Jealousy (11 page)

My favorite picture, though, was of Ana and Brielle. They probably had Kim take it, because they were in the driveway of Briar Creek. The sun was just starting to set, and they were each on their horse, bareback. It looked like they'd just come to the stable to play—both of them sported jean cutoffs. Zane wore a blue halter and Breeze had a purple halter, and Ana and Brielle had knotted their lead lines to one side of the halter to act as reins. The purple-pink-orange-streaked sky behind them looked like one of Ana's paintings.

There was a card from Bri, too, which was my taste—sky blue with tiny silver and gold stars made from shiny foil. Confetti stars, just like the ones on the card, flew everywhere when I opened it—not expecting the surprise. The stars fell around a check—Bri had given me all of her allowance and convinced her parents to match her donation. Inside she'd written the sweetest message:

Laur,

Omigod, BFFL! You're
13
today! I wish I could be there to party with you (and, you know, show off my fab dancing skills), but you
do
have one Union friend there. I feel so lucky to celebrate another year as your best friend. It doesn't matter if you're 5,000 miles away—we'll always be as tight as if you were home. Now stop reading, go do something fun, and pretend this card is a giant hug from your girl—Brielle!

,

B

I called Bri, too, dying to thank her. Like my phone call to Ana, Brielle's phone rang until it went to voice mail. I left a quick message and asked her to call me.

After I read those cards, it made things even more confusing about Ana and Brielle. I showed Khloe the cards and checks. Khloe did a dramatic performance of what she envisioned happening when I handed over the checks to charity.

“It'll be like you combined all of the money,” Khloe said, unable to sit still. “You'll have a giant cardboard check covered with a red cloth that you're about to unveil. Even the Thoroughbreds will be watching!”

I loved her story, even though that was definitely
not
going to happen. Especially since I didn't know how to get a giant cardboard check.

Ack! I've rambled forever! Sorry! Almost done—promise! One of the most important things I wanted to write about was Bri and Ana. It feels like we've been drifting apart since I've been here. The old Ana and the Brielle I knew would have told me about Taylor. Or, on the extremely crazy-slash-ridiculous chance they didn't, Ana and Bri would have flooded me with BBMs, texts, calls,
fireworks
to get my attention to explain after Taylor got here.

If I know my friends, they are probably both feeling
guilty, and that could explain the short, zero-details messages. I'd played Ana's message for Khloe, and that was the one, though, that we were stuck on. Why did Ana suggest I talk to Bri? Is Bri keeping a secret?

Posted by Lauren Towers

“DO YOU THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE HIM?” I
asked Khloe. My roomie and I stood in the hallway of Hawthorne early Monday morning.

Khloe locked our dorm room door and tossed the keys into her bag. “Probably. But remember, I promised to step in and try to help Taylor if I can, if he's lost or whatever. That will keep things at minimum weirdness between you and Drew. And right now minimum weirdness would be the maximum awesomeness.”

“Did I mention that I have the best roommate?” I slung an arm across her shoulders as we started to the Hawthorne exit door. “I'm
so
nervous. Ridiculously nervous. I know that Drew's not going to be like, ‘I saw you talking to Taylor outside the science building.
See ya.' But this whole thing is just weird!”

Khloe nodded, flipping her fishtail braid over her shoulder. She'd teased her hair near the crown and had slipped on the skinniest of black headbands. I'd convinced her to secure the braid with a black leather tie. The look was
très
chic.

“It's going to be strange for a while. It just
is
,” Khloe said. She stopped short of opening the door. “Main goal is that you try to stay focused on two things: One is that you and Drew are together, and keeping your relationship moving forward is most important. And two, you and Taylor are friends.
Juuust
friends. It doesn't mean you can't talk to him and hang out, but just think about how you'd feel if Drew suddenly started hanging with one of his exes-turned-friends.”

I wiped sweaty palms on the black pants I'd paired with black-and-white oxfords. The shoes were my new obsession. I'd added an ivory cashmere-blend sweater to complete the look.

“You're right. Definitely will keep that in mind.” I took a deep breath.

“Ready?” Khloe put her hand on the door handle.

“Let's go.”

I shivered when we stepped outside. The November air
stung my face and hands. Khloe and I huddled together against the cold.

“At least Mr. Davidson's class isn't too far away,” she said through chattering teeth.

“Or maybe we should have checked the weather this morning and worn coats like everyone else.”

I tipped my chin ahead of us at the rainbowlike coats that dotted campus. Puffy coats. Wool peacoats. Long coats. Vests. It really looked as though everyone
but
us had checked their weather app this morning.

As we neared the English building, I had a sense of
Yes! Made it without seeing Tay
. It wasn't that I
didn't
want to see Taylor, but I also wanted to be considerate of Drew's feelings.

I walked into Mr. Davidson's class and took my usual seat. I opened my notebook, going to my pages of notes. My academic planner had
Study for Caged Bird midterm!
written on every other day's space.

Khloe sat at the desk next to me and waved at Clare when she walked into the room.

“Hey, hey,” Clare said. Her red hair was in a half updo, and long curls cascaded down her back.

“Love the sweater,” I said. “That shade of green is great with your hair.”

Clare beamed. “Thank you! I got this on sale from Kohl's.”

Her hunter-green sweater was supercute—
LOVE
was scrawled across the chest in a scripty, gold font.

Clare sat next to Khloe—the desks were arranged in a large circle—and started unloading her book bag. I went back to my calendar, and there was so much coming up—Parents' Weekend, Thanksgiving break, midterms, Christmas break—

“Lauren!”

I looked up at the voice that had chirped at me.

Lacey slid into the desk next to me. She dropped her pink bag and wildly pushed her light-brown bangs out of her eyes. Her hair was pulled into the highest ponytail I'd ever seen—one that I couldn't imagine
not
getting a headache from.

“Hi,” I said. “How ar—”

“Is he in this class? What's his schedule? We've all been trying to guess, and I looked for him everywhere this morning.” Lacey was almost breathless when she'd finished.

“You mean Taylor?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Um, yeah! Laur, you're the one with all the info. You're his ex. Even better—you're still his
friend.
”

I bristled a little at the way Lacey said “friend.” Taylor wasn't my boyfriend, but I wasn't exactly ready to give Lacey the 411 on all things Taylor Frost.

“He's not in this class,” I said. “And I actually don't know his full schedule.”

“You aren't talking to him?” Lacey asked. She raised an eyebrow like she didn't believe me.

“No—I mean
yes,
I am, but Taylor's settling into campus and I'm busy with classes, riding, and stuff.”

Lacey sat back in her seat a little. “Oh. Gotcha. I'll find out on my own.” Her tone was clipped.

Before I could even respond, she turned to one of her friends who had just sat next to her. Lacey whispered something and shot me an annoyed look over her shoulder.

Not wanting to be like Lacey, I took out my phone and typed a BBM.

Lauren:

Did u c what Lacey just did?