“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think they respect anyone,” I say.
“You’re probably right,” she says, sighing and slumping down on the bench seat. “What am I going to do now? I’m done at this school, and it’s not even Thanksgiving. How am I going to get through the rest of the year?”
“I’m sorry,” I say, putting my arm around her. “You know I’m here, though, whatever that’s worth. And you know what? Fuck them. They’re all dicks, Rylan included. Who cares if you fucked the twins?”
“He cares,” she says, sniffling and wiping her eyes. “Obviously.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like he can really blame you for something you did before you were together,” I point out. “It’s none of his business.”
“But it is,” she whispers. “We promised we’d wait for each other, and I didn’t wait. I knew this was coming. Cotton warned me and everything. I should have just told him.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I say. “But you weren’t together then. Besides the night Rylan dumped you, have you been with anyone else?”
“No,” she admits. “And I never would have done anything with Royaloryou if I’d known he’d want me back.”
“He gave up the right to care about you hooking up with other people when he dumped you,” I say. “And fuck all that bullshit, anyway. Your worth is not determined by the amount of dick that’s been in you.”
“Hold up,” Colt says, leaning back and looking from one of us to the other. “You two hooked up?”
“Just for a minute,” I say. “And please don’t make a big deal of it and be gross right now. That’s the last thing Lo needs.”
“Damn,” he says, shaking his head and pulling out a joint. He lights up and then blows smoke out the corner of his mouth, a little smile on his lips. “Can I be gross about it later?”
“If you must,” I say. “But only when it’s just us. Lo does not need this getting out.”
“What does it matter?” Gloria asks glumly. “Everyone already thinks I’m a whore. I might as well tell them I fucked the whole football team.”
I swallow hard, gripped by the reminder of the cruelty the twins put me through.
“So, you’re saying karma’s catching up with you?” Colt asks, handing her the joint. “For all the shit you called Harper last year?”
I frown at him. “I forgave her for that.”
“No, he’s right,” she says, taking the joint. “I was a bitch. I totally deserve this.”
“You were, but no one deserves this,” I say.
Gloria drags on the joint and then hands it back, thumbing on her phone. Her eyes well with tears again. “It’s already on the blog,” she says with a groan. “I’m done at this school forever now.”
“Wow, Dixie didn’t waste any time on that one,” I say, glancing sideways at Colt. “Almost like she was waiting for it.”
“For a chance to take down the untouchable Gloria Walton?” he asks with a smirk. “You can bet she already had that one queued up and ready to post the second shit went down.”
“That’s harsh, considering how many times she’s told me Lo is her friend.”
“We’re not that kind of friends,” Gloria says, wiping her eyes. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” I insist.
“It is,” she says, taking a deep breath to collect herself. “We’re friends because we understand each other. We both look out for ourselves first. And it’s not like she’s telling some big secret. It’ll be all over the school by the end of the day. I’ve been cancelled.”
“The Dolce boys need to be taken down,” I say. “They shouldn’t be able to wield power like that if they’re going to hurt people. But I can’t seem to find the way to do it without, you know, actually murdering them.”
“Maybe that’s the problem,” Colt says. “You need to have all options on the table.”
“I’m not a murderer,” I say. “Tempting as it is.”
“I have a gun,” Gloria says, handing me the joint. “And I live down the street. I could stage an accident.”