FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS OF THE CHEATER.FAKER.TROUBLEMAKER SERIES (WATTY'S 2016, FICTION AWARDS 2016, HACHETTE AUDIO 2017), JENNY ROSEN & KRISTEN MAGLONZO.
After bullies, braces, and brutal heartbreak shatters his faith in love, soon-to-be fre...
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CHAPTER 38
Elias
45 Minutes Before
Life has a funny way of cocking it's foot back and nailing you in the balls when you least expect it.
And, right now, my nuts are on the chopping block.
I can't move. I'm backed up against the side door of the dance hall while a girl who I've literally never seen before closes in on me like she's out for blood. Up until about thirty seconds ago, things were—fine.
Well, maybe a little less than fine 'cause being within ten feet of a dance like this is enough to put me back in a place that I'm not mentally prepared to go to. But I forced myself to come here anyway. I put on some semi-decent clothes, strangled myself into a tie, and snuck out of the house because I had a good reason to.
But that reason—isn't this girl.
This girl is an ugly reminder of why my reputation will always be a problem.
People never really believe you can change. Even when you have.
Even when you've tried your hardest to be better than where you come from.
Nobody notices.
Nobody sees the real you.
They see what they want, and if they're desperate enough, they'll take what they can get.
"So, a little birdie told me that you're the infamous Elias King. What's a guy like you doing out here on your own? Lost your date?"
Little Ms. Tipsy purses her glitter pink lips into a pout that's about as fake as she is. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she's the kinda girl who's used to getting just about anything she could point her finger at. She's soaked in what smells like expensive perfume, and her done up hair and polished make-up only emphasize how well-pampered she is.
What a shame.
All that money and no manners to go with it.
But that shouldn't surprise me. I used to be the same way.
Drunk.
Manipulative.
Quietly miserable.
I came here tonight to try to convince myself and one other person that I don't wanna be that guy anymore.
All the crap that's gone down at home ever since the night Lacey came over should've been enough to turn me back into a party monster.
