She's Bad News

Chapter 22

“I’m not,” I said giving a casual shrug as I tried to turn away from her but her grip on my wrist tightened. “Let go, Rach.”

“You do know why he hangs out with you, right?”

I gave a half-hearted tug on my wrist but I knew she wouldn’t leave me alone until she said her piece. “Nope. Why don’t you tell me?” I said unenthusiastically.

“He feels bad for you, Cory. He thinks you had a hard time when you left here, that you were just a kid, making mistakes and he feels like we should all forgive you for what you did. He feels bad because your family hates you and because you have no friends. He even feels bad because you’re stupid so he tutors you. How does it feel to be on the receiving end of that much pity?”

Ignoring the anger rolling through me, I shrugged and turned my head so I could look her in the eye when I said, “He rejected you, right? Did you make a move on him?” Her face turned red with barely suppressed fury and I knew I was right. I gave a solemn nod and reached out to pat her on the shoulder. “Maybe next time go after a guy who’s actually interested in you.” I leaned in closer and for a second, forgot to act cool and calm as I said, “Flynn deserves better.”

She ripped her hand away from my wrist and took a step back, letting out an angry snort. “Better? What are you saying, that you’re better than me?”

“No,” I said, perfectly seriously.

“Because you’re not!” she shouted and I glanced around the see that the hallway was totally empty. “You’re nothing, Cory. Just like your mother. Does Flynn know about your step dad?”

I blinked, trying to follow her train of thought. “What ab─”

“I saw the way you two acted at the record store. The way you practically pushed me out when he was there. Did you want to be alone with him? The way he was touching you seemed a bit too...friendly to be a father daughter thing.” Her lips curved into a cruel smirk and she closed the distance between us as my heart pounded painfully in my chest and my stomach roiled at her suggestion. I was shaking so hard that she could probably see it but I was powerless against it. “Does he tuck you in a night?” she whispered, her eyes filled with satisfaction and I knew I was losing it, that my mask was slipping and anger was seeping into my expression but I couldn’t stop it.

“Is that why your mom gave up on you? Did she see you eyeing her boyfriend?” She leaned even closer to me, my breathing coming hard and fast as her face slid next to mine, her lips stopping beside my ear. “Did you fuck him, Cory?”

I don’t remember moving. One moment, she was standing close to me and the next I had her pressed against a row of lockers, my arm across her throat, cutting off her air supply.

My breathing was ragged and hers was nonexistent as I pressed harder, her words playing on an endless loop in my mind.

Did you fuck him?

Like he was the type of person a girl thought about, the type of person that wasn’t slime, that didn’t use me because he knew he had me, knew he owned me.

Rachel’s eyes never left mine as they widened, genuine fear taking over her previously cocky expression. She opened her mouth to try to say something but being unable to breathe, that wasn’t working out for her.

I’m not sure how long it took for me to come back to earth but her face was getting a little purple before I realized what I was doing.

That I was totally losing it.

I let her go, taking a step back, trying to will my hands to stop shaking as I arranged my features into some semblance of my usual nonchalance all while keeping my eyes locked on Rachel’s.