Free Falling Awake by T.A Richards Neville Page B

to be free to fool around with me whenever he pleases,” she said bitchily, then tossed her hair back with a triumphant smile on her face. I was paralyzed by her words. How did she know Caleb only wanted to be friends? She had to have seen him. No the wonder he was avoiding me. And who said anything about winning anyone? Did she honestly think we were in competition here?
      “Is that so?” Mellissa asked. “Then how come your over here looking for him if you’ve been fooling around with him so much huh? How come he didn’t invite you to the bonfire huh? And how come he left you to catch a ride with us the other night while he took Pria home and stayed the night with her huh?” Mellissa was standing now, her hands turning the same shade of white as the table as she gripped it tightly. She was the feisty one out of the two of us and right now, I could tell she was poised for a fight.
      “Screw you,” Tamara said sulkily, and flounced out of the cafeteria, the double doors banging closed behind her.
      “Did you have to tell her he stayed the night with me?” I asked, wishing she hadn’t dropped that big fat lie to the biggest gossip in school.
      “Relax. I don’t think it’s something she’s going to want to spread around, do you? I wish you could have seen the look on her face when Caleb blew her out for you. It was priceless. I was more than happy having no choice but to look at it all the way home.”
      “I guess not,” I said under my breath. I couldn’t believe Caleb had been seeing her after he lied to my face telling me he had nothing to do with her. We’d come so far from when we first met. I mean sure, we were only friends but It was a whole lot more than what we were before. And he could call us friends as much as he wanted, but I had really thought that like me, he felt so much more than that. Well at least I knew where I stood now and that he really was fooling around with other people.
      “She’s lying,” Mellissa said, picking up on my change of mood.
      “The only fooling around she’s been doing is in her head. Drake would have told me otherwise.” I guess he would have. Him and Mellissa were pretty close now, but he was also Caleb’s friend and wasn’t it bro’s before ho’s? Anyway, she was right; Caleb and I were just friends, so that left him free to see whomever he wanted. I just wished it wasn’t her. I wished it wasn’t anybody. I was sinking fast into another jealous rage and I really didn’t like this side of me.
      My phone buzzed across the table.
      Come to the bonfire with me tonight? Love R x
    My eyebrows shot up to where Mellissa sat looking at me expectantly. “Is that Ressler?” she asked, leaning forward trying to her best to read the message.
      “You gave him my number?” I glowered at her. She was fast becoming accustomed to handing out my details without asking me first.
      “What?” She threw her hands up defensively. “He’s hot. Not that you would remember. But believe me I approve, and he really likes you.” Hot or not, I couldn’t see myself getting involved with anyone other than Caleb. I’d had fun with Ressler, but that was all it was, fun. I ignored the message and shoved the phone into my bag.
      “He’s going to be there anyway,” Mellissa said, getting up and following me out of the cafeteria into the hallway.
      “Have you ever even wondered where the three of them have just suddenly turned up from?” I asked her, stopping at my locker. She drew her eyebrows together as she thought about what I asked.
      “No,” she said eventually. “Drake said he was from out of town and just sort of ended up here in passing.” I dumped my bag into my locker.
    “So where out of town is he from?” I quizzed her, hoping she would soon catch on to how strange them being here was. I mean, it’s not like they’re just tourists. Caleb had enrolled in school and found a job. That’s not just passing through. It wasn’t like