Harper. “I think I’m going to be sick,” I say to Sadie the second she answers her phone. “Why? What’s going on?”. I’m huddled on my bed, looking out my window to the backyard where the boys are all sitting around the table, smoking weed. Everyone except for Easton. After he told me to go back in my room, a few minutes later I heard his engine rev and I watched him drive away and he hasn’t returned. And now Blake is sitting next to Ryan, the seat Easton had been in. But I’ve still been watching, waiting, hoping he comes back. “Blake saw us,” I whisper, even though none of the boys can hear me. “Saw who?”. “Me and Easton, kissing in the doorway of my bedroom. “Whoa. “And Easton and Blake got into it and Blake asked me who I liked kissing more. “What did you say?”. I run my hand over my forehead, my pick so obvious to both of us. “Nothing, Easton saved me before I had to answer. Sadie, this is a total nightmare. “No, a nightmare will be if Blake tells Ryan. Do you think he’s going to?”. The thought has been haunting me and I don’t know what to do about it. I definitely can’t go downstairs and ask Blake, that’ll just be weird. And I don’t want to ask my. brother to come upstairs so we can talk, that will be even weirder. When Ryan hears I’ve made out with both of his best friends, he’s going to kill me. “Oh God,” I groan, rocking over my bed. “I hope not. “What’s happening now? Where are the boys?” I fill her in on the logistics of everyone, and then she asks, “How long has Easton been gone?”. 1 glance at the screen of my phone to check the time. “About twenty minutes. Maybe a little more. “You need to call Easton and find out what happened once the boys went downstairs. Before you get into Ryan’s car tomorrow morning for school, you need to know what you’re walking into-whether he’s oblivious or pissed out of his mind. My heart is pounding so loud, I can hear it. I can also hear the choice of words my brother is going to scream at me when the time finally comes. Blake or Easton-I don’t know which one he’ll be angrier about. “You’re right,” I tell her. “I’m going to call him right now

“Call me back the second you hang up with him. “O ka y,” . “W ai t. I freeze, my stomach lurching at the thought that there might be more. I hold my breath and say softly, “What?”. “Who’s at your house?” . In case anything has changed in the last few minutes, I gently lift the curtain to take another peek outside. “Just the boys-Blake, Ryan, and the usual crew. Why?”. I could hear her smiling . “Just checking, you kno w, for stalker purposes. I’m having a mental breakdown and my be st friend is concerned there might be a girl here, vying for Ryan’s attention. I can’t even w ith her. “I wish you could see how hard I’m rolling my eyes. ” I make sure my voice shows how a nnoyed I am. “I’ll call you in a sec. Bye. I disconnect our call and find Easton in my Contacts, holding t he phone to my face as it rings. “Why am I not surprised to see Miss Desperate is calling,” a girl says into the phone. “How m any times a day do you call Easton? A hundred?” . I check my screen to make sure I’ ve called the right number. My sto mach drops when I see that I have. “God, you’re so pathetic, Harper ,” she continues, “you’ll do any thing for attention, won’t you?” . I don’t ne ed to ask who it is. I know. And now that my stomach has lowered as far as it will go, it starts to churn. “Aisha, why are you answering Easton’s phone?” . My chest aches as ever y possibility begins t o run through my head. He was just at my house . and now , he’s w ith her? . Like a switch, h e just keeps fli pping between us. Each time, my heart breaks a little more. “Easton is”-she giggles so loudly,”tied up at the moment. Or, should I say, I’ve tied him up. But his mouth is far too busy to speak to you. His . mo uth?

The same one th at was between my legs tonight. The same one that made me come so hard, I saw stars. And now … he’s licking her?. I really am going t o be sick. “Ahhh,” she moans. It’s the same sound I m ade when he was going down on me. “Easton, oh my God, that feels so good. Don’t stop. I can’t bel ieve I’m he aring this. I can’t belie ve he’s doing that to her. I can’t believe he let her a nswer his phone while they’re in the middle of hooking up. My entire body start s to shake. “Miss Desperate …” She pauses to release these tiny bursts of air, the same way! do when he’s sucking my nipples. “I’m going to have his mouth tied up for a very long time, so don’t hold your breath, it may be a while before he calls you back. Tears fill my eyes. My mo uth w aters. And the phone go es dead. I can’t remember anything ever hurting this badly. Not the words that were spray painted on my locker or on the cars . Not even seeing Easton and Aisha in the hallway together. This is a burning th at shoots fire throu gh every part of me. Why would he do th is to me? . Why do I let him continuously hurt me? . Over a nd over again? . With trembling hands, I call Sadie, t he tears really flowing by the time sh e answers and says, “What did he say?” . My breath quivers through m y lips. “I d-didn’t get to t-talk to him-m. ” I wipe the . bottoms of my cheek s before the drips fall onto my chest. “Babe, why are you crying? W hat happened?” . “He,” I begin, but swallow as a wave of nausea comes over me, “was eating o-out Aisha and s-she’s the one who answered. “He was W HAT?” . I bend my knees and hold them against my chest, wrapping an arm around them. I bury my face and close my eyes, trying my best to breathe. “I hate him,” I cry. “I hate him more than anything in this world. Scanned with Ca mScanner