A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd #1)(35)

Dylan came forward and took Mandy. He told me, “I’ll bring her home later.”
I nodded.
After they left, Jennica started to say, “It’s not—”
“Shut up.” My words were harsh, but my tone was thick with emotion. I shook my head. “Look at what happened just now. You lost a friend.” I nodded at Devon. “He won’t stay with you and you know it. He’s going to try and get her back and where will that leave you?”
The blood drained from her face.
I finished, “Alone.”
“I have friends.”
“Who are friends like you. Do you really want those people as friends?”
Tray came through the crowd at that moment. He scanned over everyone and touched my arm. “Taryn, let’s go.”
“Tray.” Jennica turned to him. Her eyes were big and pleading.
He shook his head. “Don’t, Jen.”
“Tray?” Devon had stood, frowning.
Tray didn’t answer. He took my arm and led me away from them. As we left, this was the final nail in their coffin; their leader didn’t want to associate with them. He took me back through the house and around the pool. A small house was on the other side and we went inside.
I glanced around. It was a small oasis from the crowd outside.
“Come on.” He took my hand and led me to a room on the second floor. A king-sized bed was in the middle with a couch beside it. A large television was in the corner.
I shook my head. “How rich are you?”
I expected a laugh, maybe an offhand comment, but there was none. He jerked his head towards the main house as he pulled me to sit with him on the couch. “What do you think will happen with those three?”
“Nothing.” I hated to admit it, but I was a realist. “Devon will go back to Mandy. Jennica will act like nothing happened and they’ll be friends again.”
“Really? It seemed intense when I got there. I saw Mandy leave. She didn’t look ready to forgive and forget.”
“I want to think things will change, but I don’t believe it. They’ll be fake with each other. They may actually think they’re friends again, but they won’t be. The real friendship is gone. It’ll be replaced with a fake friendship and even when she goes back to Devon; she’ll never really trust him.”
He narrowed his eyes, studying me.
I laughed. “You’re not disagreeing with me.”
He shrugged. “Mandy caught Jennica and Devon kissing in eighth grade. It was the end of the world. They had a big fight like just now, but those two got back together the next week and Jennica and Mandy were best friends within two days. I was just impressed that you called it.”
“So you agree with me.”
“Mandy wants to believe her friendship is real with Jennica, but it isn’t. It never was. There aren’t a lot of real friends out there.”
“Are there real relationships?” My chest grew tight.
He didn’t answer right away and the tension grew with each second that passed until he did. “Yeah. I think so, to people who don’t lie to themselves. Then yes.”
I wasn’t sure how to take that. Fear, hope, happiness, and caution all swirled inside of me as I sat there. For the first time in a long time, I was speechless, and I had no idea why. When his hand slid to my cheek and tipped my mouth to his, I stopped thinking about it. As he pressed me down, I enjoyed his touch. It was healing, in a roundabout way, and I really didn’t want to try and explain that to myself. I just enjoyed it.



CHAPTER TWELVE

The next week was strained. Mandy kept with her new group of friends while Jennica held firm with Amber and the guys. The only one who seemed affected was Devon. He kept to himself. I saw him a few times with Samuel and Grant at school. Tray was with them sometimes. He was with me at other times. He had begun to hang out at my locker, drawing more attention to me than I wanted. A few girls tried to start fights with me, but I knew it was because of him. They were jealous. When I walked away, leaving Tray in their presence, I knew they were confused. Watching Mandy and how she pretended that nothing was the matter affected me. I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t like it. It left a sour taste in my mouth so I tried to keep to myself.
“Taryn.” Shelly knocked on my door and stuck her head inside. I took my earbuds out, but didn’t get up from my bed. She smiled. “Honey, Kevin and I are going out. Mandy said to let you know some of your friends are coming over for the night.”
I nodded. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.” I had no intention of hanging out with them.
She frowned. “Are things okay with you and Mandy? You two have seemed off this last week.”
Had things been okay? Mandy rarely talked to me anymore. She kept with her new friends and I remained alone. I shook my head. “Things are fine. Her break-up with Devon is still hurting her, I think.”
“I’m sure that’s it. You’re right.” She waved again. “Okay. We’re off. I’ll bring some ice cream home tonight.”
When she left and shut the door, I let out a sigh. An hour later, there was another knock on my door. Instead of waiting for me, it opened and Tray slipped inside.
My heart paused and a rush of sensations overwhelmed me. He’d been doing this to me for a while, but the feelings had doubled the night of his party, when we talked about real relationships.
I didn’t say anything. Neither did he, and I moved over so he could crawl onto my bed. When he turned so he was facing me, we stared at each other for a moment. As his gaze fell my lips, he murmured, “You’ve been avoiding me all week.”