4
Liam was rich, so his birthday party wasn’t
going to be freaking simple.
When the three of us arrived, Liam and
Brittany were mobbed.
And I vanished into the freaking crowd.
Freaking invisible.
It was the first time I felt the gap between us
so clearly.
Liam and I had known each other since
middle school. Brittany was a more recent
addition, from high school.
But she was cool, and we clicked right away. Before long, she was hanging out with Liam and me.
And that’s when we found out that Brittany lived in Liam’s freaking gated community. They were neighbors.
Even if they met late, two people who were
meant to be would always find their way to
each other.
Across the freaking crowd, I watched Liam
and Brittany, freaking happy.
L
Everyone was teasing them about being a
perfect couple, Brittany was blushing, and Liam was smiling.
I suddenly felt like I was crashing the freaking
party.
I snuck out.
I went freaking home.
I went freaking to bed.
But in the middle of the freaking night,
someone started knocking on the freaking door.
I thought it was my mom, and groggily went to open it.
Liam was standing in the freaking doorway. His face was like freaking thunder: “Why did you leave without freaking saying anything?” I didn’t know why he was so pissed. Did it
freaking matter to him whether I was there or
not?
He was freaking fine in the freaking videos
L
from his party.
“Where’s my freaking gift?”
He asked suddenly.
I remembered the gift I’d been making for
months, and then thought about Brittany’s freaking gift, a freaking scarf that cost more than my rent.
I felt freaking embarrassed.
It would be one thing if our gifts were the
same, but hers cost freaking hundreds of dollars, and mine cost freaking pennies to freaking make.
My freaking scarf was freaking ugly.
“I forgot. I didn’t get you anything.”
Liam’s eyes went cold.
He wanted to say something else, but
footsteps echoed in the hall.
I stepped back and slammed the door.
