I let out a cackle, shaking my head. "It's just a house, but sure, we can do it there. I'll kick the guys out of the living room and we can have a girls’ night."
She loops her arms with mine as we head toward the exit of the quad, but I pause when we round the corner.
"What's wrong?" she asks while I stare at the girl leaning against the wall.
"I know her," I tell Penn, motioning to Emerson, who looks strung out as fuck.
Penn’s eyes go wide as she takes in my old frenemy. I know she said she was ‘working’ when I saw her at the party, but it seems she’s fallen even further down the hole if looking at her now is to be the judge.
We keep heading in the direction of where Emerson is standing, and as we get closer, she stands and watches me, like she was waiting for me.
"Wondered how long I’d have to wait here for you," she snarls at me, like I have any idea why the fuck she’s here.
"What do you mean you wondered how long it would take me, Emerson? We haven't talked since the party when you spilled a drink all over me and basically called me a whore," I snap, and she barks out a laugh, scratching at her arms and the track marks that are impossible to miss.
She catches me looking and sucks on her teeth before pulling the sleeves of her top back down. "Of course I'm looking for you. Why else would I be in this shithole?"
I roll my eyes while I wait for her to continue.
"I have a job in the area tonight, but I need some help. I need some money and you're the only person I know around here. So I need… I need you." I let out a sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.
"How much do you need, Emerson?" I ask, and Penn makes a garbled noise beside me, looking at me like I've lost my mind.
I know I don't owe Emerson anything, but I still can't help feeling partially responsible for her being where she is right now. Maybe if I hadn't come to Serenity Falls and I'd stayed in the city, she wouldn't be doing what she's doing right now. Maybe she wouldn't be hooked on whatever she’s shooting up with and maybe, just maybe, she'd be living up the year that we planned and going to college herself.
"How much can you give me?" she asks, and my anger spikes a little, but I do what I can to temper it down.
"Just tell me how much you need, Emerson," I say forcefully. "I’m not giving you an open-ended figure. Tell me what you need and what it's for and I'll see what I can do."
She scoffs at me and Penn glares at her before turning to me. "You shouldn't be giving her anything. What sort of friend disappears all year, then turns up asking for money?"
"Shut your mouth, bitch," Emerson hisses, and I see red.
"Emerson, don't talk to her like that. You don't know her, and she’s not exactly fucking wrong. Now tell me what you want and then we can just leave."
"Five hundred," she responds.
I swear to God, this fucking woman. "What's it for?" I ask, already knowing that I probably don't want to know.
"Does it really matter?" she asks, and I fold my arms across my chest, getting real close to being done with her shit. If it wasn’t for all the times she helped me escape my life, I’d have already left by now.
"If you want five hundred dollars from me, then yes, it matters."
"Five hundred dollars to you is a drop in the sea these days, isn't it? You're living the high life now. That of the rich and famous. Don't pretend like I haven't seen your mom all over TV and billboards with her fancy new man. I know where you're living now. You come to this school with folks that make millions. Five hundred dollars is what these people wipe their asses with."
Penn barks out a laugh next to me. "She really doesn't have any idea at all, does she?"
I shake my head, hoping Penn will keep her mouth shut. The fiery redhead is usually incapable of that, but I'm hoping that since she doesn't know Emerson, she's gonna just let me handle it.
"I don't have five hundred on me, Emerson. I might live around the rich, but I am not rich. That kind of money is not something I just carry around," I say, exasperated that I even have to explain this to her. Just because my zip code changed, doesn’t mean I have.
"No, but I bet your new stepbrother or one of your fancy boys from the party does. Just call them and get me the money here. I don't have time for this." She rolls her eyes likeI’minconveniencingherand I swear I get a little stabby. I’ve never wished ill on Emerson before, but if she keeps pushing me, I’m going to lose my shit.
"Well, if you’d have let me know beforehand, Emerson, I could have pre-arranged something, but you didn’t. No, you just turn up here, act like a bitch,again,and then demand money from me like I’m some sort of ATM."
"Don’t play the poor little rich girl routine with me, Briar. I know you remember." She glares at me and I clench my fists, taking a deep breath.
"You have got to be kidding me," Penn mutters beside me, keeping her attention on her phone.