Drawn to You | ✔️

34

"Love what?" I ask.

I stand and stare at Hayley for a moment. She's not telling me anything right now. She's just occupied drinking her beer and looking at some other boys further down the hall. They all look different from the boys from our school. No jocks but a bit creepier. Not to judge too soon. One of them is wearing a long leather jacket and ripped jeans with holes. His hair is shoulder long and messy. Not the cute kind of messy, like Landon's. He's smoking a joint and passes it around to the others. One of the other guys is wearing a black hoody and black sweats. He's laughing at something the other guy said. The rest of the boys look alike.

Hayley takes another swallow and looks back at me. I cross my arms in front of me and look at her. I'm starting to worry about what she's about to say. Is Landon keeping secrets from me? Maybe Hayley knows about the bruises he and his friends had a couple of months ago. And the other incidents that are unexplainable.

She stares at me with that careless look again.

"How much do you really know about Landon?"

I swallow hard. "Enough." She arches her eyebrow at me like it's the most pathetic answer she's ever heard.

She walks over to me again, only leaving an inch between our faces. She bites her lip before she speaks again. "Let me guess: You were a virgin when you two met but you gave in when he told you that he loved you?"

I'm starting to feel my heart pound faster and faster. I tuck some hair back at my ear and look down.

"I thought so. Well, Shelby, I was also that girl." I look back at her, she's watching me with a sad expression. "Yep, believe it or not, I was a sweet and innocent girl before this." She gestures to her outfit. "That's his thing, you know? Take advantage of the weak girls then throws them away when he's bored of them."

I can feel my lips start to tremble. I hold back the small tears in my eyes. I refuse to cry here in front of her. I'm still mute, not able to say anything, so Hayley continues talking.

"I assume he hasn't been bored with you yet but he's no saint. He's not relationship material. None of us are." Some people pass us, one rushes to the bathroom to throw up, while the others cheer on him. Some of them pull out their phones to record it.

I finally get the nerve to speak. "Landon would never do that to me. He told me that he loved me. He even waited for me. He didn't get me into bed the first time we saw each other." I cross my arms in front of my chest to point out my statement.

"No, but he isn't faithful to you either." I wrinkle my eyebrows at her and shake my head in confusion. "That's right. Your precious boyfriend is out screwing other girls while you're sitting at home and doing homework and cuddling with your teddy bears in bed." She chokes a laugh. "He's probably out fucking some slut right now." She laughs a small laugh. "You know, I actually feel sorry for you, Shelby. Poor thing." She cups my cheek with her hand. I flinch away from her touch. "You're so naive. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"No...You're...You're lying. Landon wouldn't." I stumble back a bit and bump my back into the wall.

"But that's not the only secret he's keeping from you." I look at her with wet eyes. I blink a couple of times to get rid of them. What more could she possibly have to say to me?

"Why do you think he and his friends are here?" She asks.

"He told me that he and his friends moved out of their foster homes when they turned eighteen and wanted to live together in a new town. To get a fresh start." I swallow hard again. Gosh, I must have done that a lot this night.

She shakes her head and laughs. "He told you that?" She walks towards me and looks me directly in the eyes and rests her hands on her hips. "He's a fucking drug dealer! He sells drugs to people here in town with his friends."