“I love you, Mason.” I would relish this moment with him, go with him to help him move into his room, and I’d come back to start my senior year. It’d be me and Logan in Fallen Crest.

I’d have to figure everything out later, one day at a time. With that final decision made, I moved to meet his lips with mine and applied pressure. He groaned, meeting my command for more, and it wasn’t long before he slid into me. As he did, I held onto him. I didn’t want to let him go.

CHAPTER TWO

Three weeks later

It’d been almost a month since we took Mason to school. He had to go early for football, and since being back, I’d been on an emotional lockdown. I worked at Manny’s. I went running, and I avoided Logan, but earlier today he cornered me at work to make sure I was going to his party. I had gone to a few over the summer, but when I said, ‘a few’ I really meant a few. I think there’d been three that I’d been coerced into attending and two of those were before Mason left for college.

Heather had promised to come later, but she needed to run to Channing’s for a little bit. Lovely. Without Mason and with Logan lip-locked to his girlfriend, I flashed back to the first month of my junior year. Alone. A little hesitant. The need to run was climbing high inside me. As I crossed the street, I watched as a car stopped and a bunch of people hurried out of it, running towards Logan’s house. I had to laugh at the irony. It was Becky, the one person who had been my friend the beginning of junior year. The laugh stopped abruptly as I recognized the rest of the car’s occupants.

It was the Elite. When the hell had Becky started hanging out with them?

They were at the front door now, and I paused behind them, stepping onto the curb outside Logan’s house. For now, they were clueless of my presence. Becky glanced back and froze. Her eyes got big, and her mouth fell open slightly.

She looked different. She had lost weight. Her frizzy red hair was now a dark auburn and sleek. Her face had been clear of make-up when we were friends, but I saw a tiny bit there now. It suited her. Her eyes were more captivating. Her lips looked cute and adorable. The rest of her matched that description. Adorable. She was almost petite now. She wore a short skirt with ruffles on the bottom. A black camisole was peeking out from underneath her jean jacket. I couldn’t remember what kind of shoes she had worn before, but it hadn’t been the glitzy sandals she had on now. They were pretty and pink.

“Your friend’s undergone a makeover,” Cass said from behind me. She had stopped beside me, playing with the car keys in her hand.

I groaned inwardly right away. Another lovely change. I glanced over and saw the smug hostility in her gaze. She flicked her blonde hair back and gave me a cocky smirk. She added, “Hurts, doesn’t it. To know that your friend—sorry—someone who used to be your friend is now in the enemy’s camp.”

“That’s what we are? Enemies?”

“We’re not friends. Since I’m dating Mark, and you got me banned from my own boyfriend’s house, I wouldn’t say we’re acquaintances.”

Becky’s eyes remained wide as she watched us. Fear darkened them.

Cass waved her hand and plastered a fake smile on her face. “Things are fine, Becks. Go in. We’re cool.”

I rolled my eyes. We were not cool.

When the door shut and it was just the two of us, Cass started forward. She turned around and sauntered backwards, as if mocking me. I glared right back at her and followed, pushing her to go faster and faster. Cass didn’t seem to mind. The other side of her mouth lifted up, and her cocky smirk transformed into a smug, triumphant smile. As we drew closer to the door, she taunted, “I took your friend, Strattan. I wonder what else I can take from you?”

“You’re this pissed because Malinda banned you from the house? What did you expect? She’s Mark’s mom, and she’s going to marry my dad. You threw wine on me one night. You’ve known Malinda most your life. Did you really think she wouldn’t react to that?” I shook my head. “You’re stupid. I’m going to be her stepdaughter. She’s going to take my side.”

“Yeah, well,” her eyes narrowed, “we’ll see. Since most of the old crew graduated, I’m the leader now. It’s me, Amelia, Adam, and Mark. We had a spot open and Adam vouched for Becky. I figured, what the hell? Anything to piss you off, especially after that night.”

“Newsflash, bitch. Becky and I haven’t been friends for a while.” I stepped closer, purposely invading her space. This wasn’t a Tommy Princess. I wasn’t worried a knife would be drawn by this one. No, Cass was Fallen Crest Academy through and through. She thought she was more than she was, and I had already taken them on—and won—once. I smirked at her. Mason was gone. Things with Logan were uncomfortable, so that meant I had a whole host of bad shit rolling around inside me. She thought she could target me? Oh no. I had found the perfect target. As my smirk grew, hers faded. I leaned in closer. She was now pressed against the door, all that bravado gone. I asked, “You want to take me on? Do it. I’m going to enjoy this because, honey, I need a distraction from the real turmoil going on in my life.”

She swallowed.

I tilted my head to the side, scanning every inch of her to make her even more uncomfortable. “I should thank you for volunteering. After taking on the Tommy Princesses from FCP, you’re going to be a treat. For real.”

She froze, and I rolled my eyes. I shoved her away from the door and headed inside. That game could start later on. It was my senior year. Even if Mason was gone, I should enjoy some of it. I headed for the kitchen. Maybe it was time I tried drinking. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it.

“Hey, Sam.” A guy passed me, but I didn’t recognize him. As I drew closer to the kitchen, more and more people said their hellos. The hostility wasn’t there from the girls, and the guys weren’t tense around me anymore.

“It’s because of us.”

I drew back as Natalie, one of the remaining two Tommy Princesses at FCP, stood beside me. She was leaning against a counter with a beer in her hand and a scowl on her face. Her black hair was tucked behind her ears, and her eyes were heavily made up with mascara. With a black corset top, her breasts almost popping out, and tight jeans that were ripped near the crotch area, she looked scary.

“What do you mean?” I asked.