Gilded Cage

Chapter 30

On Monday morning, I came to school an hour early to put in some extra practice on my violin. I had been crouched over the trunk of my white Civic, retrieving my violin case and backpack, when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I glanced over. Standing right next to me was my least favorite redhead from second hour.

What the heck was she doing here at six o' clock in the morning?

"Good morning, Cate," Lily greeted me with a small smile. "I hope I didn't startle you."

"Uh, not at all. Can I help you with something?"

"Actually, yes."

"Oh?"

"I know this may seem a tad forward of me, but..."

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

Out of nowhere, her lower lip jutted out as it began to tremble. Waterworks threatened to spill over from her eyes. "I-I was hoping, um... that we could talk? You know, about Zachary? I'm not sure if you heard, but we broke up. I don't want to put you in an awkward position, but I couldn't help noticing that you're pretty good friends with him. I'm just... having a really hard time understanding why he called it quits since things were going so well for us."

I strained my mouth into what I hoped looked like an understanding smile.

Lily's tears seemed so real that I kind of felt like an asshole for doubting her, but was this bitch being serious right now?

She had to be trolling me!

"Sure, we can talk," I said with some reluctance, "but Zac was only my partner for the AP History project. Nothing more. To be honest, I don't think I'm the best person to talk to about your ex."

"Oh, bless your heart," Lily gushed sweetly even as her eyes turned to steel. "Even a blind man could see that Zachary was head over heels in lust for you! I doubt he would've ever bothered with me if you hadn't been such an uppity bitch about spreading your legs for him."

Nevermind, guess I wasn't being an asshole. In caustic tones, I said, "Excuse me?"

With a straight face, Lily murmured, "You've been a bad girl, Cate, and bad girls need to be punished."

I laughed uneasily. "How am I supposed to take you seriously when you say shit like that?"

Instantly, her mouth spread into a beatific smile. "Let me spell it out for you, sugar. I know you're the reason Zachary decided to end our relationship. You owe me. Big time."

I tilted my head to observe her more closely. For weeks, I had been wracking my brain for a way to lure Lily's wolf out of her sheep's clothing, but the bitch had saved me the trouble by pouncing out all by herself.

Lifting a cynical eyebrow, I admonished, "How old are you? Five? Are you expecting someone to kiss your boo-boo and make it all better?"

Lily took a few steps towards me. Her face came a little too close for comfort. Every freckle across the bridge of her nose was suddenly very visible. There was a surly, almost feral, smirk on her lips when she whispered against my cheek, "Actually, a kiss might make it all better."

Before I could react, Lily shoved her mouth against mine and landed a big wet one on my lips. I shrieked and immediately scurried backwards to get away. "What the fuck, you crazy bitch! Don't you ever touch me again!"

Lily started laughing. No, cackling. She started cackling like a madwoman as though she had just heard the world's funniest joke. "Oh, man, Cate! You really need to see your face right now. You look so shocked. It's fucking adorable. Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?"