''Rough night?'' Felicity asked once she laid her eyes on me.
''What the fuck are you talking about? I look amazing'' I waved her off with a light chuckle. ''I don't feel amazing, though. My head is killing me and I'm dying to order a Sangria''
''Oooo, a Sangria sounds so good!'' Nina stared at the menu with a thoughtful look.
''Y'all, it's literally 11:00'' Coco shook her head at us.
''Yeah, and? When did you ever say no to some booze during the day?'' I scoffed.
''Since her dad started checking what she spends money on'' Vincent snorted, earning himself a smack across the head from Coco.
''Oh, shit. Really?'' I was surprised. Coco always had the most chill parents. I couldn't help but wonder what she did to piss them off so much.
''Yeah, the old man is concerned, as he said'' She rolled her eyes at the thought. ''He saw I ordered a dildo with my credit card''
I burst into fits of laughter, earning weird looks from the elites sitting all around us in the posh cafe. ''I'm sorry, you what?'' I laughed, ignoring the looks like I always did.
''I was drunk'' She explained with a chuckle.
''And apparently- horny'' Felicity added with a smirk.
''Oh, yeah, very'' Coco nodded, moaning slightly.
We all laughed and bickered until the waiter took our orders, making us all sober up. ''Will that be everything?'' He asked me, in particular.
I nodded, ''We'll let you know if we need something''. He smiled and walked off with a brisk jump to his step, making me raise an eyebrow.
What was that about?
''You're like...a frickin' star in this town!'' Nina gushed in admiration. ''Everyone is staring and whispering''
I looked around, realizing she was right. Suddenly, my previous light mood was gone. I was afraid someone my parents knew would come up to me for a chat.
''Yeah, I guess'' I waved her off with a carefree smile.
***
''We can leave right after I go pee, relax!'' I chuckled at Felicity's annoyance.
''If I'm late to yoga class, I'll leak y'all's nudes right away'' She threatened smugly.
''Go ahead, maybe I'll finally get some action!'' Vincent challenged her.
''Yeah, no thanks! My dad won't let me leave the house then'' Coco groaned.
''I'll literally cry'' Nina pouted.
''Awh, Nini!'' I cooed, giving her a quick hug. ''Don't listen to Felicity, she's just an asshole''
''Excuse me!?'' Felicity gasped.
''Alright, alright! I'll be right back, calm down!'' I laughed, getting up to go to the restroom.
On my way there, I was pulled aside by a middle-aged couple. ''Oh, Scarlett! It's so nice to see you...after what happened!'' The woman spoke with immense sadness. The couple had pitiful looks on their faces, making my insides clench with dread.
''I'm sorry, do I know you?'' I cleared my throat, looking behind me to see if my friends noticed what was happening.
''Of course, you don't remember us. You were so tiny the last time we saw you!'' The woman continued to speak with pity. ''We were very good friends with your parents, sweetie!'' She added, explaining her knowledge of me.
I nodded, slowly.
''What happened was...terrible'' The man spoke for the first time since they stopped me. ''We feel horrible about the whole thing. It's a real tragedy, honestly. Is there anything we can do for you? Your parents would want us to make sure you're okay!''
I swallowed, hard.
''Are you doing okay?'' The woman frowned, eyeing my discomfort.
''I'm fine'' I managed to say.
''Are you sure? Because something like this...can really take a toll on someone. Especially someone so young. We just want to make sure you're okay!''
''I'm fine, honestly'' I nodded, showing no emotion to the two strangers.
''Here, take this'' They shoved a bunch of cash into my hands.
''No, I don't need this'' I refused, anger bubbling in the pit of my stomach. Hunter's words flashed through my mind, reminding me of the close eye that was kept on me in this town. Which meant that I couldn't lash out at them in front of all these people in the cafe.
''Please, we just want to help!'' The woman begged with fake kindness. I grabbed her purse, shoving the cash into it. I tried my best not to show my anger, but it was impossible. They were already shocked by my actions.
''I don't need your money or your pity. Alright?'' I hissed before storming off to the restroom.
***
''How was brunch with the girls?'' Bethany greeted me at the front door, smiling as usual.
I smiled back, ''It was...fun''. I wasn't planning on telling her about the incident at the cafe. I knew my brother would get stressed about the press talk. He didn't need to worry about things like that. He had enough stress in the past few months.
''See any cute guys?'' She interrogated like a typical mother. ''I heard the town's famous bachelor is here for the summer. He's like, your age, I think!''
''The star athlete guy?'' I asked, chucking my shoes into the designated drawer for shoes that she put there on purpose. Yeah, that's exactly how much I freaked her out by not taking my shoes off that one time...
''Yeah, what was it that he played....basketball, maybe?'' She thought hard for a second. ''Or was it football? Ugh, I never understood those sports''
''It involves a ball, right?'' I helped her think.
''What are we brainstorming?'' Grayson appeared in the kitchen, holding Benjamin in his arms.
''That kid, the athlete...he's in town for the summer'' Bethany began, loading the dishwasher. ''What was his name?''
''Oh, Tyler Bradshaw?'' My brother guessed.
''Ew, that name!'' I scrunched my nose, making Bethany laugh.
''What's wrong with his name?'' Grayson laughed too.
''Tyler? No thanks. I had plenty of those, not one of them was good'' I shook my head.
''Okay, TMI!'' My brother made a face of pure disgust.
''I'm not 15 anymore, brother dearest!'' I called after him.
''He means well...I think'' Bethany sighed, shoving a strand of loose hair out of her face.
''He wants me to die a nun, with like 7 cats and a vegetable garden in my backyard'' I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, sighing.
''I'm sure I won't let that happen, Scar''
Yeah, as if I will!
***
''This is the grocery list, and this is the money'' Grayson placed the list in one of my hands and the cash in the other. ''Don't mess up''
''Why can't your driver or someone else do this?'' I groaned, staring down at my hands full of papers, all different sizes.
''I do this myself, usually. But I'm busy right now, so you're going to do this for me, got it?'' He pushed me towards the front door encouragingly.
''Is this one of your 'I need to show my sister the real world' experiments?'' I slipped my shoes on effortlessly as he struggled to form a proper answer.
''No, what are you talking about?'' He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
''You're going to be the most annoying dad to teenage Benjamin'' I sighed as I walked out the front door. ''Do I have to walk, too?'' I groaned loudly.
''No, here, take my keys'' He threw me the keys to his jeep.
''Listen, I know you're loaded and you have more cars in the garage...but are you not literally terrified to let me take your jeep?'' I raised an eyebrow.
''I am,'' He nodded, glancing at his jeep behind me. ''But I trust you''
''Awh!'' I cooed before jumping into the driver's seat. The car was spotless and smelt like artificial apples, indicating that I was right all along. Nobody could prove me wrong anymore. My brother is an actual clean freak, just like his wife. She converted him. I was sure of it.
He wasn't like this before her. Because when I tell you the number of times I tripped over his nasty underwear when he was in high school-
''Yeah, don't do that when you're on the road'' He called to me from the porch, little Benjamin perched on his shoulder like an oversized, overly-loud parrot.
''I was just thinking! You want me to stop thinking?'' I called back as I brought the engine to life.
''I feel like you've been doing just that all your life!'' He laughed at me.
''Haha, funny!'' I rolled my eyes as I backed out of his driveway successfully. He waved to me and I drove off, blasting my favorite Nicki Minaj songs with all the windows rolled down.
God, I sure miss my Lambo...
Sudden honking made my head snap in the direction of the noise. There it was, Hunter's stupid Lambo, right in front of my sore eyes. It was like the universe wanted me to be sad.
The inconsiderate prick rolled his window down, his usual cocky smirk right there on his smug face, where it belonged. ''I see Grayson trusted your irresponsible ass with his precious jeep'' He shouted over my music, making me smirk and enjoy his struggle.
With a usual eye-roll, I shouted right back at him, ''He trusts me with his life, Dickface''.
''Oh, yeah?'' He asked with a visible challenge brewing in the air between our vehicles. ''Would he trust you if he knew you were speeding?'' He smirked, revving his engine loudly.
I watched in awe as he sped off ahead of me, making a competitive itch gnaw at my soul.
Dammit, fuck trust.
I revved the engine, swiftly catching up with the prick, ''I'd say he would, yeah!''.
''I beg to differ'' He shouted back, laughing to himself about something only he knew. ''He would pass out if he saw what just happened. I heard all about your wrecked Lambo a while back, and that wasn't even his car'' He made a very valid point.
My brother lost his mind when I wrecked my baby. I don't blame him, though. That shit broke my darn heart. ''That was a dark time for me'' I defended myself.
''I heard you were chasing some chick down the street'' Hunter snorted.
''Not some chick!'' I defended again.
''Some chick who fell for your dumbass-charm, like my best waitress did!'' He added.
''No! That was different. Becky came onto me, for your info'' I defended myself again.
''Oh, I'm sure she did. 5 years working at the diner, and not once did she have a work-romance or anything of that sort'' He scoffed, making me feel bad. Yikes, the girl worked there for 5 years and one awesome orgasm with me made all that go down the drain?
''I bet she doesn't regret it, though'' I grinned back at him. ''I give some amazing orgasms, I must say!'' I winked, before speeding off and switching lanes straight away.
There was a car between us but that didn't stop me from seeing his mouth wide open from what I had said to him. Smirking, I revved the engine once the light turned green and turned off the main road, towards the grocery store.
That'll teach him...
As I got out of the car, grocery list and cash in hand, an all too familiar engine revved right next to me. I spun around, groaning loudly, ''Are you stalking me now?''.
''Relax, I need dogfood'' He rolled his eyes and got out of the car too.
''Oh, new diet you're trying out?'' I shot out, knowing I would offend him.
''No, I was thinking I'd get you a snack!'' He shot right back, shocking me.
This little...
Well, I've officially run out of insults.