Total pages in book: 185
Estimated words: 175455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 877(@200wpm)___ 702(@250wpm)___ 585(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 175455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 877(@200wpm)___ 702(@250wpm)___ 585(@300wpm)
No, that’s absurd. It was Carter’s doing. I’m not being paranoid, I am right, and everyone else is wrong because they believe the bullshit façade Carter shows them. They all think of him as some golden boy, as the hot, wealthy football star—none of them know what he is. Hell, I don’t even know what he is, but I’ve seen more of a glimpse than Grace has, that’s for sure. Plus, Grace is always looking for the best in everyone, so even if she saw that there was something off about him, she’d probably try to save his ass rather than stay away from him.
God, Grace, I love you, but you need to get your shit together.
My phone vibrates on the bed beside me. It’s like she can hear me thinking about her. Her name flashes across the screen—a video call. A smidgen of relief hits me. It must be bothering her that we ended our last call on such a sour note, too.
I stick my bookmark in Gatsby and put the paperback down, grabbing my phone and sliding my finger across the screen. Grace’s face fills the screen and I offer up a smile.
“Hey.”
I can barely hear her, but she’s smiling. “Zoey!”
Something is majorly off here. Why is it loud? Is that music? “Where are you?”
“At the party! That’s why I’m calling. You were totally wrong. I’m havin’ a blast. You need to come have fun with me.”
My smile falls right off my face and alarm wraps around me like a blanket. “What? You went to the party without me?”
Grace nods, but it’s a loopy nod and she’s only half paying attention to me. Looking just out of sight, she grins and takes a red Solo cup. “Thank you. You’re so nice.”
My heart stalls. “Grace, focus. Are you drinking?”
She shakes her head dismissively. “Not alcohol. It’s just punch. They do have spiked punch, but I don’t drink, so Carter’s been gettin’ me some of the fruit punch out of the—the non-alcoholic bowl. Come have fun with me!”
It feels like my rib cage is shrinking, crushing my lungs and stealing my ability to breathe. “Carter is getting you drinks? Grace, put that cup down. Don’t you dare drink that. Don’t drink anything he touches.” Throwing the blankets back, I spring out of bed and pace the floor, but I’m not sure what to do. If I go pick her up myself, Carter will get me inside that house. If I tell her mom, her mom will see that Grace has been drinking—non-alcoholic punch, my ass—and she’ll have a conniption. Grace will be grounded forever, and then she’ll really be pissed at me.
I could call the police with a noise complaint, but Grace is there, so she’d get in trouble for underage drinking, too. I could take my mom with me to get Grace, but she’s being ridiculous about Carter, so if he comes out, she’s going to switch sides and not be on mine anymore.
As I’m trying to figure out what I should do, I see an arm slide around Grace’s waist. My blood turns to freezing water in my veins as she turns her face toward him, and then I see Carter Mahoney on my phone with his arm around my best friend.
“Hey, Ellis,” he says casually, smirking like he’s already won this round.
“Stop touching her,” I snap. “Did you do anything to her drink? I swear to God, Carter—”
Grace has the absolute gall to shake her finger at me. “Zoey, you shouldn’t swear to God.”
My eyes bug out. “And you shouldn’t take drinks from rapey jocks! But here we are.”
“Stop being such a drag, Ellis. Come party with us,” Carter says.
Grace nods vehemently. All I can focus on is his arm still wrapped around her, his hand resting on her hip. I want to burst through the phone and rip her away from him.
“Don’t drink that, Grace. Not a single sip. I’m coming to pick you up. I am not coming inside the house; I will call you when I’m in the driveway.”
Carter glances at his watch. “You’re probably gonna have to come inside. See, as much fun as we’re having here, Grace wants to talk to me about Jesus. We’re going to go upstairs in a few minutes so we have a little privacy.”
Hot fury hits me with a fear chaser. “Don’t you dare take her upstairs, Carter. Grace, do not go anywhere alone with him.”
Smirking, Carter cocks his head. “I bet she’s a virgin, too. You know how much I like those good girls, princess.”
I’m going to vomit. My hands shake with helpless rage as I grab the outfit I wore today and push down my pajama pants, since Carter can’t see below my shirt on the phone. “I swear to God, Carter, if you lay a finger on my friend, I will destroy you. I don’t know how, I know you’ll strike back harder, but I don’t care. I will decimate you, and I will not rest until I do.”