Queen of Diamonds

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

"Derek, wait!" I called as he ran out of the maze garden. Never in my wildest nightmares would I have thought that Derek would witness my first kiss with Andrew. Or that our first kiss would be tonight. Yikes, Ava. So much for worrying about Richy knowing that Derek and I had kissed. This disaster trumps that by a thousand.

I fumbled my way out of the garden but Derek was out of sight. Damn. He couldn't have gotten far. I just needed to find a white suit in this wonderland turned hell fire. I went to take a step to pursue my doom but a hand grabbed my arm. I so did not have time for Andrew right now, not that this was his fault per say, but I didn't have time to coddle him.

"How long has that been going on?" Derek asked whirling me around. I expected to see a tousled bronze haired boy but instead I was met with Derek's liquid hazel eyes.

"He just kissed me for the first time, I swear," I replied, breathless and frantic.

"Don't lie," he shot back. "You expect me to believe he just kissed you for the first time out of nowhere tonight?" he scoffed.

"I'm not lying!" I yelped in pain as if I had just stubbed my pinky toe on a really sharp dresser corner. "We were just playing the part," I lamely added hoping to bring a little lightness to the abysmal black pit that was my life right now.

"You've been playing a lot of parts lately, huh?" he grunted, pacing around in circles, digging a hole into the ground. Maybe if the hole was deep enough I could crawl into it and escape.

"Hey, don't get all high and mighty on me," I rebutted. "You've been shady all summer running around with the richies at a desperate attempt for a new life." Now I was being harsh to the person I just hurt. There's just been so much emotions and unsaid feelings, one scratch on the surface from the right person and I couldn't contain it.

"Desperate? It took you all of two seconds to get sucked right in just like me," he informed me of an alleged richie obsession of my own. No. Not the same D.

"I didn't get sucked in," I swiftly corrected him, throwing my hair over my shoulder, I wasn't holding anything back now. "They didn't have to buy and use me and treat me like trash to want to keep me around."

"Oh, sorry we weren't all born into money and privilege like you, Princess Ava," he spat with a knife from his mouth going right for my jugular. If there was one thing I hated and one thing only, it was the spoiled money mongrel brats I grew up with. Derek, Kara, and Nicki were my safe haven, my solid ground, my sanity in a world full of everything I didn't want to be. Now that solid ground was turning into quick sand. Not only was Derek turning on me but forgetting who I was and lumping me in with everything I've strived not to be. That hurt. Way worse than my tryst blowing up in my face, and he knew it.

In the circle of our palpitating silent fury, oblivious Kara came galloping over. Oh, great.

"Avs! Derek! There you are! You have to come get your clues," she said all bushy tailed and bright eyed floating on a cloud of rainbow cotton candy.

"Not now Kara," I growled. Kara was entering some dangerous crossfire, if she didn't turn back now she was going to get seared.

"No, Kara, you stay," Derek insisted. "Ava's got loads to fill you in on."

"Oh, my God. It was just a stupid kiss!" I groaned.

"Aw, you guys kissed again?" Kara swooned, completely missing the malicious undertones going back and forth.

"Oh, no," Derek reared up for the grand reveal. "Why don't you tell her Ava?" he encouraged, passing the flaming, toxic baton to me.

"Who did you kiss Avs?" Kara asked, completely lost. "Not," she trailed off as the light bulb slowly started to flicker in her far away brain. "Andrew?" she attempted to whisper but to no avail. Thanks, Kara.