I slept with Ryan on Friday night.
Whore.
But he came to the hospital Saturday. He texted and called on Sunday, but I was too exhausted to call back. Ryan cares.
Whore.
I spin on my heel and try to escape down the hallway—away from my locker, away from the whispers and the laughter. I round a corner and slam into a friend of Gwen’s. “Well, look who it is—Beth Risk. Is it true you were arrested in Louisville?”
The only person I told about that was Ryan.
“Go to hell. ”
Her friends laugh and she smiles. “Gwen tried to warn you. Ryan and his friends take dares very seriously. What made you think you were anything more than that?”
Ryan gave me a bottle of rain. He told me he loved me. He wouldn’t tell people that we slept together or that I was arrested in Louisville. He wouldn’t call me a whore. “I’m not a dare. ”
“Really? Then how come Ryan’s parents didn’t know that you guys were dating? In fact, his mom told my mom that they forbade him to date you weeks ago. ”
The ice pick straight to my heart leaves me speechless and I step back, but my retreat isn’t enough. She glances at her friends, then narrows her eyes at me. “Not only were you a dare, but you were Ryan’s dirty little secret. ”
Ryan
I PARK THE JEEP behind Chris’s truck and hop out. I’ve got to find Beth and I need to find Gwen. I’ll hand Gwen homecoming. I’ll tell her that Beth and I will drop out, as long as Gwen keeps Beth’s secrets. Chris and Logan lean against the tailgate and smile when they notice me. Today could be a nightmare for Beth and I’m going to need their help. “Have you seen Beth?”
Both of them shake their heads.
“Have you seen Lacy?” asks Chris. “She was supposed to meet me here. ”
I scan the parking lot and spot Lacy bolting out the side doors. “There she is. ”
Chris straightens as he watches her hurry to us. “Something’s wrong. ”
She bypasses Chris, reaches out, and slaps me across the face. The pain sucks, but the worst part is the tears streaming down Lacy’s face.
“How could you?” she chokes out.
Lacy’s never hit me before. She’s never hit anyone before.
Chris places himself between me and Lacy while Logan yells at the people loitering to witness the show to keep moving. “Lace, what the hell?” Chris says.
Lacy shoves Chris and the shoves turn frighteningly close to hitting. “What the hell?” she screams. “What the hell is wrong with you? You were supposed to be her friend. ”
From behind her, Logan pulls her hands to her sides. “Slow it down, Lace. Tell us what’s wrong. ”
Tears overflow from her eyes while she stares at me. “You promised me you wouldn’t hurt her. You promised she was no longer a dare. ”
Beth. She means Beth. “She wasn’t. I mean, she was, but you know I called it off. ”
She jerks her arms out of Logan’s grasp, but he stays near in case she decides to attack again. “Everyone is saying Chris and Logan dared you to sleep with her. They said you won when you took Beth into the woods during the last field party. They said you slept with her and that she told you about her past. Everyone knows what happened to her in Louisville. Everyone knows. ”
Gwen. I smack my fist into the side of Chris’s truck. “Have you seen Beth?”
Lacy shakes her head. “Tell me you didn’t do it. Please. ”
Chris hesitantly touches her cheek. “No, baby. The dare ended the night Ryan fell for her. ”
&nbs