Wanna Bet? by R. S. Burnett Page B

Want to go?
We can share a taxi” I nod and he pulls me through the crowd
towards the door, as I’m about to get into one of the waiting
taxi’s I hear my name being called, I turn to see Tucker stood at
the door to the bar. “Wait!” he shouts making his way over to
us.
    “ Don’t” Is all
I reply shaking my head at him and get into the taxi.
    I manage to
hold it together for the journey home, Todd seems to understand
that I don’t want to talk about it and tries to distract me by
telling me stories of a few walks of shame he has done in the past,
it half woks and he manages to get a few giggles out of
me.
     
    As I walk
through the door to my dorm I feel the first tear fall down my
cheek I wipe it away as soon as I see Sophie and Matt sitting at
the table drinking coffee. I make my way towards the coffee machine
their conversation stops. “Your cousins an ass” I say to the coffee
machine knowing that they will know straight away who I’m talking
about. They don’t say anything until I join them at the
table.
    “ What happened
to your lip?” Sophie asks making me remember the slap and the split
lip I had forgotten about until now I lift my fingers to my lip
it’s not sore, but then again I’ve had worse.
    “ Beth” Is all
I say and watch as Matt visibly winces. I cock my head at him
vaguely wondering if he knows what he told her.
    “ I don’t
understand, what’s she got to do with anything?” Sophie asks
looking between me and Matt “She’s always been a bitch; she’s never
hit you before though”
    “ Tucker” Matt
simply says, as if that explains everything.
    “ I still don’t
get it”
    “ Tucker slept
with her last night, she came up and told me about it, made some
comment about sleeping with Jason when I was with him and I told
her she has to have a cock inside to her feel something otherwise
she’s empty”
    “ Ouch” Sophie
grimaces.
    “ Yeah ... she
slapped me for that one”
    “ Still doesn’t
explain why Tuckers an ass though…” she questions.
    “ Well after
she slapped me I didn’t back down and then she got smug and …” I
trail off remembering the look on her face as she told me what he
had revealed to her.
    “ And …” Sophie
prompts looking to Matt who just shrugs and turns to me
expectantly.
    “ He told her”
I whisper. Sophie reaches out and clasps my hand with her own
encouraging me to carry on. “He told her about my step dad, the
abuse, me flinching when someone comes too close when I’m on my own
with them”
    “ She must have
been lying … he wouldn’t do that” Sophie pleads, to who I don’t
know.
    “ Well who then
because it’s only you two, him and Luke that knows any of that shit
and he was stood right by us, watching, listening to her tell me” I
snap at her.
    “ I’m so sorry
Brooke, I knew he slept with her, she was leaving the dorm this
morning when I went over to see him. I had no idea what he told her
though”
    “ It’s fine,
it’s my own fault, guess I just have to be more careful with who I
trust that’s all. I thought it would have taken longer than a few
hours for him to tell someone though.”
    “ What happened
after she said all that to you?” Sophie asks warily.
    “ I very nearly
punched her, not sure why, I probably should have punched him but
Todd pulled me away from them both. Tucker tried to stop me leaving
with him but I don’t want to talk to him ever again”
    “ Why would he
try and stop you leaving with Todd?” Sophie asks
confused.
    “ I kissed him”
I say quietly hoping they won’t make a big deal out of
it.
    “ What?” okay
so obviously she is going to make a big deal out of it.
    “ We kissed, he
pulled me away from them when I was about to hit her and started
dancing with me to distract me and then everyone was staring and we
were talking about how by tomorrow it would be going around that we
had sex, so we decided to have a little fun with it and give them
something to talk about, it’s no big