With that, she’s gone, leaving me to wonder if I’m the unreasonable one.

* * *

The moment the lunch bell rings, I make a stop at my locker to shove my books inside, then hurry toward the south bathroom. It takes me about ten minutes to find it, because this school is so ridiculously big.

Pushing open the door, I stop abruptly at the sight of the full bathroom—there are about six girls in here. Val’s putting on lipstick in front of the far sink, and I quickly make my way to her.

“Why is it so crowded?” I hiss under my breath. “I thought Wade has sex in here.”

“In the boys’ room.” She smacks her cherry-red lips together. “This is the girls’ bathroom.”

“Right.” Duh. For some reason I thought we were having a private powwow.

“Dance team is having extra rehearsals for the away game performance. Apparently Gibson High is their main rival in state dance competitions,” Val explains, tucking the lipstick into her purse. “Anyway, I’ve been giving this some thought, and I think what you need to do is go to Callum. Have Callum work it on your behalf.”

“I don’t think that’s going to make a difference. Callum already told Steve that I should live with the Royals, and Steve gave him the look of death and dragged me out by my hair.”

Val’s mouth twitches. “By your hair?”

“Okay, maybe not by my hair, but it felt like it.”

“I was just kidding. I like seeing you get all angsty over hooking up with Reed. Sometimes you come off so together, it’s intimidating.” She pauses. “What’s Steve’s weakness?”

I meet her reflection in the mirror. “What do you mean?”

“When I want something from my aunt, she likes to see a sacrifice. So let’s say I want to go to a concert. I’ll tell her I’m studying super hard, doing extra work around the house, essentially laying the groundwork for what a fucking awesome kid I am. And then I’ll ask for the concert tickets.”

“Does she know you’re manipulating her?” I ask.

“Of course. It’s our game. She gets to see me being responsible and that gives her warm fuzzies, and then I’m rewarded for my sacrifice.”

“My dad likes it when I write him a paper justifying all the reasons I want something,” some girl next to me chimes in.

I glare at her in the mirror, but she’s unfazed. Or maybe she can’t tell I’m glaring because she’s busy putting on mascara.

“My mom needs to hear it’s okay from ten other moms before she says yes,” another girl near the door says.

I flick an irritated gaze toward Val at how all these girls are up in my business. She merely smiles, mischief glinting in her eyes.

“What do you want?” the girl by the door asks. I think her name is Hailey.

The blonde next to me grins. “She wants Reed, right?”

My first reaction is pure discomfort. I don’t like discussing my personal issues with strangers. But the two girls actually look...friendly.

So I sigh and lean against the sink. “I want to go to the away game, but my…” It’s hard saying the word, but I spit it out. “My father won’t let me.”

“He’s being overprotective?” the blonde guesses.

“Making up for lost time, probably,” Hailey suggests.

“Oh right!” the blonde exclaims. “Your dad’s Steve O’Halloran. I forgot about his grand resurrection.”

Val snickers.

“Yeah, he’s definitely making up for lost time,” Blondie agrees.

Val leans around me. “See?” She pokes me lightly. “This is all normal.”

“It totally is,” Hailey agrees. “My dad freaked out when he found a condom in my car. My mom took me to the clinic the next day and put me on birth control. She told me to hide that shit and be more careful next time.”

“But it’s your body,” I point out.

She sidles over. “Your dad is going to want to control you until you’re fifty. My oldest sister is twenty six, has a law degree, and when she came home for Christmas with her boyfriend, my parents made him sleep in the basement. Dads are the worst when it comes to sex.”

“Ella doesn’t have a mom to run interference,” Blondie reminds everyone.

I shift awkwardly again. It’s so messed up that everyone at this school knows my business.

Hailey taps her chin. “Doesn’t Katie Pruett live with only her dad?”

“Yeah, she does,” a curly-haired brunette says as she leans against the door of the fourth stall. “And she’s totally having sex with Colin Trenthorn. They’ve been doing it since she was a soph.”

“Does her dad know?”

“I think he pretends he doesn’t know, but she’s on birth control so he has to have some idea.”

“My mom told my dad that my birth control was for my period,” Hailey says, “so maybe Katie used that excuse, too.”

“I don’t need an excuse to go on birth control,” I tell them. “I’ve been on it since I was fifteen.” Because I actually did have terrible cramps, not just because my mother was worried about the pregnancy thing. “I need an excuse to get out of town overnight.”

“Say you’re staying with a friend.”

“And hide in the car while the game’s going on? That’s not going to work,” Val says impatiently. “Everyone knows the Royals, and someone is bound to mention that they saw Ella at the game.”

A sympathetic murmur spreads through the bathroom.

“Not to mention that Callum will definitely be there and probably rat me out to Steve,” I remind them. I’m not sure why I’m suddenly okay with all of these girls offering me advice, but I am. It feels weirdly welcoming in some way.

Before anyone can come up with a workable solution, the bell rings. Everyone’s heads pop up and there’s a flurry of activity as the girls jostle each other to get their makeup reapplied and their stuff packed away.

“We’ll think of something,” Hailey says on her way out. About six girls stream out after her, all of them waving goodbye to me.

“That was…” I trail off, my confused eyes focusing on Val.

“Fun? Helpful? Entertaining?” She grins. “Not everyone here is awful. Besides, now you know Steve’s behavior is completely normal. You just need to figure out how to work him.”