Chloe’s phone pinged. Her first temptation was to hurl it across the room, but she managed to stop herself. Instead, she levered her head up from her tear-soaked pillow and glanced at the screen to see who the message was from.
Saima.
She threw the mobile facedown back on to the bed.
But soon, devastated as she was, curiosity got the better of her. Maybe Saima wanted to confess to making the whole story up. Perhaps she was about to admit that she was the one behind the nasty texts after all, and she’d only said what she had in an attempt to get away with it.
She flicked on the screen.
How are you?
Stupid question, Chloe thought, tossing the phone away again. She was awful, obviously. What did Saima expect? Her so-called best friend had been bad-mouthing her behind her back; it also looked like Holly had been the one sending those horrible messages all along.
Things certainly hadn’t gone to plan when she’d visited Saima’s house that morning. Having convinced herself that she was the one behind the texts, Chloe had expected her to crumble when she turned up – or at least to look awkward and embarrassed, thus confirming her suspicions. Instead, Saima had welcomed her with a big hug and invited her in without question. Her mum had been equally friendly, offering her a drink and a snack; saying how they’d missed having her around the house.
‘It’s really great to see you,’ Saima said once they were alone upstairs – not a hint of guilt showing in her warm smile. ‘I’ve missed you.’
Chloe was tempted to point out that they’d seen each other less than a week ago, on the last day of term, but she knew what Saima meant. They hadn’t really talked to each other or spent any time together in ages. Not since Chloe had got friendly with Holly, who’d convinced her that Saima was dull and immature. The three of them had hung around together for a short while at the start of the school year. But the ‘two’s company, three’s a crowd’ saying had turned out to be pretty accurate, with Saima being the one to pay the price. They’d ghosted her, effectively, until she got the message that she was no longer wanted. Things had culminated in that one big row and, until today, they’d barely spoken since then.
It was nasty. It was cruel. Chloe knew that, which was why she’d become so convinced that Saima had been the one sending the texts. She had every reason to want to hurt Chloe. What better revenge than this?
But as she asked Saima the question, instantly darkening the room, she already knew the answer.
It wasn’t her.
Saima wasn’t like that.
Like them.
Like Chloe and Holly.
She didn’t bear grudges. She just missed her best friend, which was why Chloe also knew she wasn’t lying when she told her what she’d heard. It made sense when you had all the facts.
Chloe had known Saima for years at primary school. Holly, on the other hand, had only come on to the scene when they’d started at Waterside High last September. And as close as they’d become in that time, Chloe knew that her friend had a vindictive streak. Unfortunately, she’d seen how calculated Holly could be in exacting revenge against those she considered to have ‘dissed’ her or let her down in some way. Chloe had seen her turn on girls she’d known for years, starting nasty rumours about them, for instance. In one especially memorable case, she’d put posters up around the village proclaiming that an ex-friend of hers was a ‘back-stabbing bitch’. Somehow, though, she had a persuasive way of making such actions seem normal – even justified – to those still on her side.
Now that Chloe had had her eyes opened, she realised that the nasty text messages had Holly’s fingerprints all over them. How had she not seen it sooner? Well, for one thing, she’d never before been on the receiving end of Holly’s wrath. Plus she hadn’t given away any clue about being annoyed with her.
Lying on her bed in the present, she picked up her phone. Saima had asked how she was doing.
C: Not great.
S: What are you going to do?
C: I’m not sure. I haven’t told her yet that I know.
S: I really am sorry. It sucks to be the messenger. I’m here for you. You know she’s a total bitch, right? That’s not you, Chloe. She just sucked you in with her BS.
This last comment surprised Chloe a little. It served as a reminder that Saima had a lot more going for her than Holly would like people to think. She was whip-smart and had a real edge to her personality that she only shared with those who knew her best. Her judgment was usually spot-on.
But Chloe needed to talk to someone else about it: someone, unlike Saima, who wasn’t twisted up in the whole nasty mess.
Curiously, there was one person who immediately sprang to mind: Elliot.