Sara Shepard - Ruthless

Pierre loomed in the wings, tapping his lips with a pen. “Well, I suppose that was better .”

Spencer swept past him, not really caring what he thought anymore. Then, Beau caught her arm and whirled her around. “You were amazing.” At first, she thought he was just pulling her into a hug, but then he gave her a long, passionate kiss. Spencer was so startled that she just stood there for a few seconds. Then, she kissed him back. Despite the fact that she was wearing a heavy velvet dress, she felt chills.

Someone nearby let out a gasp. Spencer turned and saw Naomi, Riley, and Kate gawking at her. Triumphant, she leaned in and kissed Beau even deeper. Deep down, she wished the curtain would open so the audience could see this, too—so Kelsey would know just how badly her plan had failed.

After the play was over, Emily walked through the double doors of Otto, the upscale Italian restaurant where the Macbeth cast party was being held. The familiar scents of rosemary, olive oil, and warm mozzarella tickled her nostrils, and she recognized the gray-haired, no-nonsense woman behind the hostess stand. Emily had been to Otto with her family after Carolyn, Beth, and Jake had each graduated from Rosewood Day, sitting in one of the large banquettes and sharing the family-style portions of penne alla vodka and Caprese salad. For Beth’s graduation, when Emily was in sixth grade, she’d brought Her Ali along, too, and the two of them had sent silly texts to one another and then snuck off to the patio area to flirt with a bunch of graduates from the boys’ basketball team. Well, more accurately, Ali flirted with them. Emily had stood around feeling uncomfortable.

Tonight, Otto looked utterly different from how it had during those graduation dinners. The drama class had decorated the Italian-tiled rooms with happy-sad drama masks and big posters of Macbeth playbills. The room was stuffed with people, and a large buffet table had been set up on one end, bearing a zillion types of pasta, a huge bowl of salad, eight different kinds of breads, and a bevy of desserts.

“Your school is exactly like mine,” Kelsey groaned good-naturedly, squeezing into the room behind Emily and taking in the scenery. “It’s only a school play, but they treat it like it’s opening night on Broadway.”

“Seriously,” Emily giggled, turning around and giving Kelsey a shaky smile. She felt a little nervous bringing Kelsey here, but when Kelsey had asked what Emily was doing tonight and Emily told her, Kelsey had gotten so excited. “I love Macbeth !” she’d said. “Can I come?”

“Um, sure,” Emily had said tentatively, quickly adding, “You should know that Spencer is playing the lead. Will that be weird?” Kelsey said it wouldn’t, and Emily had no idea how to tell her that it might be weird for Spencer . What was she supposed to say? Spencer thinks you’re our new psychopath text-messager?

They moved past the hostess stand, and lo and behold, Emily spied Spencer across the room, smiling bashfully at Mrs. Eckles, a ninth-grade English teacher. A streak of nerves went through her, but she straightened up and took a deep breath. “I’ll be right back,” she said over her shoulder to Kelsey. She needed to explain to Spencer why she’d brought Kelsey before Spencer randomly saw them together and freaked. Maybe if she leveled with Spencer, Spencer would understand. And maybe, if they all talked rationally, Spencer would realize that Kelsey wasn’t A.

Emily wove through the crowd and tapped on Spencer’s shoulder. Spencer’s expression soured. “Oh.”

A sick feeling washed over Emily. “I can explain,” she blurted.

Spencer pulled her into a little nook that held a trolley for forks, spoons, and other utensils. Her face was pinched and angry. “You told me you weren’t hanging out with Kelsey anymore.”

“I know I did, but . . .”

“And then you bring her to my play?”

Emily gritted her teeth. “Kelsey’s nice, Spencer. She even said she wanted to see your performance.”

“She wanted to ruin my performance, you mean.”

“She’s not A,” Emily urged.

“Of course she is!” Spencer slammed a fist on the trolley, making the utensils jump. “How many times do I have to explain this to you? Does what I say not matter anymore? Have you become the kind of person who flat-out lies when asked a question?”

“I’m sorry I lied when you asked if I’d seen Kelsey,” Emily said in a small voice. She’d panicked when she’d texted with Spencer after the incident on the trail. It had been easier to say Kelsey hadn’t been there. “But you’re not seeing things clearly. Kelsey doesn’t want to hurt us. In fact, she has no idea what you did to her. And the other day, when someone pushed me down the hill, Kelsey was there. But she was the one who ran down the slope and helped me up.”

Spencer’s mouth dropped open. “Are you high? She was probably the one who pushed you in the first place!”

Emily peered around the room, feeling weary. Some of the drama extras blew straw wrappers at one another and chanted the witches’ lines from the beginning of the play. “Kelsey isn’t A,” she said. “ Ali is. I think I saw her at the top of the hill, and I keep seeing flashes of blond hair everywhere.”

Spencer groaned. “Would you stop it with Ali? She’s gone.”

“No, she’s not!”

“Why are you so convinced?”

A sour taste welled in Emily’s mouth. Tell her , she thought. Tell her what you did. But her mouth wouldn’t move. And then a waitress skirted around them, grabbing some forks and knives from the console, and she lost her nerve.

“Kelsey is A,” Spencer repeated. “She’s got the perfect motive. I sent her to juvie, Emily. I ruined her shot at a good college—at life . And this is how she’s getting her revenge.”

“She doesn’t know you did that,” Emily argued. “But while we’re on that subject, don’t you feel bad about what you did to her? Don’t you think you should come clean and apologize?”

Spencer backed up until her butt hit the little silverware caddy. “Jesus, whose side are you on?”

A group of parents cackled nearby, sipping from glasses of red wine. Three sophomore boys plucked unattended beer mugs off the bar and took quick, covert swigs. “This isn’t about picking sides,” Emily said wearily. “I just think you should say something. She’s right over there.” Emily pointed to where Kelsey had been standing, but she couldn’t see her anymore through the thick crowd.

“She’s here ?” Spencer stood on her tiptoes and looked out at the mob, too. “Are you trying to get us killed?”

“Spencer, you’re—”

Spencer held up her hand, stopping her. Realization flooded over her face. “Oh my god. Are you in love with her?”

Emily stared down at the terra-cotta-tiled floor. “No.”

Spencer clapped her hands. “You are ! You’ve fallen for her just like you fell for Ali! That’s why you’re acting like this!” A desperate look flashed over her face. “Kelsey’s not into girls, Emily. She hooked up with a million guys last summer.”

A stab of pain shot through Emily’s gut. “People can change.”

Spencer leaned against the wall, looking incredulous. “Like Ali changed? Because she really loved you, Emily. You were her dream girl.”

Tears pricked Emily’s eyes. “Take that back!”

“Ali never cared about you.” Spencer’s tone was matter-of-fact. “She used you. Just like Kelsey’s using you now.”