Bad Company (Seven Deadly Sins #1) ✅ Completed

Chapter Sixteen: Wrath of the Harvest Queen

Andy Andersen watched her boyfriend leave her ex-best friend’s house. She still thought of Pete as her man because no matter what lies Caroline Hayes wanted people to believe, he would always belong to her.

Pete had asked her out in the middle of their sophomore year – they’d attended the winter formal together and been a hot item after that. He wasn’t the first guy she’d hooked up with, but he was the first one she’d let go all the way. Now, two years later, she wasn’t about to just give him up. At least, not so a skank like Caroline could come in and take all she had coming to her.  

Pete’s family came from decent money; his mom was the president of the local bank and his father came from a large law enforcement family. He’d been elected the town’s sheriff every year since he’d bothered to run for the office. Their combined clout guaranteed them annual invites to all the big events in town, membership at the country club, and even a seat on the school board. His family had money and standing, and Pete was their only child so he got everything he ever wanted. He was cute and popular, and really was the perfect catch for a girl going places like she was.

They looked good together too – just the way cute popular couples should look. Naturally, it chapped her raw that a fugly girl like Caroline had snuck in like the low-life creep she was and taken all that away from her.

Caroline was the official duff (designated ugly fat friend) of their group, and well she knew it. They’d been friends since kindergarten, mostly because of their mother’s long-standing friendship and their close proximity to one another. During the big housing boom, both their parents had made the move to the best development in Blackwater – Arrow Falls was the only gated community in town.

Andy's father had been able to buy their house because he was a powerful attorney working for a major firm out of St. Louis. Her mother had been born and raised in Blackwater, was a local celebrity since she’d won a few state pageant titles, and had only ever wanted to be the perfect wife and mother. Her parents met at a Cardinal game, and the rest was history. Her mother insisted they buy in Blackwater, and her dad relented, opting to rent an apartment in St. Louis during the week for work. He came home on weekends whenever he could pull himself away from one big case or another, which was usually less often than not.  

Andy knew that Caroline’s parents had only managed to buy the smallest lot at the end of the subdivision because her father had been the main foreman on the team who’d actually built the private community. Her mother wasn’t much better, working at the local pharmacy while her husband built houses on the road. At least until the day he started his own construction company and starting making more money than half the people in town.

Andy’s mother had always been nice to their next door neighbor because they’d been friends since kindergarten. Their friendship took a new turn, however, when they both realized they had some major life issues in common -- mostly non-existent husbands. After that, the two women were practically inseparable, which meant Andy and Caroline spent their first few years growing up in each other’s houses. 

Caroline had always been plain, but since a very young age, Andy had been a star. She’d been competing in pageants since before she could talk, and had more trophies and awards proving she was more beautiful and talented than most girls in their age group. Singing, dancing, playing sports, she excelled at all of it. Caroline couldn’t even twirl a baton.

As they got older, things got worse. Caroline never owned any of the best clothes, couldn't use make-up to save her life, or ever been able to catch the attention of any cute boys in class. Pretty soon she was just Andy’s purse holder. Andy didn’t think Caroline minded too much, considering she still got to hang out with the coolest kids that way.