The Perfect First (Fulton U, #1)(81)

My bow ran across the strings. Closing my eyes, I swayed along to the melody I’d played a thousand times before, still feeling it deep in my bones. This story of love lost was real now. Before they’d been finger positions on my strings; now they were notes on my soul. I poured myself into the rhythm and melody, trying to keep myself together. I was fraying more and more every day, but it was showing me that I could stand up to the pressure. I wasn’t going to Boston next year. I’d stay in Philly even if I was all alone. I’d made a life for myself, and even though it had fallen apart, I could do it again. It wouldn’t be the same.

There would always be two parts of my life: BR and AR. After Reece would be a little less bright, but I could do it. I’d go to Boston and tell my mom exactly what I planned on doing. Maybe I’d bring Aunt Sophie as backup. My mom didn’t have to live under the iron grip of my dad either.

He didn’t deserve another word from me or a single thought, but I’d do everything I could to get my mom to see the same went for her. We should both be free.

My bedroom door flew open. I jumped, spinning around.

“I’m home now.” Alexa stood in the doorway with her hand on the knob, closing the door.

I lifted the violin back to my shoulder.

“Didn’t you hear me?” She opened the door fully.

“I heard you, I just don’t care.” I was tired of caving to bullies.

“You could be a bit more respectful. We do live together.”

I put my violin on the bed and turned.

She seemed to take that as me giving in to her and closed the door.

I flung it open, and it slammed into the wall as I stormed out into the hallway.

“You’re a vile person who can only feel better about yourself when you’re belittling other people. You don’t talk to friends like that.” The tension had been building for the past four months and there was no stopping it now.

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at me. “At least I have friends.”

“Do you? It seems to me they all fled the country to get away from you. All you do is browbeat Dan and act like a nuclear bitch to me. All I ever wanted to be was your friend.”

“You came in here with your violin and your fucking librarian clothes, and I see the way you look at Dan.”

I stared at her and it finally clicked. “You’re jealous.”

“Hell no.”

“Wow, you’re actually jealous of me. All this time I thought maybe that was just a personality quirk, but you’re actually jealous of me.” It was stupid that this hadn’t even occurred to me as a possibility before now, but when had I ever been around mean girls before? Living with Alexa was a crash course in hierarchical female dynamics. Her nostrils flared.

The front door opened and Dan stepped in. His gaze bounced from me to her.

“Are you going to let her talk to me like this, Dan?” She turned around, staring at him.

Dan stepped back with a box of pizza in his hands. “Seph?”

“Stop calling her that. Her name’s Persephone.”

“My friends call me Seph.” I stepped closer. There was no backing down this time. Semester break was in a few days, and I wasn’t going to let her stomp all over me anymore and treat me like shit. It was her or me, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me to back down first. Next semester would be wicked witch free.

“Oh, so you two are friends now?” She glared at me. “You’re trying to steal him from me.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t want Dan—no offense.”

He shrugged.

“But neither do you, right?” Her late-night shirtless sleepover buddies didn’t exactly scream, I’m in a serious and committed relationship.

Her face dropped and her gaze darted from me to Dan. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said through gritted teeth.

“What?” He dropped the pizza box on the counter and stepped beside her. “What’s she talking about?”

“He deserves to know. It’s the least you can do to prove you’re not a completely horrible person.” It was like cauterizing a wound. This would hurt, and Dan seemed so sweet; I didn’t want to inflict this on him, but he had a right to know.

“It’s none of your business.” She seethed at me like a snake eyeing up its prey, but I wasn’t scared of her anymore.

“What’s none of her business? What did you do, Alexa?” His voice pitched up and tears glistened in his eyes. Not how I wanted this to go down, but it was better it happened now versus later, and how quickly he jumped from the one thing I’d said to accusing her let me know this wasn’t out of the blue.

“It was nothing…just a mistake I made.” She turned and ran her hands over his chest.

Dan stepped back, staring at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “A mistake. Another one.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “You promised it would never happen again.” His voice cracked.

“You just had to stick your nose into my business.” Alexa turned on me, spitting her venom like I’d called that guy over to the apartment and made her do whatever she’d done with him.

I shrugged. “I guess I did, because I’m sick and tired of people like you railroading good people because they are too nice and put up with your shitty behavior.”