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FINAL PHASE
“I know that no one else is going to say this, so I believe it’s my right to do so. Addelyn, you are a complete idiot.” Jocelyn scrubs at my arm with a warm, soapy wash cloth while I rub my face.
“You can say that again.” I mumble, cringing as the skin begins to go raw.
“You are a complete idiot.” She repeats. “Gosh, sometimes I really wonder what goes through your head. Somebody says a few nice words and all of a sudden you trust them again. Don’t you have any sense?”
I realize she’s being sincere so I don’t get mad. “Occasionally. This time, though, I seem to have had a lapse of judgment.”
“And Kristina! Both you and Weston were idiots for bringing her in on this plan. I didn’t trust her from the start. But do my opinions matter? No! I wasn’t directly affected by Jackson so nothing I say matters. And now, look what happened to you.” She says.
I think back to Kristina. I never really trusted her either. But I saw her eyes right before I was thrown into the pool. I watched her mouth the word ‘sorry’. And even though she was smirking in the window, it never did reach her eyes. I’m about 94% sure that she’s a lying, conniving brat. But the other 6% isn’t ready to judge so quickly. But I don’t say this to Jocelyn, considering how hard she’s already rubbing at my skin. I’ll probably have no skin left if I tell her I might consider Kristina innocent.
“And to top it off Jackson knows about our plan. Just like that, all our hard work is destroyed, and we’re all going to suffer behind Jackson’s backlash. See, this is why I wanted to come. Then maybe I could’ve slapped some sense into you before you decided to forget the reason why you were there and befriend Jackson again. I mean, what even drew you to accepting him so quickly. What part of your brain told you that was okay?”
“The part that’s tired.” I respond. “I’m tired, Jocelyn. I’m tired of attacking him. I’m tired of coming up with plans. I’m tired of dealing with Weston’s bi-polar-ness. I’m tired with everything. I miss how things used to be. Don’t you, Jocelyn? Before REVENGE, when things were different. Heck, I miss the days when Weston and I were jumping down each other’s throats.”
“You still are.”
“But it’s different now. It’s all different. I want to be naïve again. I don’t want to know whether or not Jackson really is my friend. I don’t want to know if he’s using me. I want to go back to the time where I could pine over him in my dreams. I want to go back to the time when Weston was an enemy instead of an ally, and he didn’t complicate things. I just want the old days back. The old Jackson. The old Weston. The old Addelyn. I want it all back.”
Jocelyn stops scrubbing. “Then why don’t you just call it off?”
My eyes jump up towards hers. “Quit?”
“Why not? You started this. You end it. You might not have Jackson as a friend anymore, but you won’t have him as an enemy. And if you bail out on Weston, he’ll probably go back to hating you again. Kristina will leave you alone too. Then Prom will come along, and you can wrangle yourself up some guy to take you. You have a good time, you graduate, and you go on to college. It might not be the dream you always wanted, but it’ll get you out of the situation, and things will be a little more normal than they are now.”
YOU ARE READING
Strictly Business
Teen Fiction"It's so simple," I say. "All we have to do is pretend we're in love with each other. You know, hold hands, share Eskimo kisses and all that crap. And at the same time, we'll destroy Jackson and Kristina's relationship. Make them think that thei...
