Chapter Twelve

Amelia's POV

For a moment, I couldn't believe my ears. Ray was staring at Jackie with her mouth in a big O, and Jackie was still looking at me with that annoying smirk.

My fists clenched.

"What did you just call me?" I demanded.

"Slut," she repeated, her smirk going wider. "I mean, we all know that's what you are. No point in getting mad about it. Elijah was what, the third guy in two months?

The fact that you're here must mean that he escaped your clutches."

I was trembling with rage now.

"How dare you—"

"Oh, please," Jackie scoffed. "Don't start acting all righteous now. Just try to be grateful that I still let you come here, and I might even think about letting you have a good time."

With that, she turned around and began to walk away. Like hell she got to do that.

She had not taken more than three steps when I caught up to her, grabbed her hair and pulled it with all my strength. She cried out in pain, clutching at her head as she tried to wriggle out of my grip. I dragged her to the pool's edge and shoved her in with a huge splash.

Then I dusted my hands and continued walking to the other end of the pool. Ray stood in shock for a moment, her eyes wide as dinner plates, because she went to help Jackie out of the water.

To my surprise, the other women were cheering when I reached them.

"You really put her in her place," one of them said.

"I'm probably going to get thrown out for the trouble," I replied with a sigh, turning to look back at Jackie.

"Nah, she'll get over it," another said. "You always did."

What did that mean? Was it Jackie's habit to get on Isabella's nerves? Well, of course it was. Like all mean girls, she was clearly the type to be mean to others just for the heck of it.

Just as they had said, Jackie did not confront me or anything. She just sat at a distance, giving me dagger looks. Ray stayed with her, but the other women didn't pay her any attention.

"So, sit down, Bella," one said. "Mandy and I were just talking about her upcoming bash."

Since there were two of them, it was clear which one was Mandy. I turned to her with a smile, glad to feel a little less lost.

"Are you throwing a party, Mandy?" I asked.

"Gosh, no!" she exclaimed. "Just a little something with you guys. I'm thinking a shopping trip."

"Shopping sounds nice," not-Mandy said.

"You're coming, right?" Mandy added.

"Uh… yeah," I replied.

"Yay," the other woman said. "It's about time you started hanging out with us again."

"Angela!" Mandy scolded. "You know what it means when she attends Jackie's hangouts!"

'Oh. So the other woman is named Angela,' I thought. 'I will keep that in mind. Wait, when I attend Jackie's hangouts?'

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I attended because Jackie invited me."

"Yeah…" Mandy said. "But we all know you don't get along with Jackie. None of us do, to be honest. We're just with her because our parents are friends with her parents and our social standing sort of benefits from it."

"The only time you're ever desperate enough to attend her hangouts is when you don't want to be alone," Angela added. "So, I'm guessing you broke up with Elijah."

"Angela!" Mandy whispered. Then she turned to me with an eager look on her face. "But wait, did you?"

"Yeah, give us the tea, girl!" Angela encouraged.

I laughed awkwardly.

"Maybe later," I said.

They looked ready to protest, but I was saved by Ray's arrival. She tapped my shoulder, and I turned to see a somber look on her face.

"Can we talk, Bella?" she said.

"Sure," I replied.

I stood up and we walked some distance away. From their place at the poolside, Mandy and Angela watched us curiously.

"What did you do that for, Bella?" Ray asked.

"Do what?" I replied.

"What you did. To Jackie. That wasn't nice at all."

Was this woman for real?

"What, because her calling me a slut was nice?" I retorted.

"You should know by now that that's just the way Jackie is. She never actually means any harm. Besides, it's kind of your fault too. You did steal Elijah from her."

It took all my strength to keep my jaw from dropping. I couldn't resist blurting out "what?!"

"What are you shocked about?" Ray snapped. "She clearly told us all that she was going to go after him. Hell, she introduced us to the guy and when we met to talk about how she was going to go about getting his attention, you suddenly announced that you were dating him already."

Wait a second, this was the first I was hearing of this. Isabella really should have told me that, at least. What the hell was wrong with her?!

Ray was still frowning at me, waiting for me to say something. I couldn't exactly tell that I didn't know about it. I had to save face somehow.

"Oh, please, it's not like he was her boyfriend yet or anything," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Besides, if he liked her, he wouldn't have fallen for me. Him falling for me shows that she never stood a chance in the first place."

"So what, you've dated him for less than three weeks and dumped him already?" she demanded.

"Hello? Are you implying that I should date him forever just because Jackie wanted him?" I retorted. "A girl is allowed to get bored."

Ray was giving me an odd look, as if I had suddenly changed color.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she said. "You're acting strange. You never used to attack Jackie before, or act so proud of hurting your friends."

Her voice dropped.

"Who the hell are you?"