Lovely Girls(30)

“You are a fucking pervert,” Daphne finally said. But she didn’t sound quite so sure of herself as she had before.

“You had sex with Coach?” Shae asked.

“Shut up, Shae!” Daphne hissed at her.

I looked at Callie. She’d gone silent and so pale, it was as though all of the color had drained from her face, her lips, even the tips of her ears. She was staring at the video, which had reached the end and then started over again. Daphne and Coach having sex on an endless loop.

Callie finally asked, “When?”

“It’s none of your business,” Daphne said. She looked around at all of us, almost defiantly.

“When did it happen?” Callie crossed her arms, and she looked like she was about to cry.

Daphne didn’t seem to care that her friend was upset. She actually laughed and said, “Oh, Cee. You didn’t seriously think he was interested in you, did you?”

And then suddenly, Callie was furious. Her eyes narrowed, and she clenched her hands into fists. She took a step toward Daphne, and for a moment, I thought she was going to punch her. But instead, Callie said, “You don’t know him at all. You just think you do. But to him, you’re just a stupid girl he can use and then discard when he gets tired of you.”

Which was a weird thing to say, right? But while I was trying to process what Callie meant by that, Daphne suddenly turned toward me and swatted my phone out of my hands. It skidded across the tiles, spinning across the floor until it came to a stop near Shae’s sneakered feet. The screen had cracked, but the video of Daphne and Coach was still playing through the fragmented glass.

Daphne took a step forward, and before I could stop her, before I could say a word, she lifted her foot up and stomped it onto my phone, breaking it.

The video stopped playing.

But Daphne wasn’t done.

She stomped on my phone again, and again, and again, until pieces of plastic and glass lay strewn across the cold tile floor. Finally, when she was done, Daphne looked up at me. Her eyes were weirdly bright, and her lips were twisted.

Daphne said, “Oops. Looks like you broke your phone.”

And then the three of them turned and left, without saying another word.

Alex shook her head and pressed her hands against her face.

I don’t know what’s going to happen now. But I’m pretty sure Daphne will be out for blood.





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN




* * *





KATE

“Kate!”

I was standing in my driveway, unloading groceries from the back of my SUV, and turned at the sound of my name. Lita Gruen, my next-door neighbor, was picking her way across the lawn toward me, wearing a faded oversize T-shirt over black leggings. She tried—and failed—to skirt around the automatic sprinklers watering my grass.

“Hi, Lita,” I said. “Your pants are getting soaked.”

Lita waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll dry. Besides, it’s so hot out the water feels good.”

“I know what you mean. I think this is the hottest day we’ve had since we moved here.” I glanced at my groceries, which included ice cream that was probably already melting. It was late afternoon, and the sun was intense and the air thick with humidity. I hoped Lita wasn’t planning on an extended conversation.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you. Ever since I saw you leaving the yoga studio the other day with Genevieve.”

“Oh?” I tensed, bracing myself for whatever Lita was about to say.

I already knew Lita hated Genevieve, and I really didn’t want to get into another discussion about it with her. It all seemed so silly and juvenile, as though high school never really ended and no one ever really grew up. Sure, there were some things I’d learned about Genevieve that concerned me, but I also didn’t trust Lita’s motives.

“I guess you didn’t heed my warning,” Lita said.

I blinked, wondering at her ominous choice of words. Heed her warning?

“Look, Lita.” I sighed. “Genevieve is a friend. I know the two of you don’t get along, but that doesn’t make her a bad person.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Lita agreed. “The fact that she’s an evil bitch makes her a bad person.”

I started pulling grocery bags out of my car and then reached up to slam the tailgate shut. Joe’s words came back to me, warning me about Genevieve’s history of getting into conflict with people.

“I feel really uncomfortable talking about this further. Like I said, Genevieve is a friend. I don’t want to get in the middle of whatever disagreement you have with her.”

Lita glowered and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She suddenly looked almost menacing and even a little crazy. Her hair was sticking up, as if she hadn’t bothered to brush it, and there was a smear of toothpaste on her T-shirt.

“You don’t know the whole story. How could you? You’re new here.”

“Which is why I really don’t want to be mixed up in drama that has nothing to do with me.”

Lita let out a barking laugh. “You think I’m the one causing drama?”

“No, I’m not saying that,” I said, trying to pacify her. The last thing I needed was to have my next-door neighbor hate me as much as she hated my friends. It would make block parties awkward. “I just don’t want to get involved.”