Chapter Six
As I stormed up to my bedroom, taking two stairs at a time, the only thought that kept running through my head was, I want to kill Logan Reynolds.
Granted, this thought was nothing new, as I wanted to kill Logan Reynolds on a regular basis. Like every time he spoke, or every time he breathed. But this time was different. This time I wanted to make his death intimate. I wanted to see the life drain out of his cold, hazel eyes as I slowly but steadily tightened my hands around his neck. I wanted him to beg for mercy, only to have me laugh in his face and tell him, “Sorry, I have no mercy left to give.” I wanted to be the last thing he saw before embarking on his journey of pitch black, eternal nothingness, and I wanted him to know that I was the one sending him packing.
It was bad enough he lied on that test. It was even worse that he didn’t show up for our “date”. But to try to hand me a twenty-dollar bill, as if that somehow made up for it all? The boy was an idiot. A heartless, arrogant moron. A douchebag of epic proportions.
And, not to mention, a spineless coward. Who goes to such great lengths to get their “sometimes-girlfriend” to break up with them? And doing it at the expense of somebody else, no less?
When I got to my room, I slammed the door behind me, and let out a cry of frustration.
Immediately, I dialed Chloe.
“Hola, chica!” answered a voice that was not Chloe’s, but Sophia’s. In the background, I could hear loud music and laughing.
I couldn’t help but feel a brief stab of jealousy in my gut. My two best friends were hundreds of miles away, having the time of their lives without me, while I was now stuck here all summer, pining after the romance that could have been but never would be.
“Hey, Soph,” I said, throwing myself onto my bed. “Why are you answering Chloe’s phone?”
She paused for a moment and giggled. “Oh gosh, this is Chloe’s phone, isn’t it? We must have switched again. Hey, Chloe!” Her voice was now muffled. “We switched phones again! Em’s calling you!”
“So, what’s up?” she said back into the phone.
“I found out who Number 7 was.”
Sophia gasped and whispered, “She found out who Number 7 was!”
“Omigod, who was it?” I could hear Chloe ask in the background.
I scowled up at the ceiling. “Logan,” I said through clenched teeth.
There was a long pause before Sophia said, “Logan who?”
“What do you mean, Logan who? Logan Reynolds.”
“What?!” the two girls exclaimed in unison.
“How is that possible?” Chloe said. “You two are the least compatible people we’ve ever met.”
I took a deep breath and told them the story about how Logan lied on the test and why. When I was done, they both sounded furious.
“What a jerk!” Sophia said. “That’s low, even for Logan.”
“Emma,” Chloe chimed in, “you need to come down here. You’ve got nothing holding you back now.”
“Not true,” I said. “Remember? My book collection?”
“Screw your book collection, girl!” Sophia said. “Chloe’s right! Get your butt down to Florida! We miss you. And besides, we met a group of three guys that are totally cute, and we’ve hung out with them a couple times. Chloe and I each have one picked out for ourselves, and the third boy, Max, would be perfect for you! He’s sweet, kind of shy, a bit of a nerd, but in a hot way—”
“Let me stop you right there,” I interjected. “Guys, I’m not coming down to Florida. I’d love to spend the summer with you two. I’d maybe even love to meet this Max guy. But it’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?” the girls asked in unison.
Because I’m terrified I’ll die in a fiery plane crash. “Because I’ve got other things to do.”
“Besides organizing your book collection, what other things do you have to do?” Chloe asked.
There was no good answer to that question, so I said, “Oh, my mom’s calling to me. I’ve got to let you go. Talk to you later?”
“But—” both girls started to say, but I hung up before they could say any more.
I heard a soft knock on my door before it opened slightly. I sat up to see my mom poking her head in.
“Hey, sweetie. What was that all about? What did Logan want?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled. I didn’t feel like telling the story again, so I didn’t.
“It didn’t seem like nothing.”
“He just came over to harass me, as usual,” I said.
Mom furrowed her brow. “Harass you about what?”
“Nothing, okay?” I snapped, feeling immediately bad about it. “Sorry, Mom, he put me in a bad mood and I don’t feel like talking about it right now.”
She studied me before saying, “Okay. I won’t pry.” She paused for a moment. “Your dad and I are leaving in a bit to go see some old friends. You can come with us if you’d like.”
“No thanks. I’ve got some things I wanted to do today.” Like murder Logan.
“The library?” Mom guessed with a smile. She knew me so well.
I returned her smile with a nod. “Yes, the library.”
“Well, have fun. We’ll be back before dinner. Call us if you need anything.”
I opened my mouth to tell her I would, but I was interrupted by my dad, who had suddenly appeared behind her.
“Hey, I found this twenty-dollar bill in the pool,” he said, holding it up for us to see. He looked right at me. “Know anything about this?”
“Oh, yeah. I think that’s mine.” I walked over and grabbed it from him. “I was using it for a bookmark and the wind must have blown it away when I wasn’t looking.”
Dad rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Sweetie, you shouldn’t be using money as a bookmark. If you need a new bookmark, I’ll buy you one.”
“Or, she can buy herself a new one with that twenty-dollar bill,” Mom quipped, and Dad nodded in agreement.
“Okay, well you two enjoy yourselves,” I said, ushering them out of my room once again. It seemed like I was having to do that on a daily basis now.
Once they were gone, I looked down at the soggy, chlorine-scented bill in my hand. It was dirty money. It was Logan’s money. But it was still money nonetheless and it would buy me a few new bookmarks. Or at least a couple books at the used bookstore downtown. All I had to do was throw it in the dryer for a little while and it would be as good as new.
And after it was dry, I was going shopping.