𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇

XXIV

— RORI —

It has been four days since Zephaniah and i argued and neither one of us has brought it up since.

This is not totally unusual. After all, we are used to brushing everything under the carpet. Only, he is fully aware that i got drunk and ended up with a hickey on my neck. And even though i know it was nothing more than that, i don't want to imagine the picture i have painted for him.

After all, it is possible that Zephaniah was doing much worse at my age.

He can't have mentioned anything to Xavi, or any of the other boys, for that matter, because no one has approached me. And i know they could not have spotted the hickey because i had been applying my most expensive full coverage concealer on it every day — sometimes multiple times a day — until it fully disappeared.

But this is truly the worst case scenario. Because not only might my eldest brother have the wrong idea about what happened last weekend: he knows i am not in a relationship. And now, he will either think i have been hiding one from my family — which would be virtually impossible — or that i am messing around with some random boy.

Either way, it does not bode well for me.

"Are the rumours true?" i hear a girl ask, as i am about to exit the bathroom stall. "About Annalise and Seamus?"

My eyebrows furrow in confusion, and, rather than opening the door, i stay firmly rooted, slowly retracting my hand from the golden lock.

What on earth is she referring to?

"Of course they're true," i hear what i know is the voice of Lindsay say. "Annalise is so pathetically in love with him. She has been ever since she first lay her eyes on him..."

My mouth drops in horror at what i am hearing.

First of all, i do not choose to believe a word that comes out of Lindsay Foster's mouth and so i'm sure what she is talking about means absolutely nothing. And, as i say, there are so many far-fetched rumours flying around this school, most of them probably created by the wicked witch herself. But even still, i do not want such a rumour to exist.

I mean, Annalise and my brother?

No way.

First of all, my brother is an asshole to everybody and that doesn't change for Annalise. In fact, he is often very anti-Annalise, considering she is supposedly a bad influence on me. And second of all, Seamus would never date a friend of mine.

We made a pact, after all, that we would not get involved with each other's friends, as not to disrupt our relationship with each other and with them.

"I wonder if Rori knows," the girl says. "Do you think she knows?"

Know what? i think to myself. What do i not know?

Lindsay snorts.

"Don't know. Don't care," she says. "Her and Anna's friendship was bound to end soon though. If not now then definitely by senior year. With that family, it's nothing but scandals."

"That's not true," the girl argues. "Besides, Rori is one of the most drama free people at this school. Well, that i know of."

"Well then why is she talked about so much?" Lindsay seethes.

"You tell me," the girl says, her tone somewhat accusatory.

"I mean, did you know that one of her brothers has been admitted to some rehabilitation centre?" Lindsay asks. "They try to keep things like this under wraps but it will come out eventually. Everything will. And the hierarchy will tumble faster than a house of cards."