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Maya winceswhen I suck in a pained breath through my teeth. “Sorry,” she murmurs. “I’m trying to be as gentle as I can.”
“It’s fine,” I lie as my bruised flesh throbs. “If you can cover up all this bruising, I can handle a little pain.”
“It’s looking good. Nobody will even know it’s there by the time I’m finished.” She taps the tip of the makeup sponge to my nose, making me smile before she continues carefully applying enough layers of foundation to cover up the ugly, purple splotches.
My nerves are jangling. “I still don’t know what to wear. I feel bad borrowing something from you. What if?—”
“Stop with thewhat if,” she almost growls at me. “Let yourself have a little fun. We’ll find you something great to wear, you’ll look super hot, and you’ll have a good time.”
“Me?” I almost can’t fathom the idea.
Rolling her eyes, she replies, “Newsflash: you’re beautiful. Just because there are people in this world who want to make you feel small and silenced doesn’t change who you are.”
There is something really nice about that. Nobody has ever taken the time to talk to me that way before. Mom certainly never has.
The upbeat pop music Maya is playing helps get me in a more lighthearted mood. She steps away for a second, going throughher makeup, and I glance around her bedroom. It’s huge, at least four times the size of mine, and she has a walk-in closet full of clothes and shoes. It’s funny. Her family is obviously way in the upper class—my jaw hit my lap when I pulled up in front of this place, in a rich neighborhood with quiet streets and manicured front lawns. She seems so normal. I thought all rich people were like Briggs and his friends. Not her. She’s too busy being generous.
“So your parents are gone tonight?” I ask curiously.
“I live with just my dad,” Maya explains flatly. I wonder what happened to her mom, but the subtle sadness in her eyes makes me stop. “And yes, he is out of town this weekend.”
“I think I would be scared all alone in this huge house,” I try to make a joke but Maya isn’t laughing.
“You have the most gorgeous hair,” she changes the subject as she helps me curl it. Considering how long it is, that’s not easy. But once I get the curls heated with her curling wand, she wraps them around big rollers to cool off before going through her closet. By the time she flings an arm full of dresses on her bed, my head is spinning. I honestly didn’t know it takes this much work to be a girl.
After a lot of insisting, she talks me into trying on a short, black dress. It’s super simple but fits me like a glove. “Whoa,” I whisper before turning in a circle in front of her full-length mirror. “Is that me?”
“Wait until you put these on.” Maya wiggles her eyebrows suggestively while handing me a pair of black heels so high they make my eyes bulge before I ever put them on my feet. Since I get the feeling she won’t let up on me unless I at least try. I slide into them and fumble through finding my balance.
“You look amazing.” She takes me by the shoulders and turns me to face the mirror again. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I do look amazing. My hair hangs in soft curls and waves that I can’tstop shaking so they’ll bounce. The makeup not only covers the bruising, but makes me look bright-eyed and pretty. For once, nobody will have any reason to make fun of me.
Maya looks great, too, in a dark blue dress that makes her eyes pop. “Let’s go get our drink on,” she says as she pulls me towards the door.
Twenty minutes later, we pull up to the party and I’m already sure this is a bad idea, and I don’t fit in.
There are so many people. I can’t imagine knowing so many people, let alone well enough to invite them to a party at my house. I also can’t imagine living in a house like the one we’re now approaching. It’s only a few minutes from her house, meaning it’s in the same general area full of rich people. People like… Briggs? It occurs to me now that I don’t know exactly where he lives. But the five families are in a whole different league.
Aren’t they?
Maya seems to think everything’s safe, and I trust her. She wouldn’t steer me wrong. I have to remind myself of that while I follow her up a wide, curving driveway after parking a few houses down. The backyard is fenced off, but I can hear voices out there, people laughing, girls squealing. There are flashing lights inside the house, and I would swear the ground shakes a little as we get closer. The music is so loud, the bass vibrates through me.
There’s one heart-stopping second where my feet grow roots, and my body goes cold. Should I do this? What if Briggs is here? Goosebumps cover my skin at the idea.
Maya notices me hanging back and turns around. “What’s up? Are you coming or not?” she asks with an exasperated eye roll.
“Are you sure it’s safe?” I don’t have to say anything else. She understands, and her face falls a little before she reaches out to throw an arm around my shoulders.
“If I thought it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be here. Everybody’s really nice. You’ll see.” I guess I have to believe her. Just when I thought I couldn’t hate Briggs more than I already do. He doesn’t even have to be around to ruin my night. He’s that deep in my head.
Screw it. I’m not going to let him ruin this. For once, there’s a chance for me to have a good time, and I don’t want to waste all the work Maya did with my makeup and hair. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
Maya only laughs as she leads me into the house. The music is deafening. There are so many voices. I don’t know where to look. People wander everywhere—clogging up the front hall, hanging out on the stairs, moving in and out of different rooms. So many rooms. The house is just as big as Maya’s, if not bigger. Yet it feels crowded, and I have to tuck my arms in close to myself as I walk through.
“Tyler!” Maya throws an arm overhead and waves at a tall, handsome guy with blond hair and a wide smile. He looks genuine enough when he waves back before cutting through the crowd. It already feels a little warm in here with all these bodies pressing in, but I do my best to play it off. I want to make a good impression for once.
“Hey!” he calls out once he reaches us, giving her a one-armed hug. “I’m glad you’re here! Did you get a drink yet?”
“No, we just got here!” Maya practically shouts back. “This is my friend Wren. Wren, this is Tyler.”
