I shook my head, uncapping the lid and chugging the entire thing down. “Thanks.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and drew in a shuddering breath. “Your mom is a bitch.”
He laughed. Max Rowe-Delacorte laughed and I found myself laughing right alongside him.
“Can’t argue there.”
“She hates me.” I sank my hand into the soft coverlet beneath me.
“She hates everyone.”
“Not like this. I saw it, in her eyes. She thinks I’m trailer trash just like everyone else.”
“Harleigh—” His breath caught, and I glanced up at him, frowning. “I… have something to tell you.”
“I’m listening.”
“Shit, yeah, okay.” Guilt etched into his expression. “So I… uh, I sent you that text message.”
“What text—” I gasped. “It was you.”
“It was a shitty thing to do, but I was so fucking angry and I do dumb shit when I’m angry.”
“You sent it.” I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was Max—he’d never liked me. But it didn’t stop my stomach free-falling.
“I heard what happened, at Nate’s house. I tried to tell you before, but I’m not good at… at this. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
“Why are you telling me now?”
“Because I get it now. I get it.”
I didn’t know what he meant, but I didn’t have time to ask because Celeste burst into his room. “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere. What happened?” She glanced between us, settling her murderous expression on Max.
“Max helped me,” I said, throwing him a bone.
“He did?” She gawked.
“Yeah.” I glanced up at him and smiled. To my surprise he gave me a flicker of a smile back.
“He did.”
“Okay, somebody’s going to have to explain things to me, because I’m confused.”
“The genius, confused?” Max laughed.
“Did you just… crack a joke?”
“What?” He shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”
“What is happening right now? It’s like I’ve walked in on The Twilight Zone. Are you two like friends now or something?”
“No,” I said.
At the same time as Max murmured, “Or something.”