Scarred

Chapter 24

They played kickball in the wonderland that was physical education. Charlotte was on Raelynn's team, which meant she spent the period being tormented by her. Still, she thanked her lucky stars that Sam wasn't on her team, too. Not only would their team have lost by a considerable amount, but one of them would have walked away with a black eye.

In the locker room, Charlotte waited until it was just the two of them. Then she cornered Raelynn.

Raelynn snarled at her. "What do you want?"

"I want to know why you're making my life hell."

"I don't have time to talk to peasants." She tried to push past her, but Charlotte refused to budge. She rolled her eyes. "Well, first off, you called me a fucking bitch. Secondly, you and your lame-ass friends pranked me. And lastly, you fucking made out with my boyfriend."

"Okay, I confess that I shouldn't have called you a bitch," she relented, "but the pranks weren't a huge deal and we both know that I lied about kissing Kenneth." She huffed. "I don't get it! Why are you doing this?"

Raelynn crossed her arms and turned her face away. Charlotte added, "Fine, don't tell me, but you should know that I almost killed myself because of what you did to me."

The words hung in the air, and Charlotte held her breath. Why did I say that? Why did I freaking say that?

Raelynn uncrossed her arms and met Charlotte's gaze. "Is that true?"

"Why would I lie about that?"

Raelynn released a sharp breath. "You really want to know why I did it? It's because I'm jealous. I want to be new and pretty and have the privilege to remake my reputation like you did. I want to be able to start over."

Charlotte curled her hands into fists. She was jealous? That wasn't an excuse for treating her the way she had.

Raelynn cut off her response. "This," she gestured to herself, "is my life. Boys, clothes, parties. No one's ever cared about my feelings, so why would I care about anyone else's?" She plopped onto the bench and cried into her hands.

The edges of Charlotte's anger dissipated. She waited for Raelynn to recover, unsure of what else to do.

Raelynn wiped her nose and sniffed. Her makeup was running down her splotchy face. It was the first time Charlotte had seen her look unattractive, and she savored it.

"Everyone hates me," Raelynn said. She stared at Charlotte with an unfocused gaze. "I know they pretend not to because I'm rich and pretty, but they do. They'll never like me."

There was a part of Charlotte that was desperate to see her suffer. A large part. Almost her entire being. But her stupid little conscience reminded her of her mother's words. Destroying Raelynn had never been the right thing to do.

"I forgive you," she forced out. Saying the words out loud made it easier for her to let the anger go. She sat beside her.

"What?"

"I forgive you," repeated Charlotte. The thirst for revenge further evaporated.

"Why?"

"Don't question it."

She hugged her. Raelynn stiffened, but she returned the action. When they broke apart, she said, "You're a better friend than Melissa and Angela so far."

"What do you mean?"

"All they do is follow me around and do whatever I do. They don't care about me. Or even listen to me to be honest."

"What about Becca?"

"She helped you guys with those pranks. She hates me."

Charlotte shrugged, uncertain herself. "Listen, about those pranks. First, I'm sorry."