A Perfect Circle

03 | stolen lips

03

S T O L E N  L I P S

I WOKE UP TO a gentle revving in my ear. It was like an engine, something distant and rumbling, and I opened my eyes to a blinding sunlight.

No, it wasn't an engine...

Somebody was crying.

Blood slammed my skull as I sat up and squinted. Where the fuck was I?

My fingers were pressed up to white carpet, and an earth-coloured quilt was pulled over my body. I winced as a pinch in my neck struck me. Ow – I'd passed out without a pillow.

I blinked and (painfully) adjusted to the light pouring in through the blinds. An orange duvet hung off the bed beside me.

Jenny. I was in Jenny's room.

My tongue was sandpaper and my mind was Silly Putty. I clenched my jaw at the kink in my neck and the hammer in my brain as I forced myself to sit up straight.

"Jenny?"

She scrambled on the bed and hid her face beneath her blanket, sniffling. "Hey, you're up."

I scowled and looked around. Orange walls. Posters of that Zayn guy from One Direction. A cluttered desk, an unkempt laundry basket, an open closet stuffed full of junk.

Yep, this was Jenny's room, all right. And truthfully, not the room I'd expected to wake up in.

"Where's Luisa?" I asked.

We were supposed to crash at her place.

Jenny poked her face out, revealing her eyes. Black makeup smeared down her freckled face and her brown hair was a dishevelled mess. My eyebrows drew together. What the hell was going on?

"I dunno," Jenny said. "I lost her at the party."

The party.

She shuffled up and wiped at her red, puffy eyes, though tears still dripped down her cheeks. "God, I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I ever thought Ren would like me."

Ren.

Reality body slammed me and swallowed me whole. I plunged into a series of cringes as it all came back to me.

I'd left the party with Ren. I'd fucking kissed Ren.

Jenny will never forgive me.

Wait, what the hell was I saying? I hadn't kissed Ren – Ren had kissed me.

Boiling anger flooded my chest. How could he? I never asked for him to kiss me! How fucking dare he put me in this situation? Now I had to tell my best friend that I'd kissed the guy who'd just broken her heart!

I covered my eyes and sucked in a breath. No – I was being childish. As easy as it would be to blame Ren, it wasn't all his fault. Because looking back on last night, I'd batted my eyelashes at him, I'd stared at his lips when he'd spoken, I'd leaned toward him when he'd leaned toward me. Hell, when we were playing Mario Kart, our fucking shoulders had rested against each other and I'd liked it.

I'd been flirting with him the whole time. Sure, I had descended into a state of anoesis brought on by inebriation, but that didn't mean I wasn't responsible for my own actions.

My blood went cold and my heart raced. Jenny's voice lifted my trance.

"Um, Ella? Hello?"

Like a zombie, I turned my head and faced her. "Hm?"