“Whatever,” I mutter.
“Later, Foxy.”
He hangs up before I can tell him off for calling me by his nickname for me. “Asshole.”
It doesn’t carry much heat. Without him, I’d still be floundering in my hatred with no direction. It’s only thanks to Colt and his friends that I now have another piece to the puzzle.
Rubbing at my jaw, I pull up the photo album on my phone. It also means I need to move forward with the next plan, the one that’s formed in the last couple of weeks. I went after Holden’s future first, but Maisy is the real chink in her parents’ armor.
Photos of her fill my phone from when I followed her to learn her habits after the party, once I decided it was her turn to pay her pound of flesh. At first I ignored her because it was too painful to look at her, but now she’s got the attention she begged me for.
It surprised me how much she stacked her extracurriculars. Volunteering at the library to read children’s books, AP classes, teaching yoga, for fuck’s sake. I would’ve guessed with how her parents were paid off, she could have her top pick of any elite college. Holden did, before I eliminated it, and as far as I could tell his only qualification to beef up his college application was playing football.
Memories from last year swirl to the surface as I look at a photo of Maisy leading a yoga class.
I’d been walking with Holden, flooded with how much I resented being around him. Just like Maisy, he turned into someone unrecognizable. It was almost hard to believe we were friends once, but nine year olds are different from douchebags at eighteen. Maisy appeared in the gymnasium doorway to stop him, wearing a crooked smile that still made my heart turn over without my permission. She ignored my scowl to ask for help setting up the stupid winter dance.
Maybe it was a moment of weakness, or maybe it was because all I could think when I saw them together was that my mom was pregnant with a little sister I’d never know the night she died, but Maisy managed to latch onto my wrist as she dragged us both behind her, reminding me of the force of nature she used to be.
Holden groaned, dropping his head back. “You’re such a pain in the ass.”
“Deal with it, my god,” Maisy sassed back, sticking her tongue out at her brother. “Two minutes, or I’ll tell Mom where you’ve been going on weekends.”
“Fine,” Holden grumbled.
It was better to help her and be done with it than lose my bargaining chip—the secret fight rings Holden organized, raking in cash from the other hopped up, over privileged kids in Ridgeview. I’d stood frozen for a moment, glaring at the doll she was now instead of the wild little troublemaker I was familiar with, but she’d sighed and asked if I was going to help.
“It won’t take long,” she said, lowering her gaze. “Then you can go back to pretending I don’t exist.”
I had almost laughed. The one thing that was impossible was pretending she didn’t exist. I tried, shit didn’t work. She stayed in my goddamn head, refusing to be forgotten completely. I was about to turn around, but she wouldn’t give in or get the fucking hint.
“Fox, come on.” Damn her voice. All it did was make me remember what we had a long time ago. “You always used to—”
“No.” The furious growl cut her off.
“No?” Maisy sighed. “Okay, it’s just…if you helped, we’d get it done faster. Then I’ll leave you alone.”
It was too much. The docile politeness wasn’t her. I hated it as much as I loathed her parents. I still didn’t understand why she acted like that until I started catching the glimpses through her mask.
Where was my wildflower?
Moving at last from the rigid statue I’d become, I got in her face. “Always such a goody-goody.”
When she tensed and hugged herself, I let out a cutting bark. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.” I took a lock of her silky light brown hair, allowing it to slide through my fingers. The faint floral hint of her favorite shampoo had me grinding my teeth. “Didn’t your daddy teach you to run from monsters? Get it through your fucking head.”
Kicking over a bucket of paint the student committee was using to decorate with felt good, channeling the pent up fury threatening to burst free. It had skimmed across the floor in a shimmering metallic smear. The shock of pain that cracked her sweet mask drew a cruel smirk from me.
“What are you going to do about it? Cry?” My deep, biting tone mocked her. She stood her ground, but she wasn’t unaffected. Tears gathered in her hazel eyes. “That’s all you are. All you’ll ever be. Maisy Daisy the Crybaby.”
“What happened to you?” Her whisper was watery. “You were my friend, too.”
“Playtime is over,” I growled. “Fuck off, daisy. Stay out of my way.”
I had stormed off, tearing down another decoration on my way out of the gym.
Maybe if she’d listened to me that day, I would have left her out of my plans. Now they center around her. I swipe to another photo of her smiling brightly with the redhead she’s friends with.
Maisy Landry won’t know what hit her. I’ll attack her reputation, her spirit, and when she thinks she can’t break anymore, I’ll destroy her future. Liars don’t get to enjoy their futures.