“So even when I told you all my secrets, you kept yours.”
“Yep,” I say. “And now that I say all that out loud, I feel about as big as a worm in dogshit. If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t tell anyone else what you told me. Just Mr. D—the scholarship donor. And then Royal found out, and you can guess how things went from there.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh, shit,” she says. “That’s why you broke up, isn’t it? I mean, he figured out who told you and dumped my ass this summer, but that was way after you disappeared. I didn’t realize when it happened. So if you think about it, I kinda broke you up by telling you, and then you broke me and Royal up by telling someone else.”
“Sure,” I say, giving her a look. “But not really.”
“He would have dumped you when he found out you knew, even if you didn’t tell anyone. He’s so ashamed.”
“Yeah, probably,” I admit.
“So, who’d you tell?” she asks. “Who’s the mystery donor?”
I shrug. “One of the Darlings.”
She narrows her eyes. “Which one?”
“Preston,” I say, realizing she knows him. They were both students here the year before I started. “But I didn’t know who I was telling at the time. I couldn’t figure out who he was until he told me.”
“Wait, you had all that going on last year?” she asks. “You were starting at this crazy-ass new school, trying to get information to feed to some psycho you didn’t even know, while trying to figure out who he was and also take down the most powerful family in town, who just happened to be the family of the dangerous psycho you were dating?”
“Yep,” I say, rocking back on my heels. “That about sums up junior year. Hopefully, senior year will be a little less exciting.”
“And you were doing all that on your own?”
“Pretty much.”
“I just have one question.”
“Shoot.”
“How the hell is Royal still talking to you?”
“I wish he’d stop,” I say, squeezing my arms tighter around my middle. All this spilling of guts is giving me a stomachache. “You have a lot of experience with him. Know how to get him to permanently ghost you?”
“You could try telling his girlfriend that he’s basically a hooker,” she says with a little smile.
“That would require him to actually have a girlfriend,” I say. The thought makes more than my stomach ache. As many times as I’ve told him to leave, and as much as I meant it each time, the thought of him with someone else is a sucker punch to the heart.
Gloria shakes her head and pulls her purse strap onto her shoulder. “We just thought you were some poor, slutty scholarship chick who came along and made good by strapping herself to the richest guys in school, but all along, you were actually playing all of us like a fucking pro. Damn, Harper. I’m honestly not sure if I’m more pissed or impressed.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I mutter.
“Sure it wasn’t,” she says, rolling her eyes. “God, I’d kill for a cigarette while I digest all this.”
“I might know somewhere we can sneak out to and smoke,” I say. “And someone who has cigarettes. But you have to be openminded, okay? Can you put aside the bitch act for a cigarette?”
“I’ll sure do my best,” she says, smiling sweetly.
“After you,” I say, pushing open the door and sweeping a hand out for her to go ahead.
“I’m still mad at you,” she reminds me as she steps out into the empty hallway. We’re halfway through third period, which means I’m starting off my first day even further behind. But whatever. I can do homework at home. This can’t wait.
“I know,” I say. “I deserve that.”
In truth, I want to believe we’re friends, that we can be again. She may act like an evil bitch to maintain her image and keep her reign, but she’s a fucking queen through and through. I admire and respect her, and I want her friendship. I know I have to work for this forgiveness, though. No more lies and sneaking around this year. I need real friends to get through this, and if I want the best, I need to be the best for her, too.
thirty-one