Ten of Me ✓

Twenty

HANNAH

I didn't let myself think as I drove, focusing unnecessarily on driving at exactly the right speed limit and making sure to stay right between the lines marked on the road. The night was pitch black and there weren't any stars, and the only light I got was from cars' headlights as they whirred past me and street lamps on the side of the road.

It was a short drive to the shopping plaza, and I swung into one of the many empty parking spots with speed uncharacteristic of my previous careful driving. I could see Chloe parked next to me, the windows of her Honda rolled down all the way. Jazmin sat in the passenger seat beside her, and I assumed Ariana was in the back.

When I got out of the car and slammed the door behind me, the noise sounded like a gunshot. The shopping plaza was entirely empty, as it was almost midnight. There was a small line of people outside of the movie theatre, where the flashing lights above the building were the only source of life in the area.

"Hey!" Jazmin was in front of me when I turned around, and I saw in the faint light that she was beaming. "I'm Jazmin. Nice to meet you."

"Hannah," I said, hitching my purse higher up on my shoulder nervously. I knew I definitely didn't look in any state to be going out in public—Noah had practically ruined my makeup, my hair was still stringy and wet, and tear stains had made my eyes puffy—but it felt good to know that these girls didn't really care.

Ariana introduced herself and I smiled kindly at her before turning to Chloe. "Do you want me to explain?"

"I would like to know." Chloe ran her hand through her tangled blonde hair as we all fell into step next to each other on the sidewalk, our heels snapping against the pavement. "But you look pretty exhausted. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

I thought of her face when she had walked in and seen Noah and I together, and I knew that even though I barely knew her, I valued her opinion and her trust. "It's fine," I said, looking down and watching as our feet stepped in perfect unison. "I sort of want you to know."

Chloe shrugged nonchalantly, but when I looked at her I saw in her eyes just how desperate she was to hear me say that everything wasn't at she thought. And it wasn't like she expected. It was much worse.

I took a deep breath, trying to think how I would explain this to her, but I knew there was no easy way to say it. "I'm Audrey," I said as I exhaled, my heart pounding as I waited for their reactions.

Stopping under a street lamp, Chloe grabbed my arms and yanked me closer to the light. "No you're not," she said, squinting her eyes to study me. "You can't be."

My breathing was unsteady. "I don't really look like this," I explained. "My mom is a beautician. She gave me a makeover for the party tonight."

"How does this relate to Noah?" asked Chloe, her head tilted as if she didn't accept my statements. Beside us, I saw Jazmin and Ariana whispering quietly, clearly trying to decide whether or not to trust me.

Another deep breath. "Noah thought I was someone else," I said in a rush. We were nearing the movie theatre by the second, and telling the full truth would take way too long. I had to stick with an abridged version. "He thought I was Nicole Thorn, his girlfriend. And he was angry because I'd seen him kissing Nicole's best friend and because afterwards he confided to me that he'd never liked her. He thought that Nicole knew the truth. So he tried to take off all my makeup and rinse out all my hair dye so that he'd see if it was really Nicole or not."

Chloe's eyes had widened as she'd listened until they were watering with unshed tears. "He what?" she asked.

"He doesn't care about Nicole?" I wasn't sure which part of the long story she wanted me to repeat. "He asked her out on a dare. All he cares about is his stupid status. He's so empty-headed."