Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova Read Free Book Online Page B

perfect he is. It’s like he can do no wrong. When we took a school-required test that’s supposed to tell you what you should be when you grow up, he got “President of the United States.” I got back an empty piece of paper, because they’d lost my results. And it bothers me even more because he always says he was born to be something great. He just knows it in his heart, and so does everyone who’s ever met him.
    Everyone who meets me likes me, sure, but I’ll never be suave like Angelo, and I’ll never be as smart as Ryan. I don’t even know what I’m going to do tomorrow, didn’t even know before my near-drowning. So I’ve got that going for me.
    â€œSo,” Ryan starts. “I was thinking of getting a group together and heading down to the Wreck. They’re having some end-of-the-world party all week long. Who’s down?” He looks at me eagerly.
    I’m not, but I say, “I’ll think about it. They gave me this prescription that makes me want to sleep.”
    Layla gives me a sideways glance, because she knows we weren’t at the hospital long enough for them to give me a prescription. “I just got a text from Maddy. She just invited me to the same thing.”
    â€œDude, I’m surprised she’s not here,” Jerry says. “She was pacing in front of your hospital room for like days. I only went the one time. It was so crowded. But she was definitely there a while.”
    â€œYeah, she was there when I went too,” Ryan adds.
    Layla’s quiet, arms crossed over her chest. She looks small, like she’s sinking into the couch. I get up from the floor and sit next to her. So does Jerry.
    â€œWhy’d you guys break up anyway?” Bertie asks. The whole room turns to look at me.
    â€œWhen I broke up with Rebecca—” Ryan starts, but Bertie has his hand up. “Hold up. No, man. We’ve already heard the Rebecca story a bajillion times.”
    I asked Maddy out three months ago. I think the pigtail braids did it for me. Plus, we were already friends. I don’t want to talk about me and Maddy. I don’t want to talk about it ever. I want to jump in some cold water. But they’re not going to let it drop until I at least say something.
    â€œShe’s nice and all, don’t get me wrong. But she wanted to be with me every single minute. She wanted to call me as soon as we got home from school and watch TV together over the phone . She waited by my locker. She waited in my lobby downstairs before school.”
    â€œDid she let you kiss her?” Bertie raises his thick black eyebrows and wiggles his head, giving him the effect of a cartoon bobblehead.
    â€œI mean, yeah?”
    â€œHow far did you guys go?” Bertie leans over Layla to ask me this.
    Layla’s body feels hot next to mine. I glance at her. I can’t say it. Not in front of her.
    â€œDon’t you dare say a word, Tristan Allen Hart,” she says, evoking my whole name as if it’s the ultimate command. Her eyes squint at me like she has lasers and they’re about to slice right through me. Oh god . I want to bang my head against the wall. I want to jump out the window. She knows. Of course, Maddy told her.
    The guys take it the wrong way. Even Wonder Ryan high-fives the other guys for me. I try to deny it, but they talk over me.
    â€œLook, she’ll get over it. It’s not like you’re going to be the only one.”
    â€œPlus, that friend of Samantha you made out with at the bonfire was ten times hotter than Maddy,” Jerry blurts out, emitting a round of manly man cheers.
    The bonfire. The night before the storm. The reason I was hungover the next day. I’m not a good drinker. I’ll have a beer and a half and be plastered. That’s why I don’t usually drink. I just nurse the same bottle the entire night and pretend like it’s always a new one. The Hot Mess that was