Page 86 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)

Gothic cheerleader… sure.

I pull off the sweatshirt and keep it in my lap as she messes with my hair, runs her fingers under my eyes carefully, and finally turns her attention to my shirt. She knots it high, showing off my stomach.

My stomach, which is currently full of snakes. It’s the anxiety of going to a party, compounding with Halloween.

But Taryn is nice. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.

While she’s focused on my outfit, I try to piece together what Taryn’s costume is. Her hair is in two high ponytails, and her outfit is crazy electric blue and pink. It seems familiar, but I can’t place it.

I focus on my breathing until Taryn tells me I’m all set.

A second later, I’m hit with a flash. I blink away the white spots and glance at her phone.

Yeah… I’m not sure how she managed to make me seem normal, especially with the gray hair. She put it up into two space buns, tamed my crazy eyeliner, and the white tank and black leggings actually look like I chose them on purpose.

Not bad.

Actually, decent.

“Okay. Guys! Skylar is going to join us.” She pulls me up and takes the sweatshirt from me, looping it around my hips and tying it. “Just ignore the cold.”

I snort. “Right.” Wasn’t I just admonishing those girls in my head?

I was one of them, and now I’ve found myself back in those shoes again. Yet I hate to admit that the high school queen bee at Emery-Rose broke a piece of me. The part that thought I could be cool or fit in.

Senior year was rough, my freshman year of college was rougher, and it’s been downhill since then.

I let out a sigh and follow them to the elevator.

“This is Willa, by the way,” Taryn says to me. “Willa, Skylar. I don’t think you guys have met? Willa is a commuter from Woburn.”

She grins and extends her hand. “Willa from Woburn. I haven’t been able to live that one down.”

“People love alliteration,” I say.

“Like Slutty Skylar,” Jeff mumbles behind us.

I stiffen, and heat rushes to my cheeks.

“Not cool,” Taryn snaps. “Jeff the Jerk.”

Willa snorts. “Fitting.”

“Sorry” Jeff tugs on my sleeve. “Just a habit.”

I shake him loose. “All that confirms is that Natalie and Whitney talked about me behind my back.” A pit forms in my stomach. I should’ve suspected it—Whitney’s last confession basically confirmed it. They were just pretending to be my friends.

What does that mean for Taryn?

“So, LBU?” I say, referring to the university we’re headed toward. I’d say anything to try to get us out of the weird, uncomfortable lull. “Who do you know there?”

“Some guys I went to high school with,” Willa supplies. “It’s one of those schools that all the rich kids get into, you know? So of course, I picked here.”

Taryn laughs. “And lucky you did, because you met us.”

We set off across campus. The bite in the air is a lot sharper now, wind whipping between the buildings.

“We should call a car,” Willa suggests. “Or we’ll be popsicles by the time we get there.”