Pretty Little Liars

Chapter 10: Hey, Old Friend

At a long mahogany table toward the back of the Moshulu, Bree sits with her family under a chandelier, drowning out her father and Cameron going on about some detailed discussion about her dad's work. Cameron sits across from her, crunching into the crab legs laid out for him on his plate. Bree hasn't been able to focus on anything since yesterday. That message on her phone replays over and over again in her head, like it's on a loop. She could barely even sleep last night, tossing and turning with the weighted guilt of her secret hanging over her like a cloud.

Bree never understood what people meant when they said they had a panic attack over something but now she understands. She hurried into the men's room at the Grille so that she wouldn't run into her mother in the women's and upchucked all those fried green beans she was scarfing down.

Nobody knew what she had done in order to move in with her father. Nobody except for Ali. She told her one night when Bree drank too much and spilled her guts. It felt so good to come clean about what she did. She and her mom didn't have the best of relationships back then. It wasn't until her mom moved out that Bree found herself developing a normal one with her. And that makes what she did even worse.

Planting all sorts of things in her mom's house so that she wouldn't have to live with her was an act out of desperation. Bree wanted to live with her dad. She didn't want her mom to get full custody over her-- like she was trying to get. Her parents had this whole fight about the custody of Bree, going back and forth on who would get her as though she was some sort of prize. Not only did Bree plant pills and weed all over the house, but she lied about a time her mother hit her. And that was the one golden ticket to be with her dad.

Her mother never asked any questions about it. Bree doesn't even think she knows about that last part, only the lies that were found in her house.

"Are you okay?" Cameron interrupts Bree's thoughts. "You look a little green."

"I'm fine," she lies, pushing her plate of lobster away from her. She reaches for her cold glass and clears her throat. "I saw Farrah at school yesterday. Forgot to mention it."

Cameron raises his eyebrows. "Did you? I heard she was back. Was hoping I would be lucky enough not to run into her. The universe was on my side. Did she talk to you?"

"Unfortunately," she mumbles, taking a sip of her mocktail. "She's apparently got a job teaching at the school. English, I think she said. Asked about you, too."

"What did you tell her?" he inquires, wiping the corner of his mouth.

"That you were doing fine without the slut," she answers bluntly.

"Bree," Mr. Veluz scolds, his hawk-of-a-nose flaring at her. "Language."

"I'm going to be seeing her pretty much every day." Bree ignores her father, eyes on her brother. "Want me to say anything to her?"

"Nah, it's cool." Cameron shakes his head. "The girl knows how to hold grudges. She's probably still pissed at me for the whole break up thing, even though I didn't have anything to do with it."

"Star Power, anyone?" Their dad changes the subject after a drink of his bourbon.

Star Power is a game that has been in their family for years. It's a game where everyone shares their biggest accomplishments of the day and whoever is the most impressive, wins. It's basically an excuse to rub in each other's faces why they're better than the family at the next table over and better than each other.

Bree spots Neah across the restaurant, making her way through the glass doors and toward the carryout counter. She has her headphones in, her thumbs jumping over the keyboard on her phone. Bree runs her tongue over her teeth. Is there a chance that Ali told one of the others about what she did to her mom? Was Bree's secret too good for Alison to keep to herself that she ran off to Sabrina, Neah, or Dakota?