"Ugh, fine. Courtney, go get us some chairs. Now!" She snapped at one of her friends.
Courtneyscurried away to fetch the chairs like a good little pet. I picked at my chipped purple nail polish and Gabby stared daggers at her when she returned. Courtney placed a chair as close to Cade as she possibly could and perched her ass on the edge of it. The other two Barbies took their chairs and squeezed in between West and Axel. Barbie number one started petting West like he was a dog, and his jaw clenched so tight I was surprised I didn't hear teeth crack.
He hated it. His jaw ticked when she ran her fingers along his thick, tattoo-covered forearm. His nostrils flared when she whispered something in his ear. My gaze burned into him, and I relished in the fact that he was miserable with the blonde bitch all over him.
"Do you want some?" Gabby asked, breaking my stare with West. She nudged her tray toward me in offering.
"No, I'm not hungry. Really. Thank you though," I gave her a half-smile, even though she knew I was full of shit. I didn't need everyone at the table to see me mooch food off my friend's plate. They had enough ammunition to take me down. They didn't need more.
"It's probably best that you don't eat anything. You've put on a few pounds since last year haven't you, Ashley?" Sneered the girl who was practically on West's lap. He stilled at her comment but didn't say anything.
"What the fuck Kendra?" Bronx shouted from beside me.
I didn’t even know the girl–Kendra–didn’t recall ever seeing her fake ass at school. Yet she knew my name–sorta–and that I’d put on a few pounds since school ended last spring. What the fuck ever.
"It's fine, B. She can't help it," I said slowly. "Insecure people like to tear others down. They try to poke at their weaknesses. A person's body image is usually an easy point of access, right? And I mean, I might be offended by your little jab, but I have nothing to worry about. The guy you're fawning over right now…can't stop staring at my tits." I narrowed my eyes at West before continuing. "MyD-cups are natural, how much did yours cost?"
"You fucking bitch."
I hit a nerve with that one, as evidenced by the evil glint in her eyes. Even without a close inspection, it was obvious that her boobs were fake. The huge gap and perfectly round shape were dead giveaways. To each their own when it came to plastic surgery and body mods, but don't come at me about my body if you don't want to get it served right back.
"Oh shit, she's right. They're fake as fuck," Cade laughed before clearing his throat. "Kendra, I thought I made myself clear this morning. What are you even doing here, besides being incredibly rude to ourwelcomedguests?"
Kendra jumped back as if the mere idea of being rejected shocked her. She was the kind of girl who never got rejected–always chased, never scoffed at. The kind of person who got exactly what she wanted at the snap of her perfectly manicured fingers. The worst kind of person, amiright?
"You let me blow you this morning and now you’re acting like I shouldn't be sitting here? But you let those two weirdos sit with you? Fuck you, Cade. You're not the only guy who wants me here." Kendra looked at West for reassurance, which he did not provide. Instead, he shook her hand off his arm and sat back in his chair, enjoying the meltdown.
His eyes were on me and me only. He smirked as Kendra rambled on about how "this was a bunch of bullshit" and "you're all going to regret this". Blah blah fucking blah. Kendra and her clones stormed off and suddenly the words registered in West's brain. “Bro, you let her blow you this morning? You told me you were done with her. No wonder she just pulled that shit."
Gabby shifted in her seat beside me. I glanced her way, but she kept her eyes down. The thought of Cade and Kendra stung, but she knew what Cade was–a fuckboy. Didn’t stop her from drooling over him though.
“What was I supposed to do? She wanted you but you wouldn’t touch her. You could've just taken one for the team but no, you had to reject her and send her my way. Fuck, that bitch is crazy."
“Didn’t stop you from fucking her,” Bronx muttered under his breath.
The bell went off, a five minute warning to get to our next class, and Gabby jumped from her chair. “We should be going.”
"Well, this has been fun, thanks for the hospitality." I smiled as Gabby grabbed my arm and hauled me away. She was about ready to explode with everything that happened in the last five minutes. I felt like a queen as we left the cafeteria.
"That was. So. Awesome! Who are you and what happened to Ashtyn?"
"I told you I wasn't playing this year."
"Damn, I'm staying out of your way."
Working at Aces gave me the confidence to be myself, love myself, and stand up for myself more than I ever had before. I was becoming independent with my own money, even if most of it went to bills, and I had a newfound sense of freedom and accomplishment.
Seeing West at Aces on Saturday had unleashed something inside of me. Something that wasn't going back in its cage anytime soon. I was flooded with emotion from old wounds that had never healed properly. I was finished letting other people's behavior dictate my mood. I didn’t have time to put up with bullies and mean girls. Whether that meant calling out a girl in the cafeteria or confronting West on his bullshit treatment of me, I was out for blood.
6
West
Iwasgladitwas already the last class of the day. Art with Reynolds. I hadn’t taken an art class since freshman year–which meant I didn’t have a choice in the matter. I needed one more art credit to graduate.
I was thankful to be heading to my last class because that meant I was one hour away from leaving this shithole and heading down to Brass Knuckles to take my frustrations out on some unsuspecting newb. The day wasn’t all bad. I witnessed Ashtyn put that bitch Kendra in her place at lunch–which was hot as fuck, by the way. It made my cock hard seeing Ashtyn be so calm yet strike out with her withering words. Her confidence–not quite the demure girl she once was–piqued my interest.
And she was right, Ihad beenstaring at her tits. They looked magnificent in that tight white t-shirt she was wearing.