The Fine Art of Pretending by Rachel Harris

Author:Rachel Harris [Harris, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Fine Art of Pretending
ISBN: 9781939392275
Published: 2014-09-30T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty minutes later, Gabi finds me curled on the bench.

“Hey, girl, I’ve been looking for—” She stops, takes in my blubbering face, red eyes, and runny nose, and says, “I’ll be right back with Kara!”

Gabi has never been good with emotional stuff. I drag my fingertips beneath my eyes and grimace at the thick coat of black I wipe off. The double doors open, and Gabi reappears, only this time with the entire freaking cavalry in tow. Kara and Sarah fall around me, each grabbing a hand, as their respective dates huddle near the wall, looking completely out of their element. The door opens a third time, and Carlos and Justin join the party.

Fantastic.

I don’t have to say much—the fact that I’m bawling like a baby and Brandon is nowhere in sight makes the situation quite obvious.

Still, Carlos asks, “Where’s Brandon?” Gabi shoots him a death glare and slaps his arm. “What the hell, woman?”

Ignoring him, she pushes my feet off the bench, tugs me up, and then slides in on one side as Kara takes the other. Wrapping me in a three-way hug, Gabi declares, “Men are idiots.”

I sniff and look at the crowd standing around awkwardly, more than half of which are guys. Drew lifts his chin in consolation.

Kill me now.

Sarah kneels down, leaning her head against my lap. “Are you okay? Gabi’s right, boys are stupid.” She glances back at her boyfriend and clarifies, “Not you, honey. Brandon. What is his deal? He ignores the obvious for years, finally wises up, and then–” She turns to me and asks, “Wait, what did he do exactly?”

Kara hands me a ball of wadded-up toilet paper, and I drag it across my eyes. “Nothing. We broke up. It was mutual.”

The looks on their faces confirm that nobody is buying the pre-canned line.

Sarah pats my hand. “Aly, don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.”

Gabi rolls her eyes, and I struggle not to do the same. Sarah means well, but being consoled by someone completely in love? It doesn’t help. And Drew tugging on his ear, mumbling condolences, really doesn’t help. Without a doubt, Brandon is going to hear all about my sob-fest now. Drew’s a sweetheart, but keeping his mouth shut isn’t one of his strengths.

I hear the gym doors open yet again, and I just know who it’s going to be. In case I hadn’t gotten the message, the universe thought she’d stick it to me one more time. And that comes in the form of Lauren.

From the expression on her face, I can tell she didn’t know we were there. For once, she doesn’t look plastic or haughty. The confidence I’ve grown to expect from her and all the other Casuals is noticeably absent, replaced with slumped shoulders and a downcast gaze. For about a nanosecond, I see a girl who appears just as lost and sad as I do. Exhaustion radiates from her being.

But then, registering her audience, the old Lauren returns. Shoulders snapping back, she lifts her chin as her sharp eyes take in my balled tissue and emergency response crew.

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