| |
Zach
“Well, look who’s barking up my tree. First, it’s Miss Goody Two Shoes and now it’s you. What do you want, Zach?”
I tried to keep calm, but the alcohol was starting to cloud my judgment. “I thought we agreed that you’d stay away from her. When did that change?”
“It didn’t. She came to me.”
That didn’t sound right, but I wasn’t going to argue with her. “What did you talk to her about?”
“I guess she asked you about the video. If you really want to know what we talked about, go ask her.”
My body was swaying and I stopped myself. Was I already drunk? There was a time I could drink half a bottle of booze and still take an exam the next day. I’d be reeking of alcohol, but I could pull it off. “How about you just tell me.”
A long pause and I swear she was smiling on the other end. “I bet she wanted to know what’s on it. Did you lie to her?”
“Just tell me what you told her!” I yelled at her, completely losing my cool.
She laughed like the bitch she was. “For you to be calling me, some major shit went down. She saw it, didn’t she? You’re so fucked, aren’t you? She dumped your sorry ass?”
“Bianca, you’re starting to really piss me off.”
“Oh no,” she said, faux concern dripping from her. “I’m upsetting you. I’m so sorry. No. Wait. I’m not sorry at all. Live by the sword, die by the sword, right, Zachy?”
I took another gulp of my drink. “This is what you’re going to do. You’re going to call Emma and you’re going to fix this. You’re going to tell her that she should let it go. For us all to get on with our lives.”
More laughter. “Uh, how about no. You see, you no longer call the shots. Here’s the thing, asshole. Two years ago, when I begged you to get rid of that video, you pretended it didn’t exist. You promised me you deleted it. I knew you were lying to me, but what could I do? And then once this girl came into your life, boom, the video resurfaces. How shocking! You’ve been holding it over me for so long. Do you have any idea what that feels like?”
I swallowed hard. “Call her, Bianca.”
“Fuck you, Zach.”
“Then I release it.” An empty lie, but what did she know?
“Then kiss Little Miss Perfect goodbye because she’ll dump you. Her high morals and sanctity will prevent her from wanting anything to do with you.”
“She hates you. She won’t care.”
“I seriously doubt that. Poor Zach, what’s it feel like being on the losing side for once?”
“Stop screwing around. I can still ruin your life.”
“You know what, go ahead. Release it,” she said, calling my bluff. “What more could happen to me? Make sure to tell your friends first, because I’m going to out every last one of them. And even if you edited yourself out—which right about now, I highly doubt that you did—I’m going to out you too. And Emma? Gone forever. Do you want to take your chances?”
How the tables had turned. I got up, stumbled a few steps and made my way to the kitchen. I steadied myself and poured another drink. “What do you want, Bianca?”
“Want? Nothing.”
“Everyone wants something.”
“Now you want to negotiate? You think anything I say to Emma will help you? You’re pathetic. She thinks you’re a saint . . . no, she thought you were a saint, but now she sees the real Zach Walker. The one I know so well. You can hide what you were and pretend to be something you’re not, but the stink always rises to the top. Sucks to be you right now, doesn’t it?”
“Like I said, what do you want?”
“I want your life to be ruined just like mine was, and the great part is that I don’t need to do anything. You’ve done it all by yourself.”
“I can fix things for you, fix things with Jake.”
She laughed again, but now it was more of a cackle. “What have you been drinking? I’m past all that. I’m putting my life back together. I will tell you one thing: this is the best call I’ve had in over a year. Thanks for the entertainment. By the way, lose my number.”
She hung up.
And that’s when all that I’d done and drank hit me at once. I made it the bathroom just in time. On my knees, praying to the porcelain god, I knew I’d run out of options. I sat up, bile still burning in my throat and for once I was all out of ideas. I had a contingency plan for everything, but not this time. I was fucked. I pulled myself up, deciding to ditch the booze for the evening when I heard the ping of my phone. I ran over, praying it was Emma.
Genie: What is going on?
Genie. At least I still had her.