The Clique (27 page)

              Kate scoots away from Maddie.

              Aude has a more adverse reaction. She throws her hands up, declares “I can’t take this!” and storms back into Hannah’s house.

              After one last glance at her remaining friend and the traitor, Kate follows her. “Aude, wait!”

              Water drips off Aude; her breath comes quickly, in short gasps. “I—she was our friend. How could she?”

              Kate takes her friend’s arm. “Come on, let’s go outside.” She leads Aude out Hannah’s front door, onto the red stone path. “Breathe, Aude. In—out. Okay, one more time. Are you okay?”

              Aude shakes her head. “I don’t know. I feel like my life’s crumbling. My dad hates me, Gabe doesn’t love me anymore, and now Maddie…“

              “Hey, you still have me. And you still have yourself. I mean, you’re Audrey Hughes. You know what the best friend I know would do? She’d say ‘fuck it’ and have a good time anyway. Well—“ she laughs “—maybe she wouldn’t say fuck.”

              A weak smile finds its way to Aude’s face. “Yeah, I like that idea… Let’s go for a drive.”

              “Okay, that sounds like a good idea.”

              Aude grabs her keys from inside, and they climb into her SUV, with gravel stuck to the soles of their feet and hot tub water dripping from their bikinis.

              “Well, I guess we understand why Devon was doing everything now,” Kate says, watching Aude for a reaction.

              “I don’t
want
to understand,” Aude whispers. “I don’t want to think about it right now.”

              “Okay. Let’s not think about it, then.”

              “So...” Aude turns to face the steering wheel. “Where to?”

              “Doesn’t matter.” Kate rolls her window down. “Just drive.”

              Aude takes off. The wind whips in both of their faces. The refreshing air, stars in the sky, crunching sound of tires rolling on asphalt… All the drama, relationships, mind games, do they really matter?

Who cares if Kate’s as good as Aude? They can both be imperfect together. Kate sticks her head out the window and yawps.

              “What are you doing?”

              “I’m yawping, like Mr. Silveris taught us.” Kate pulls her head back into the car, grinning like a madwoman. “You should try it!”

              Aude grins. “Okay.” She leans her head out the window, and they yawp together.

Aude gestures for Gabe to join her in the hall. He gets up from his desk just as the advisory bell rings; all the other students find their classrooms.

              Gabe shuts the door. “Hey.”

              “Hey.” Aude searches his face for something, anything to make this decision either.
He cheated!
One part of her screams. The other,
but he admitted it.
“I know we haven’t talked in a few days…“

              “Yeah. Look, I get if you wanna dump me.” He sighs. “I fucked up. And I let the pressure get to me. I should have realized that sex with anyone else could never be as good as a single night hanging out with you.”

              Aude tries to scowl, but can’t manage to do it. “Why does this have to be so difficult? I want to hate you, Gabe. I really do. You can be such a jerk sometimes.”

              “I know,” Gabe replies quietly.

              “But I can’t. I tried to make myself hate you, I talked myself into breaking up with you, and—here I am. Can you just make this easier on me?” She takes a shaking breath. “Tell me you’ll only cheat again if I forgive you. Tell me that you only pretended to like me so that you could hook up with me. Tell me—tell me that I was never anything but one of those hundred girls you talked about last week.”

              Gabe nods his head. “Okay. If you forgive me, I’ll cheat on you. I’ll love another girl, maybe several others—our daughters. I pretended to only like you. In reality, I love you with all my heart. To me, you’re one of those hundred girls. You’re
the
one out of those hundred girls. Aude, I love you, and I promise to never hurt you again.”

              A lump rises in Aude’s throat. “If you ever cheat on me again—“

              “I won’t,” Gabe finishes. “I won’t ever let anyone twist my head like that, not again.” He takes a step forward and pulls Aude into a hug.

              Aude thinks for a long moment. “Maddie told me that Devon manipulated you and Amanda into doing what you did. I know you didn’t mean it.”

              Gabe leans back, a smile of relief on his face. “Great!”

              “I know you didn’t mean it, but I also can’t pretend it didn’t happen. I don’t think things can go back to the way they were. Not after this.”

              “Oh.” Gabe frowns. “So you’re—breaking up with me?”

              The question catches Aude off guard. She pauses for a moment, then nods. “Yeah, I guess I am. I’m sorry Gabe, but I just can’t forgive you.”

              “No, I can’t accept that.”

              Aude pulls out of the hug. “This isn’t your choice. You can choose to stay friends, or if not—I guess we can go our separate ways.”

              Gabe’s jaw tightens. “You and me, babe, we’re too dynamic to break up. Come on, give me one more shot. I forgave you.”

              “Yeah, I remember. But this is different.” She nods to herself. “I really wanna stay friends... I’ll see you around?”

             
“Okay,” Gabe whispers. They reenter the classroom. Aude ignores Devon staring at her, except to imagine kicking him in the groin. She sits near the door, half-heartedly texting on her phone until the end of Advisory.

              At lunch, she gets Maddie to send a message to Devon, asking to talk in the parking lot after school. “If this was really all caused by his crush on me, I think he deserves to have that crush—crushed.” Aude’s next hours move along slowly, like the world outside her mind is set to half-speed.

              Finally, school ends. Instead of heading to Student Council, Aude finds Devon in the parking lot. Dozens of students walk around them, a crowd of familiar and unfamiliar faces.

              Aude taps Devon on the shoulder. He turns around. “Audrey?”

              “Uh huh. Maddie isn’t coming. She told us everything.”

              “She—sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

              “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

              “I do?” Devon raises an eyebrow, but Aude can see through his fake confusion.

              “Yup.” Aude fixes him with her most withering glare. “And I just wanted to tell you what I think of you. You’re despicable, the worst person I’ve ever met. I mean, how fucked up do you have to be—to manipulate people like little toys!” A few students look at her in surprise, and one says “oh damn!”

              All color drains from Devon’s face. “I just wanted to—“

              “To destroy my life! Well, guess what? You failed! I’m still best friends with Kate, Gabe apologized, and we’ll forgive Maddie, after a while. Yeah, you managed to get my dad to insult me, and my sister to fight with him, but we’ll figure it out. We’ll be a stronger family because of it. You didn’t account for any of
that
, did you?”

              Devon glances sideways, and when he looks back there’s a horrible smirk on his face. “You’re right, I didn’t account for your stupidity. You’d have to be a moron to forgive Maddie, Gabe, your father. Maddie’s proven she’ll always put her own desires ahead of her friends’. You can forgive her for that?”

              Aude nods.

              “And Gabe? All it took was a girl willing to flirt with him, and he forgot all about you. But you’ll forgive him too?”

              Aude nods again.

              Devon laughs. “You’ll forgive your father too? Oh, my dear Audrey, there’s a difference between forgiveness and foolhardiness. I guess you missed that lesson. Or are you so weak that you need to keep your life the way it is, no matter how much your family and supposed friends hurt you?”

              “This isn’t weakness. It’s compassion. I’m making the choice to see things from their perspective, and I understand why my dad, Kate, and Maddie—and even Gabe—did the things they did.”

              Devon cocks his head, the smirk still twisting his features. “Then why don’t you forgive me?”

              Aude shakes her head. “I can’t. Because I understand you—yes, I do. And you know the difference between you and my friends? They were sorry, truly sorry, and in the end they just wanted forgiveness. But you were only interested in tearing me down. So no, I don’t forgive you.” She pushes through the mass of kids—several of whom have noticeably slowed—and finds her car.

*              *              *

              One by one, Aude and her friends show up to Kate’s house.

              “Ugh, fuck school.”

              “Maddie! Language!” Audrey twists to look Maddie in the eye. She secures a lock of hair behind her ear.

              “Sorry.” Maddie doesn’t look the least bit sheepish. “But, seriously, wouldn’t life be simpler without having to deal with a-holes like Devon?”

              “For sure,” Kate chimes in. “I hope he gets expelled.”

              “Yeah, that would be nice,” Audrey agrees. “No one trying to screw with us, split us apart.” She sighs. “You guys realize that it isn’t even freaking Halloween yet?”

              “I know.” Kate laughs. “I guess having a psycho stalker try to mess up your life makes the year go slower. Who knew?” She frowns at Hannah. “Are you gonna get something?”

              “Yeah. I was gonna get a popsicle. Is that cool?”

              “Sure. You remember where they are?”

              “Yup.”

Maddie’s father steps out of the Principal’s office. “Come on, let’s go home.”

              “Alright.” Maddie stands up from the chair where she’s been awaiting the verdict. As they leave the main office, she says, “So…?”

              “So.” He sighs. “That friend of yours must have some connections. The Principal isn’t going to expel him.”

              “He’s just going to get away? That isn’t fair!” Maddie stops walking to look at her father.

              “Hold on, he isn’t going to get away. He may have connections, but I made a pretty solid case. He’s going to be suspended for a month.” Maddie’s dad shrugs. “It’s probably the longest suspension in the school’s history, and it’s about as much as the Principal can do without expelling him. But, look, Maddie…”

              “Yeah?”

              “There are other ways to go about this, if you really want to be free of him. With what you told me about the ladybug thing and everything else that he’s done, I bet we could get a restraining order.”

              Maddie pushes the glass door leading to the front courtyard. Someone pushes past her, heading toward the parking lot. He isn’t running, but walking quickly and focusing on the ground. It’s Devon, looking less like a devil and more like a sorry little boy. “I think that’s okay,” she says. “I think he’s learned his lesson.”

              Her father nods. “I think so, too. But if he ever gives you any problems, I just wanted you to know that it’s an option.”

              “No, I don’t think he’ll give us any more problems.” Maddie smiles. “He should have known better than to mess with us.”

              “There’s something else, too. The Patriots. I’m sorry, Maddie, but you’re off the team. And Amanda’s going to get her position as class president back.”

              “Oh, yeah…” She sighs. “That’s okay. I don’t need any of that. As long as I have my friends.”

              Maddie’s dad unlocks the door to his car. “Have you heard from your mother? Since—you know?”

              “No, I haven’t. But… I have you.” Maddie pulls the passenger door open. “And you’re good enough for me.”

              “Good. I’m glad.” They sit in the seats and Maddie closes her door. Her dad looks at her, smiling. “You should never have to waste time chasing someone who doesn’t love you back. No matter who that person is. When your mom remembers how amazing you are, I’m sure she’ll be in touch. And until then—until then, I plan to love you enough for both of us.”