"Gen, oh my God, I haven't seen you forever! Where have you been?"
I recognized the stranger immediately and dread threaded my warming bloodstream. Although I had gone to high school a couple of zip codes over in order to enjoy a somewhat normal high school experience, I wasn't the only one with this idea. There were still a few golden boys and socialites at my high school. I wasn't the only one.
Although I was aware of the risks of running into someone I knew here and had prepared for that moment, I wasn't prepared for this man at this party where I was trying so hard to enmesh myself as Ellie. Especially when this man was part of the reason that my heart and exterior are more ice than blood and bone.
In my sophomore year in high school, I met him. Trent Reskin has just transferred into the school because his parents had moved down from Seattle to Malibu. Independently wealthy, his parents had purchased a spectacular piece of beachfront property not far from where I grew up.
His mother was a prime candidate for Real Housewives while his father was steeped in mystery. No one knew what his father did, but the rumors were that he was in the Marijuana business. Although most of that is done legally now, there was a big black market for it at the time - and no matter what anyone in California wants to tell you, there is still more money in the black market than the legal trade. Plus, no taxes.
Trent wasn't a bad guy originally. His popularity in our high school put him firmly in the alpha male category. He was captain of the football team, played basketball, and was a big part of the drama scene - which would probably make him a nerd in most places, but manages to be completely acceptable in LA.
He also wasn't your classic Cali boy. He was painfully beautiful, yes, but his black spiky hair and worn jeans with band t's spoke more to the fashions of his hometown than Malibu. I was originally very flattered by his new attention. We engaged in playful flirting for months. I returned every coy smile and giggle. I was nice, sweet, young, and painfully fucking stupid. Things changed very quickly.
I had a boyfriend at the time, and although it was a tenth-grade boyfriend I had only been dating a couple of weeks, I turned Trent down for the date he invited me on. True, I was massively attracted to Trent - I have eyes - but I wanted to stay faithful to my boyfriend at the time. Trent didn't take the rejection well. He wasn't outwardly rude, or dismissive. On the surface, we managed to maintain the same level of friendship and engagement that was always there. For a time, at least.
A couple of weeks later I found out that rumors were going around the school about me. People were saying that I was a slut, and that I had cheated on my boyfriend. The jocks started catcalling me, whistling at me, and sometimes even whispering vulgar nothings in my ears as they passed me in the hallway.
By the time the rumors had gotten to my boyfriend, we were both the laughing stock of the school. I was the whore, and he was the idiot that fell for me. He broke up with me despite my pleading, and I lost a lot of friends in the process. The remainder of my sophomore year was filled with hushed whispers and unwanted advances.
And what was the rumor? What was the tall tale that had everyone either running for the hills or trying to get their hand up my skirt? The rumor was that I had slept with Trent. Behind the school, in the dirt. He didn't even bother to make it classy. Despite me being a virgin at the time the rumor had become its own truth. He couldn't even weave me a nice rumor, such as losing my fake virginity at one of our houses or even in the backseat of his Escalade. No, he made it in the dirt, in public, where anyone could have found us. I begged for it, moaned his name, and enthusiastically put his cock in my mouth.
Needless to say, I was devastated. To have control of my life and sexuality so ruthlessly pried from my fingers by one boy, a boy I liked and trusted, broke things inside of me that I don't know can ever be fully fixed. He never even admitted the truth to me. I asked, and he lied.
Trent also ruthlessly pursued me after my boyfriend dumped me. I would see his car driving by my house at odd hours, or see him out at places I was going with my friends.
The closest confidant I had throughout the process was my sister, Renee. I spent so many nights crying in her bed with her, and I'll never forget some of the conversations we had with moonlight as the only witness.
"Really, Gen. This is the kind of moment where you find out who your friends are. This is just high school, and that guy is an asshole."
"I know, but I lost so many of my friends, so many parts of my life. I feel like I have no control over anything right now."
"Then control the controllables. Stay away from Trent, and make friends who believe you, and don't judge so easily."
It was some of the best advice I'd ever received. Renee may have only been a kid at the time but she has always been an old soul. She always seemed to know exactly what I needed. This is why, when Trent had transferred to her school for his Junior year, she made sure that every friend she had knew exactly what he had done to me. I imagine that he had some trouble becoming the top dog there that he had been at our school.
Although I still sometimes saw him around town or with certain groups of friends I did my best to pretend he wasn't there or give him the brush off. I stopped being so nice to boys who wanted to smile at me after that.
And here he was. Soaring across the kitchen straight for me while I'm making new friends by being the person I used to be. He undoubtedly knew my sister while she was here and has the opportunity to completely blow my cover - right here right now.
I only had a split second to make the decision on how to handle this situation. I froze and went the opossum route, just standing there until he reached us pretending to be oblivious to his presence.
"Gen?"
On his third time saying my name, I offered a surprised smile and canted my head to the side, "Yeah, hi - do I know you?"
Trent was nonplussed. Aside from the length of my hair and the fact that I'm thinner and more athletic than I used to be, I look exactly the same. My original plan was to try to pass off Gen as a nickname I had in high school if I were to run into a situation like this, but with Trent knowing my sister and with his ability to take me right back to the control I lost in high school I just couldn't open the door on any further conversation.
"Yeah, Trent. You know me, we went to high school together."
I furrowed my brow. "I think you must have confused me with someone else. I just transferred here." Please, please, just walk away.
"And your name isn't Gen?" He dropped the surprise for irritation, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Uh, no, I'm sorry," I cleared my throat and extended my hand to him. "I'm Ellie. It's nice to meet you, Trent."
I looked at Lex who was switching between looking at me and looking at Trent. Questions danced in his eyes, but not enough that it made me feel like my cover was blown. I shook his hand before chancing a look around the room to see who else witnessed the exchange.
Daria had definitely seen it. The frat boys are doing things in a circle with the J's. And Brooklyn is trying and failing to appear uninterested in the scene unfolding over on the other side of the island from her.
After what felt like an eternity he apprehensively took my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Ellie."
I didn't miss the shift in his expression. I knew three things at that moment. He wasn't fooled, he was fucking pissed, and he was going to be a problem.