9781250209153

“Why were you there in the first place?”
My mouth snaps shut. “Because … Because I…”
“I don’t have time for this,” Irene says, moving to get into her car.
“No—wait—please,” I say, grabbing her arm. “I was falling for you and
it scared the hell out of me. My feelings for Tally weren’t going away and I
—I thought if I got some closure—” I shake my head. “I went to see her
and she invited me to Prescott’s party. Things got out of hand. She got
drunk and was totally miserable and—and I let her kiss me. But then I
stopped it. I took her home just to make sure she was safe. I haven’t seen
her since.”
Irene slumps against her car. “I can’t be part of your mess, Scottie.”
“No, but that’s the thing,” I say frantically. I don’t want her to walk
away from me. “I’m trying to figure out the mess! I’m trying to fix
everything so I can be with you!”
She stares hard at me. “But you couldn’t tell me that? You couldn’t be
honest about how wrapped up you were in your stupid, toxic pining and
bullshit?”
“Don’t talk to me like that,” I say, my defenses rising. “Don’t act like
you’re so much better at breakups when your ex is still pulling shit like she
did just now—”
“I don’t go looking for her to do that,” Irene says sharply. “At least I’ve
tried to cut her out of my life—”
“You didn’t cut her out, she cut you out. But sure, good for you for
keeping your dignity instead of backsliding. That doesn’t mean you can
stand there acting all high and mighty as if you’ve never done anything
wrong in your life. You—towed—my fucking—car”—my voice is shaking
now, and tears are falling from my eyes—“because you used to be just like
Charlotte, picking on people simply because you could. That doesn’t make
you better than me. That doesn’t even make you better than her—”
“Shut up!” Irene yells, slamming her door and barreling past me. “Shut
up right now. You have no idea what you’re talking about!”
She paces manically on the sidewalk, her eyes wild, her whole body
shaking. I have never, ever seen her like this.
And then she bends over and vomits into the grass.