Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2)(126)

The whispering and laughing cease and people distance      themselves from me and my locker. Dread forces all hope to abandon my body.      Written on my locker is the word I fear the most: whore.

Whore.

I slept with Ryan on Friday night.

Whore.

But he came to the hospital Saturday. He texted and called      on Sunday, but I was too exhausted to call back. Ryan cares.

Whore.

I spin on my heel and try to escape down the hallway—away      from my locker, away from the whispers and the laughter. I round a corner and      slam into a friend of Gwen’s. “Well, look who it is—Beth Risk. Is it true you      were arrested in Louisville?”

The only person I told about that was Ryan. “Go to      hell.”

Her friends laugh and she smiles. “Gwen tried to warn you.      Ryan and his friends take dares very seriously. What made you think you were      anything more than that?”

Ryan gave me a bottle of rain. He told me he loved me. He      wouldn’t tell people that we slept together or that I was arrested in      Louisville. He wouldn’t call me a whore. “I’m not a dare.”

“Really? Then how come Ryan’s parents didn’t know that you      guys were dating? In fact, his mom told my mom that they forbade him to date you      weeks ago.”

The ice pick straight to my heart leaves me speechless and I      step back, but my retreat isn’t enough. She glances at her friends, then narrows      her eyes at me. “Not only were you a dare, but you were Ryan’s dirty little      secret.”





Chapter 65

Ryan

I PARK THE JEEP behind      Chris’s truck and hop out. I’ve got to find Beth and I need to find Gwen. I’ll      hand Gwen homecoming. I’ll tell her that Beth and I will drop out, as long as      Gwen keeps Beth’s secrets. Chris and Logan lean against the tailgate and smile      when they notice me. Today could be a nightmare for Beth and I’m going to need      their help. “Have you seen Beth?”

Both of them shake their heads.

“Have you seen Lacy?” asks Chris. “She was supposed to meet me      here.”

I scan the parking lot and spot Lacy bolting out the side      doors. “There she is.”

Chris straightens as he watches her hurry to us. “Something’s      wrong.”

She bypasses Chris, reaches out, and slaps me across the face.      The pain sucks, but the worst part is the tears streaming down Lacy’s face.

“How could you?” she chokes out.

Lacy’s never hit me before. She’s never hit anyone before.

Chris places himself between me and Lacy while Logan yells at      the people loitering to witness the show to keep moving. “Lace, what the hell?”      Chris says.

Lacy shoves Chris and the shoves turn frighteningly close to      hitting. “What the hell?” she screams. “What the hell is wrong with you? You      were supposed to be her friend.”

From behind her, Logan pulls her hands to her sides. “Slow it      down, Lace. Tell us what’s wrong.”

Tears overflow from her eyes while she stares at me. “You      promised me you wouldn’t hurt her. You promised she was no longer a dare.”

Beth. She means Beth. “She wasn’t. I mean, she was, but you      know I called it off.”

She jerks her arms out of Logan’s grasp, but he stays near in      case she decides to attack again. “Everyone is saying Chris and Logan dared you      to sleep with her. They said you won when you took Beth into the woods during      the last field party. They said you slept with her and that she told you about      her past. Everyone knows what happened to her in Louisville. Everyone      knows.”

Gwen. I smack my fist into the side of Chris’s truck. “Have you      seen Beth?”

Lacy shakes her head. “Tell me you didn’t do it. Please.”

Chris hesitantly touches her cheek. “No, baby. The dare ended      the night Ryan fell for her.”

She wipes the tears from her face. “Someone wrote whore on her locker.”

Logan runs both hands over his face while Chris swears. The      nightmare has already begun.

*

I search the hallways for Beth and I come up empty. The      first warning bell rings and from the opposite end of the hallway Lacy shakes      her head. Dammit. They can’t find her either. Logan taps my shoulder. “She just      walked into class.”