Later that night, I ate dinner with my mom as I secretly freaked about what to tell Evan. He was a cheater, and I knew he wanted to get back at Sasha by using me. That was so obvious. But how long did he plan on doing this to get at her? And how could I avoid being involved?
Sasha hated me enough as it is. I didn't need to give her any more reasons or tempt her into posting the "receipts" she claimed she had. I had to figure out some way of getting away from them all.
"Hazel?" I heard.
I wasn't listening to my mom the whole time. My head snapped up.
"Sorry," I signed.
"You all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"You're not listening to what I'm saying."
"You want to have Jared come over and have us all spend some time together one of these nights," I signed, the only thing that filtered through my deaf ears.
"I guess you were listening," she said and laughed. "Yeah, I'm still thinking about it and him. I want to ensure he's a good guy before inviting him over to spend more time with us."
"Sure," I signed and had nothing else to say.
Once dinner was over, I went upstairs to finish the rest of my homework.
Stop thinking about Evan! I angrily scolded myself. My mind, though, had plans of its own and gave up on the pointless problems on the sheet.
I tried taking a break and scrolling through my Instagram feed when an unknown number interrupted a video I was watching. I opened the message, which read:
Unknown Number
hey... is this Hazel?
Me
who is this?
Unknown Number
it's Grey.
Whoa. That's not who I was expecting.
Me
What could you guys possibly want from me now?
Grey
hey chill it's just me. How are you?
I rolled my eyes. As if I would genuinely believe Grey was there on his own and Sasha wasn't hovering over his shoulder.
Me
yeah right. How'd you get my number and what do you want?
Grey
I got your number from Gabe. And I heard Evan asked you out. I don't think it'll be best for you to date him, in my personal opinion...
Gabe, dang it! He was so far down on my friends' list he was more of an acquaintance than anything. I didn't know him enough even to know he had some connection to Grey.
He should've at least asked me first before giving out my number.
Me
why didn't you get it from him and not Sasha since she claims she and I text?
Grey
As I said, Sasha is not involved in this conversation with you and I want to keep it that way. Anyway like I said, I don't think it's a good idea for you to date Evan.
Me
Why's that?
Grey
you saw what he did to Sasha and me. If he's okay with cheating, he'd most likely be okay doing the same thing to you.
He was right, and I wasn't stupid. I didn't want to date Evan. I didn't want to be a part of the drama I had gotten sucked into.
Grey
Besides warning you about him, I have a question for you, Hazel, and I'd really like it if you answered honestly.
My heart sped up in my chest the minute my eyes soaked in those words. A question? About what?! And why should I answer? Who did he think he was?
Me
you haven't exactly been nice to me. Why should I answer anything?
Grey
that day your friends wouldn't let me talk to you, I was coming to see if you were okay.
Me
why would I believe you? You're dating Sasha. She's actively trying to make my life miserable. My friends have to escort me around to you guys away from me. She literally came up to me after class and tried to film me signing sorry to her for whatever twisted game she's playing. She lied and said I messaged her when I don't even have her phone number! I could bet your mansion that if you saw the fake number on her phone that she claims is me, you would see what a liar she is. So I'm going to ask you this nicely, leave me alone. Thanks, and have a good night.
Grey
OK, I'll ask her about it.
Me
Fine. I'll be waiting.
He didn't respond to me for the rest of the night. I stopped checking my phone, achingly hoping for a response from him. Even if he did find out the truth, why would he tell me and not protect her?
***
Sasha stopped me in the middle of the hallway at school the next day before homeroom, a fake smile on her face. "Can I speak with you real quick, Hazel?"
Blake looked at me for my approval or rejection. I hesitated.
I sent screenshots of my messages between Grey and me to our group chat. My friends were all uneasy for me and said it would take a miracle for Sasha to apologize if Grey called her out. Now that she was here, I didn't know if I should take the chance to see if I'd be getting my apology or if she'd have something else up her sleeve.
"I'll see what she wants," I signed.
"All right, I'll be here," Blake said pointedly and shot a cool gaze toward Sasha.
We walked a few feet away from him before she sighed in a way where I could tell she felt this was all beneath her. "So, no, I'm not going to say that this was all due to jealously or anger, as Grey suggested," she said, "but I will say that you apologized and that we're good friends, which is why I didn't post the pictures. Deal? It's the least I could do for reading that humiliating poem out loud." She wasn't genuine at all. It disgusted me.
This was no apology. This was an attempt to keep her reputation and Grey under her fingers. I walked away from her as she called after me again.
I pulled up my text exchange with Grey and sent, so that's it? Sasha gets to continue lying and make it as I apologized, and that's what she plans to tell everyone? Give me a break. Don't ever text me or talk to me again.
I walked into Homeroom, seething. Blake and I sat down as Ana looked at us with wide eyes. "What's the matter?" she asked.
I explained to her what happened and then told them both about the exchange Sasha and I had.
"She's so annoying!" Ana exclaimed. "She picked the right one. I would've smacked the blond out of her by now. You're too sweet of a person."
Well, I felt that sweetness running thin.
YOU ARE READING
Little Sweet Dreamer - Wattys Edition
Teen Fiction"Oh," he said, as my back hit the wooden wall. Damn it, of course. With nowhere to go, his arms locked me in between him and the wall. He stared down at me as he said, "So you're trying to piss me off?" His lips were surprisingly close to mine. No g...
