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“No,” I said flatly.
“I was assuming you would say that. So me and Miles thought we could hang out instead and have ourselves an anti-pep rally.” She grinned but my chest constricted.
“You’d give up going to the pep rally for me?”
Even at Darling Hill High pep rallies were a big deal, so I knew a school like DA would go all out.
“Duh, of course. I never liked those things anyway. We can head downtown to the park again or hang out at Miles’s house.”
“Maybe,” I said, bowing my head slightly.
It felt weird to have Celeste and Miles include me in their plans. Outside of Nix, I’d never really had friends before.
“Don’t look so worried, Harleigh.” She chuckled, her soft laughter like an unexpected balm to my racing heart. “You’re one of us now, whether you like it or not.”
She meant the two of them—her and Miles. But as I tried to ignore Marc’s scowl, I wondered if her words held a bigger meaning. Because although I would never belong here, I was one of them now. A thorn among roses, an ugly duckling among a flock of swans. I was the piece that didn’t fit right.
The piece that ruined the whole damn puzzle.
Some days it didn’t bother me. Some days, I was barely aware of it. But today, today I couldn’t think about anything else.
“Psst.”
I glanced over my shoulder, frowning at Angelica Hatton, one of Marc Denby’s inner circle. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“That… you spent time in a nuthouse.”
The ground slipped from under me, the world tilting on its axis.
“E-excuse me?”
Why wasn’t the teacher demanding decorum? Why wasn’t she intervening?
“You heard me, freak.” She sneered despite her saccharine tone. Her friends all snickered, blatantly listening in. “My sister is in your brother’s class, and he said you weren’t at your grandparents at all, that you—”
Blood roared in my ears, drowning out her voice.
Max.
Max had told her sister.
He had told someone the truth.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t open my mouth to take a breath, let alone answer.
I couldn’t do anything.
“Oh my God, she’s freaking out.” Angelica snickered under her breath. “She’s totally freaking out. Someone get the straitjacket ready.”
“Ange,” a deep voice from the back of the class said, and my eyes flew to Nate. He didn’t so much as glance in my direction, but that had been him, warning her.
“Relax, Nate.” She laughed it off, the sound like nails along a chalkboard. “We’re just talking, right, Harleigh?”
My body trembled as I clutched the lip of the table. She knew. Which meant they all knew. All because Max couldn’t keep his goddamn mouth shut.
Tears stung the backs of my eyes, but I locked them down, refusing to let even a single tear fall. My teeth clenched behind my pursed lips. Do not engage. Breathe. Be the bigger person. So what? They know. There’s no shame in it. You got help… you healed… you—
