Bet Me

Chapter 15

Savannah POV

"Are you sure you're not embarrassed? Because I kind of am for you." Allie munches of a soft pretzel observing the Forever 21 store. At the mall Allie was like a lion and the store was her next victim, she was ready to pounce. 

"At first I was but James had kind of already done the same thing to me prior. I'd say we're even." Talking to Allie about my private life was tricky, sometimes she wouldn't say much and other times she'd talk my ear off until I wish I never had met her.

"Yeah but at least his made sense. You asked him what was on his mind and he told you.  He read you a poem he wrote and you bursted into tears. See the difference?" This was one of those times where I had never met her. She could be harsh but with Allie, you couldn't let her words get to you. 

"Thanks, Allie." I sip my strawberry smoothie furiously as I take a bite of my pizza. Sometimes I had to work extra hard to keep in mind that she never intentionally means any harm. In fact, her jabs weren't all that bad because it made me think more about the situation.

"Allie!" Natalie and her pink haired friend from the party came running up towards us, their iced coffee were pretty much splashing all over the place as they made their way over. 

"Hey!" Allie screamed back at the girls, jumping up and down. You would think we were in the middle of some boy band concert. Weird looks from strangers were a risk you had to take when you were with Allie. "You two remember Savannah."

"Oh hey. Yeah I heard about what happened."

I could feel Allie making a hand motion behind me but I just rolled my eyes, nothing surprised me with that girl.

"Did you hear about the Forever 21 store?" Natalie checks her phone and hands it to Allie to observe the deals that lay on her cellular device.

"Yeah we were just about to go in there." 

I observed the two girls. Natalie and Allie were really close friends and if you thought 3rd wheeling a relationship was bad, try 3rd wheeling a friendship with girls. I wanted no part in that. Besides, I had a lot on my mind these days. "No, you two go. I haven't finished my food yet." I entered the cold pepperoni pizza into my mouth that I just realized tasted like cardboard. 

"Okay c'mon, Lil."

The pink haired girl sits next to me "You two stay, I want to talk to Savannah for a second."

Asking no more questions, Allie and Natalie rush to Forever 21. Sitting next to this girl I hardly knew was weird and awkward. I wasn't too sure if I should have initiated the conversation or not. Instead, I sat there in silence staring off into the distance, people watching. It was something Allie taught me. I checked the various groups of people that walked by and rated their outfits, a thing I never would have done three months ago.

"Savannah, I know what happened at the party. I'm really sorry you went through all of that." She finally spoke, her words straight forward yet concerning. 

I felt kind of embarrassed. I opened up enough this week, I didn't feel like I needed to anymore, but this girl was sweet. It would be rude and uncalled for if I just left her hanging. "Thanks for the concern but it wasn't bad. It's not like the guy took advantage of me or anything." 

"Yeah but you ran into one of the worst guys possible."

"I mean I know he wasn't the best guy but-"

"Wasn't?" I could feel the tension rising next to me. It was almost like Lily knew something I didn't.

"Yeah." Ignoring her plead, I reminisce over James, "It's like, at first he was kind of a jerk but once I got to know him, he wasn't so bad. And I mean really know him. I thought all he cared about was hookups and himself, but after our official date, I'm not sure." I kept rambling. I found myself picturing myself with James as the words effortlessly flew out of my mouth. The scenery of him and I walking down a beach holding hands looked more vivid than ever before. I was slowly falling for this guy and I wasn't shy with who knew.

Lily stared at my hopeful eyes, looking upset and confused. "You do know he's a user, right? He uses people."

"How would you know?"

"Well Nat didn't want me to tell you but they hooked up a few years back. Even if he isn't using you for a hit and run, there's something else he may use you for his advantage."

Those words felt hard as they flew out of Lilly's mouth. My face got red with anger, my cheeks flushed. "Look, that was years ago. People can change, ya know."

"I'm not telling you what to do with your life. If you like him, go for it. But if something happens, you can't get mad at me." I stared at Lily. Although she didn't look like the type to sabotage me, sometimes you never know with people. I wasn't going to ruin what I had going on with James for something she said. I looked over to Forever 21, that looked better than sitting here right about now. 

"Okay thanks Lilly." I proceed to get up from the bench to walk away. I didn't need to hear anymore and I wasn't going to listen to someone I hardly knew. For all I knew, Natalie could have been a jealous ex girlfriend making her best friend tell me lies.

"Where are you going?"

"I just remembered I have a test tomorrow. I really should go study. Tell Allie I'll see her later." The lie felt good as it rolled off my tongue and into the mall air. I needed to go back home and write, it's what I liked to do when I needed to let my mind wander.