in this place is getting to you.”

“But—”

“Sorry,” Dr. Hill whispered with an apologetic shrug. “I might’ve also forgotten to mention that this time I am invisible.”

To think that for just a minute Holly had almost liked the guy. She poked her tongue at him as he got up and headed for the door. Then he waited until it opened before slipping out into the night just as Todd walked back into the room—with his arm draped over the shoulders of the biggest tart in the whole world. Rochelle Jackson.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Vince, are you even listening to me?” Amy pushed back her long black hair and scowled.

“What?” Holly managed to drag her stunned gaze away from Todd and Rochelle as they sat down in the booth next to them. Though sat probably wasn’t the right word to use.

Lying on top of each other would be more accurate.

Lying on top of each other looking like complete and utter jerks would be even more accurate.

Unbelievable.

She could see the look of horror and concern on Gemma’s face over by the pool table, but the main thing she could see was that her boyfriend—the man whom she one day had intended to love, honor and wash his horrible dirty boxers for the rest of her life—was sticking his tongue down Rochelle Jackson’s throat. In public. As if it was a normal thing to do.

How could he?

She’d only been dead thirteen days. Thirteen. Was she that forgettable? Was there no period of mourning over such things?

Holly could feel the blood thumping in her skull but this time it wasn’t because of her headache. It was because of pure unadulterated anger.

She wanted to kill him.

“I’m talking about us, Vince,” Amy clarified and Holly tried to block out the kissing noises that were coming from the next booth.

What?

What!

Holly blinked as she realized what Amy was trying to say; yet from what she had gathered there was no us between Vince and Amy. And certainly since Holly had taken over his body, she’d done nothing to make Amy think this situation was going to change in a hurry.

Perhaps Amy was delusional, or a sucker for a punishment?

“Look.” Now Amy’s hand was sliding along Holly’s leg. “Why don’t we get out of here and go back to my place? I’ve got some weed we could smoke, and then, well…” She finished with a suggestive lick of her lips as she gripped her fingers further into Holly’s thigh.

Holly wriggled down the booth.

Gross.

Did Amy Jenkins have no dignity? Holly had been going out with Todd for at least three months before going to bed with him. And she certainly hadn’t planned to do it while she was stoned. Or on a week night. Obviously Amy hadn’t come by her reputation by accident.

“Well?” Amy fluttered her eyelashes and Holly flinched.

Were all women like this? So determined to throw themselves at the man of their choice that they didn’t take time to work out if the man in question actually had any thoughts on the matter? And if Amy Jenkins dared to touch her thigh one more time there was going to be some bitch slapping.

Take Todd. She could still scarcely believe that he and Rochelle were kissing in the booth right next door. While Holly was hardly going to forgive him or take him back, she knew exactly who to blame for it.

Rochelle.

She was a man-eater. And so was Amy Jenkins for that matter. Why couldn’t they just stick with guys who actually liked them? Not, Holly acknowledged, that it would be easy for them to find men who liked them, because they were both such TARTS, but that was hardly the point.

They had to stop it because girls like them were ruining lives.

Even if Holly was dead, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt to see her boyfriend cheating on her. Holly had had enough. She removed Amy’s unwanted hand from her leg and turned to her. “Look,” she said in a tight voice. “I don’t want—”

The sound of Rochelle giggling cut off the rest of her words and Holly swung her head around just as the pair resurfaced and were sitting there looking smug.

Holly felt her heart lurch as she stared at Todd’s beautiful face. His mouth was smudged with Rochelle’s bright red lipstick and his eyes were full of lust.

She felt like she was going to die. Again.

This couldn’t be happening.

“What are you looking at, Murphy?” Rochelle drawled as she patted down her ridiculous hair. “Just because you’re not getting any, doesn’t mean you need to perv on everyone else. But you always were a bit weird.”

“You’re disgusting,” Holly said in a low voice as all the pain she had been feeling gathered itself into one long, sharp point inside her. Last time she’d felt like this, the only way to get rid of it had been by cutting herself. Since then she’d worked so hard to make sure she never reached that place again, but now it had happened.

Todd, who had his arms spread out along the back of the booth, jolted into a sitting position and the contented expression fell away to be replaced by one of surprise. “What did you just say to her?” he said in a dangerous voice.

“The same thing I’m saying to you.” Holly clutched at the table and tried to contain the sharp heat of her anger. “You’re both disgusting.”

Over by the pool table, she could see Gemma raising a panicked eyebrow and nodding towards the door, while Simon was bristling with expectation. There was no way Holly was going anywhere. She was mad beyond belief.

Somewhere in the back of her mind was Dr. Hill’s voice explaining to her how important it was that she dealt with her issues, but she blocked it out.

Right now there was only one thing she wanted to deal with, and that was her cheating, lying scumbag of a boyfriend.

Todd now got to his feet. “You’ve got to be joking me, man. First the funeral and now this, anyone would think you’re trying to pick a fight with me.”

“Anyone would think you deserved it,” Holly retorted as she stood up as well. Two could play at this game and she was glad to see Vince was a good two inches taller than Todd, not to mention a good deal broader. “Holly’s been dead two weeks and you’re already hooking up with someone else? You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“Hey,” Rochelle squealed in outrage as she looked up from fixing her hair.

“Come on, Vince, let’s just get out of here.” Amy scowled. “Who gives a shit about Holly Evans?”

“Yeah, Murphy, why don’t you listen to your girlfriend for once?” Todd drawled.