Shady

Chapter 6

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re marrying Collin Delatorre!” My official gal friend, Lauren, exclaimed. “And you’re a billionaire’s daughter!” She came running to me across campus with a magazine in her hand, shoving the photo of Collin and me in my face. Unfortunately, it was the picture of me and him in the park, embracing as if we were totally and irrevocably in love.

Fuck me.

Of course, I had to act all…gooey. Ugh. I felt my lips quirk into a tiny smirk and I looked away, rubbing the back of my neck. “Uh, yeah, I guess I can’t, either,” I murmured timidly.

“Why didn’t you tell me? This shit’s going viral!” She was jumping up and down with excitement by this point, squealing like a little girl. “You’re, like, the luckiest girl in the world, you awesome, little bitch!”

I snorted a short laugh, finding what she said utterly ridiculous. She finally stopped jumping and stared at me, confusion in her dark eyes. “You don’t seem all that happy, though,” she noticed, frowning.

I instantly changed my attitude and smiled brightly at the clever, very observant girl in front of me. “You should totally come dress shopping with me, today,” I suggested quickly, hoping the subject would change.

She stared at me blankly, and then she went freakin’ crazy. She was smiling hugely and grabbing my shoulders, shaking me. “Are you serious?” she asked with a squeak.

I had to laugh at her excitable reaction. I mean, it wasn’t that big of a deal, was it? “Of course. You know, since you’re my maid of honor and all.”

She was on the brink of tears, now. She unexpectedly threw her arms around me in a tight hug, sobbing happily. “You’re just freaking amazing, you know that? I’ve never been a maid of honor before.”

I laughed and patted her back, thinking how horrible this wedding is going to be. Why did I make Lauren my maid of honor? Because she’s the only girl I could honestly see in that position. And she’s nice, and I can trust her. And I’m sure Collin would be okay with it. Not that I cared. In fact, I’d be the happiest bride in the world if he absolutely hated the wedding itself, which was strictly in two weeks. I didn’t understand why it was so early. I was completely infuriated by this, at first. I wanted to kill the son of a bitch. He obviously forgot that this is my wedding, also. I could always back out of the deal… Okay, that’s a lie, but I could still make his life miserable.

Lauren finally released me and started backing away. “Just—wait here, alright?” she said, wiping at her eyes with a grin. “I just need to go change.” And with that, she fled towards the dorms like she was running for her life. That girl would be happy with just attending the wedding as a guest, but I didn’t want some stranger as my maid of honor. I will have things my way.

I sighed and ambled over to a bench on the edge of the cobblestone path. I plopped down on the bench, shoving my hands into the pockets of my black, fitting, leather jacket. I wore a white hoodie under my leather jacket, putting the hood up over my head. I really didn’t need stares from the lingering students right now. I kind of just wanted to hide. Yesterday, when I got back to the dorm from Central Park, it was hard to leave it. People were seriously outside the building, in which my dorm happened to be located. When I got up this morning to go to class, I leaned over the railing from the top floor, and people actually started snapping pictures from below. That’s not something you want to experience when you’re grouchy and tired. Scott did the smart thing and left early, leaving me to face the annoying, nosey paparazzi alone.

I just put my hood up and started shoving through the persistent persons, who kept asking me questions like, “Are you and Collin Delatorre really getting married?” and “If you’re a billionaire, why go to BHU?” or “How did you keep such a reputation hidden?”