I see it now.
When Emma told me she’d gotten into a huge fight with her mom, I couldn’t imagine her ever getting as crazy mad as she described. She’s such a naturally sweet person, it was impossible to picture her screaming bloody murder.
But I’m witnessing it right now.
It’s sort of terrifying, honestly.
“I’d seriously like to see that happen,” Trent replies, laughing under his breath. “Do your fucking worst, Holloway.”
“You guys, this is ridiculous,” I say, because seriously, I’m fed up with this shit. It was better when we were happy, when we were all spending time with Emma and things were peaceful. And if Trent wants to be mad at anyone for lying, his mom seems like a much better candidate for that honor. I throw a glance at West. “Get her out of here, dude. Now.”
“No! I’m not done yet!” Emma shouts, renewing her struggles.
“Fucking Christ, Emma. Stop fighting,” West grunts out.
I can tell he’s trying not to hurt her, which I appreciate. We’ve got our boy’s back, always, but I’m not willing to get into a physical altercation with her over it. I still care about her, for better or worse. I don’t think that’ll ever go away.
She finally goes limp in his arms, as though she has no physical strength left. She’s heaving and out of breath. I’m wondering if she regrets all of this, just like I’m starting to. Does she regret sleeping with all three of us? Does she regret introducing her dad to Claire? Why the fuck did she do that, anyhow? After all these years, there’s so much that’s still unclear.
“You chill now?” West asks Emma, still holding onto her even though her body has gone limp.
“Yeah,” Emma replies softly, and West lets go of her.
As soon as his arms release her, Emma is suddenly full of fire and energy once more. She throws herself forward and jumps on Trent again.
This time, Trent’s defenses are down, and she gives him a good, solid hit to the face. Although it’s fucked up as hell, I must admit I’m kind of impressed. I didn’t know Emma could pack such a punch.
“You’re going to pay for this,” she hisses, before walking to the door and flinging it open. She doesn’t bother to close it behind her.
“Dude, what the fuck? This is insane.”
West sounds pissed as shit, and I don’t even know if he knows who he’s mad at. The whole damn world, maybe.
“Tell me about it,” Trent says, his voice raspy. Now he’s bleeding from both sides of his mouth and is already starting to show a black eye. “Well, you know what they say. Liars always protest their innocence too much.” He swipes the back of his hand over his mouth, wiping away the blood. “And that was way over-the-top. I knew she fucking lied about it.”
West doesn’t respond, and neither do I. My gaze is locked on the door Emma vanished through.
This is so fucked up.
None of us will ever be the same again. Things have crossed the line so far, I’m pretty sure there’s no turning back.
24
Emma
The Icons’ house is about ten minutes’ walk from campus, and the whole way back to my dorm, I sob. Deep, heaving gasps that feel like they pull out bits of my soul, shredding little pieces of me and making me hurt everywhere, inside and out.
He’s ruined my life.
Trent has officially ruined my life.
And this is so much worse than in high school. Because now he’s broken my heart twice.
That thought sits in my chest, occupying the empty space where my heart used to be, and as I walk, it starts to pump poison into my veins.
Trent is so big on revenge, on not letting those who’ve wronged him go unpunished. It’s time for me to take a page out of his book. I’m already about to be kicked out of school. My life is wrecked. I might as well burn the whole fucking world down with me.
Although Trent never explained what happened, I know for sure that he didn’t turn the project in for Anthropology. He probably burned it or something. If we all fail the class, it’s just me who’ll suffer. The rest of the guys will take a hit to their GPA, but they aren’t on provisional admittance. I’m the only one who will end up getting kicked out of school. Rage is pouring through me, and my body is exhausted after going after Trent the way I did.