And there it was. The first time Darcy had called her Saint Sloan, her pet name, in over six months. Being it hadn’t been in her ears for so long, it made them ring, and she felt a pain in her stomach like someone had kicked her. Saint Sloan, a derogatory name for the girl who was a big hypocrite — according to Darcy.
“Don’t call me that.” Sloan felt her nostrils flare. It had been a long time since she’d been called that. It sounded bad, dirty, a curse word even. She wanted to wash it from her brain.
“Why? It’s true.” Darcy shifted on her hip.
There she was: the posture, the voice, the tone… the Darcy she knew and loathed. Just like that, she was back. One little question, one little inquiry, and the beast had come back to life. Oh, happy day… but she wasn’t done yet.
“You walk around like you are better than everyone else… still! You do it all the time.”
By now, several students had stopped, apparently to watch the showdown between them. Sloan wanted to crawl in a hole. She didn’t have time for this. None. And truthfully, she didn’t have the mental or emotional capability for fighting with Darcy. Her head wasn’t hurting anymore, but it did feel funny. Those two pills made her dizzy, tired… like she wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. And she would, if Darcy would leave her alone. Forget Ray and the homework. She wanted her bed!
But Darcy never stopped talking. Her nasally voice sort of echoed in Sloan’s ears, threatening to pop her eardrums. “I thought you were being nice again, Sloan. I actually trusted you! I walked up to you, in public, mind you, where anyone could see me, and talked to you. You! Of all people! I tried, Sloan. I tried, and you come back and accuse me of something.”
“I didn’t accuse you of anything!” Sloan yelled back. Why was Darcy freaking out so badly over one thing? Why did she know the combination to her locker? That was the only question she’d asked. That was it, and then Darcy went off the deep end. Good glory!
“You implied it,” Darcy said a tad bit more calmly, which seemed to aggravate the people who had gathered for the fight. They wanted to see some fisticuffs or maybe some girl hair-pulling. Hopefully, they would leave disappointed.
Hopefully.
“I didn’t mean to. If I did… if you took it that way, which you obviously did, I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry.” It took everything she had to swallow her pride. A huge part of her wanted to go off on Darcy and let her have it for how stupid she was being. A bigger part of her wanted to just forget it and go home. The past few minutes had worn her out.
Darcy opened her mouth to speak then clamped it shut. She shifted on her feet some, like she actually didn’t know what to say, a rarity for the woman.
“I’m sorry, okay?” Sloan said again, to get the point across and get home. She’d have to text Ray about the homework if she ever got the stinking assignment from Darcy. Or call him or something. She wasn’t feeling well. “Forgive me?”
Darcy let out a huge breath. “Fine. I forgive you, but don’t accuse me of things I didn’t do again.”
It took everything Sloan had not to say, But I didn’t the first time, but she didn’t. She bit her tongue and smiled as best she could, wishing hard that the day would hurry up and be over. “I promise. I won’t accuse you of things ever again.” If she could help it at least, and if she couldn’t, she’d make Ray do it. Serve him right.
“Good. Thank you.” Darcy slung her hair around her shoulder and turned to walk away.
And Sloan wanted to let her. Oh! She wanted to let her! It would make her day so much better if she could let Darcy walk off and not have to talk to her anymore.
But…
“One more thing.” It pained Sloan to say it.
Darcy must have read the pain on her face because she smirked a little, like she knew Sloan needed something from her and it pleased her. “Yes, Sloan.” She stressed the word “Sloan,” apparently letting it be known that she didn’t put the “Saint” in front of it. Congratulations to her.
“Biology. The class… uh… Ray and I missed it this morning.”
“Off making out.” It wasn’t a question in Darcy’s mind. Everyone else around, the ten or fifteen who had stopped to see what was going on, whispered amongst themselves. Darcy Perry had said it so it must be true. Gospel. Now it would get around the school. And it would get back to Ray.
And to Aaron eventually.
Nothing stayed quiet in a small town.
It hurt Sloan to think of Aaron finding out about her and Ray… especially since there wasn’t a “her and Ray’. Ray kissed her on the cheek a few times, but they hadn’t declared anything. She wanted them both. Was it too much to ask? Okay, yeah. Probably, it was.
“We weren’t… never mind. The point is we missed class, and Mrs. Knight told me to get the assignment from you.”
Darcy’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. That couldn’t be good. Not good at all. “So you need something from me.”
It wasn’t a simple statement when she said it.
“You need something and that’s why you apologized so much. You little sneak.”
“It’s not like that.”