One of Us Is Dead(35)

She pulled her hand away and finished her first martini. “No, Bryce has never been physical with me. I was referring to a past relationship. I just wanted to talk to you to make sure you were okay.” Her face softened and she smiled at me.

I gave her a small smile, weighing out my options. The best way to get someone to like you was to make them feel sorry for you. Perhaps the right play just landed in my lap. If it wasn’t for Dean pushing me to make nice with her, I would have told her to fuck off right then and there. But power required looking ahead rather than living in the moment, so I had to play the game, and I was more than willing. Social climbing wasn’t a sprint, it was a marathon.

“Thank you for being here for me. Your companionship is so interesting. I’ll be honest with you. Dean has never been physical before, but he did scare me last night. He’s been growing more and more angry and short with me recently, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s me,” I said, hanging my head in fake shame.

“No, don’t say that. You are not responsible for the way other people act, including the ones you love.” Crystal reached across the table and squeezed my hand.

“I just love him so much,” I said, getting my voice to crack at the end perfectly.

“I’m sure he loves you too. And listen, I don’t know what your relationship is like with Dean, but I am here for you if you need to talk or need help. Anything.”

I took a sip of my martini and nodded. My relationship with Dean was fine, and it wasn’t any of her business. But if she wanted to be the useless rock in my life, I’d allow it.

“Thank you. I appreciate that. I’d really love for us to be close. I know what it’s like to be the new person in town.” I squeezed a single tear out.

“Oh,” she said, handing me a napkin.

I dabbed the tear away. It was like a bullet in the chamber of a gun, always loaded and ready to spill out if needed.

“I’m sorry. It’s just you being new here brings up really bad memories for me.” I took a sip of my martini.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

“I shouldn’t, but yes. When I moved here, Shannon was absolutely awful to me. She pretended like I didn’t exist for so long, and then when she did start paying attention to me, she bullied me, calling me the most awful names and making me the butt of every joke. It wasn’t until I discovered Glow that she started treating me better. But it was two years of torment.” I shook my head.

Crystal reached across the table and put her hand on mine. “I’m so sorry, Olivia. I had no idea you went through that.”

I wanted to flick her hand away, but I let it rest on mine. “Thank you. I know you’re not as sophisticated or glamorous as I was when I arrived, but I promise to never treat you like that. You and I have to stick together,” I said, holding a martini glass up.

She clinked hers against mine, gave a small smile back, and took a sip.

“You should come to Glow the day after tomorrow. Jenny told me they’re doing manis and mimosas. Sounds like a fun time. There’s always an event at the salon,” she said with a laugh.

How dare she invite me to the very event I created! Who did she think she was? Was she trying to be the new me? Trying to take my reign? Silly girl.

“I would love that,” I said with a big fat fucking smile. My lip nearly split.





27

Shannon


Karen had begged me not to watch it again, but I couldn’t help myself. Each time I viewed it, I died a little more inside. How could I have become this person? You never get to see the way people see you, but I did. The video played again. First, it was me onstage at the gala, drunk and sloppy; then, it was me in the restaurant proposing to Bryce, drunk, delusional, and sloppy. The whole thing was edited so some parts would play over and over again, like a track on an album. Someone had anonymously uploaded it to YouTube under the title “Woman Commits Suicide*” with * Social Suicide in the description. How clever. I rolled my eyes. I pressed stop on the video and sunk deeper into my couch. It was already up to over ten thousand views. Karen had said she reported it and would work on getting it taken down, but the views just kept going up, and it was being posted on other sites and apps. I scrolled down, venturing toward the comments section. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to read them, but I couldn’t help myself.

What a stupid bitch.

Too bad she didn’t actually kill herself.

OMG! I would die.

This is cringe gold.

Clickbait at its finest.

Lol. This is fake right. It has to be. No one is that pathetic.

Nice tits.

Money can’t buy class. That’s for sure.

Anyone know her name?

I squeezed my eyes tightly together, pushing tears out of the corners, and took a deep breath. Bryce had to have done this. He was at the gala and the restaurant, and he threatened me. I hated him, but right now, I hated me more.

My phone buzzed. A text from Karen was on the screen.

Checking to make sure you’re all right.

They should be taking it down.

Did the video really matter? So many people saw me like that in person. I just hadn’t seen myself, and I was truly embarrassed for who and what I had become.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Jenny.

Thinking about you. Hope you’re okay.