“Don’t make me say it. The scene after you left. Oh shit, it was a mess.”
“Really? Oops.” My shoulders slump as I sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I hope my drama didn’t ruin everyone’s breakfast.”
“It wasn’t you. Trust me, it wasn’t. It was the can of worm crap that hit the fan after you left. Poor Justin.” Kallie laughs through her tears. “He just sat there. You know it’s bad when Justin Conner runs out of jokes.”
“What happened?”
Kallie sighs. “Well, Todd asked Sean when him and Jane hooked up, like demanded to know when exactly this happened. And I’m standing there, pissed. So I’m asking Todd why. Why does he care—what’s it matter to him, right? Even though I know why, you know I know. Then Sean’s like, ‘Dude, not that it’s your business but it was the beginning of March, the night of that basketball game against Anoka. The one where Monroe kept missing those three pointers.’ So Todd says that’s fucked up and he couldn’t believe it. He was so pissed. And Molly was so clueless, telling Todd to chill, saying that Sean wasn’t with you yet so it’s okay. As if Todd was mad because he cared about your feelings. He looked like he wanted to fight Sean. So, Sean steps up and looks Todd right in the eye and says, ‘Yeah, well I didn’t know you were screwing Jane at the same time too so it looks like I’m the only one in the clear here, right bro?’ Todd stood there like an idiot, Justin didn’t say anything, and Molly started crying.
I told Todd to grab his shit from my room and get the hell outta my house.”
“Oh. My. God. That’s craaaaaazy. I’m so sorry. I mean this in the nicest way, I tried to tell you so.”
“Yeah, I know.” She grabs my wrist. “Thanks. I’m sorry I acted like such an idiot. I believed you but I didn’t, if that makes sense. I really didn’t want to know. I think a big reason why is because of this Prom stuff. This stupid Prom stuff. I just wanted to keep being Todd’s girlfriend so bad and then I wanted to be on court, and once I got it, it felt like I actually had a chance to be Queen. Lame. At least the sex was good.”
“Can we stop force feeding me images of naked Todd? I’m trying to enjoy these donuts.”
“My bad.” Kallie grins. “You know who I actually felt sorry for? Molly. She couldn’t stop crying. She was more upset about Jane betraying her than Todd. After Todd left, Molly and Justin took off and then I drove Sean home.”
My mouth goes dry as I try to swallow an ounce of my pride. “Sean. What’d he say?”
“All the right things.” Kallie looks into my eyes with her half smile half frown. “You’re lucky, like really lucky. He’s so into you, Bree. I mean, he slept with her before you guys even went on a date—or anything. It’s not like he cheated on you.”
“Here’s the thing,” I say. “Jane is such a––” Maisey’s letter worms its way into my head. I clamp my mouth before “bitch” pops out. “She’s a mess. She was awful to Maisey and look what happened to her. She didn’t have to be like that. She should’ve …” I try to fight the battle against another barrage of tears. “Jane’s got issues. I mean, I’m sure she does. But she’s been a dick to me since day one. Sean knows that. I thought it was because of Prom and because she didn’t like you. But Sean knew why. Sean and I’ve talked about a lot of stuff. Like, everything. He should’ve told me. Especially since we …”
“Since you what?” Kallie smirks and raises her left eyebrow.
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Because if it’s what I think you’re talking about you would’ve told me, right after, since we’re best friends.”
“Well, it is like right after. It happened Friday.”
Kallie shakes me by the shoulders and jumps up on the bed. She pretends to hold up a microphone. “Bree Ella Hughes. You’ve just lost your V card, what’re you gonna do next?”
“Well, by the looks of it, I’ll never find out if sex actually does get better, and worst of all, I’m going to Prom as a party of one.”
“Absolutely not. And ya know what? Neither am I. You’re gonna work this out with him. You have to. You guys are too cute together. Yes, he should have told you, but let him explain. Let him apologize. Like you said, Jane’s a mess. Look at her track record. No one wants to admit to sleeping with her. Can you blame him?”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Too bulky. Let’s try something a little more classic, maybe?” My Aunt Jen hands me a string of pearls as Mom adjusts the antique full-length mirror.
“So glad we have your help and expertise today. I’m not sure Bree always trusts my judgment.”
“That’s not entirely true, Mom. We also needed more jewelry to pick from.”