Read Very Bad Things for Free Online

said.
    Tessa shrugged and started twirling spaghetti onto her fork.
    Katie watched Mark pick at his food, pushing it around with his fork. What wasn’t he telling her?
    She opened her mouth to ask again if there wasn’tsomething he was keeping from her. But Katie felt a presence behind her even before she heard someone clearing their throat.
    She turned to find Joelle Needham clutching an iPad to her oversized chest.
    Katie had to bite her tongue to keep from asking Joelle if she ordered her Whitney blazer too small on purpose.
    “Wow, don’t you look bummed,” Mark’s ex-girlfriend said, her glossy lips pouting. “But I guess I’d be, too, if I knew everyone was eyeballing a pic of me naked. Good thing the lighting sucks. That hides a lot of flaws.” Joelle smiled at Katie. “You should thank God for that, sweetie.”
    “Who’s naked?” Katie looked at Mark. “What’s she rambling about?”
    He shook his head. “What do you want, Jo?” he asked, dropping his fork to his plate with a clatter. “Get to the point. I’m not in the mood.”
    Joelle frowned. “Looks like you’ve been caught in the act, as if you didn’t know. But it’s obvious Katie’s still in the dark or she’d be hiding in her room at Amelia House, dying of embarrassment.” She set her tablet down in front of them. “Not your best angle either, babe,” she said lightly, and gave Mark’s shoulder a squeeze.
    Katie’s gaze dropped to the screen. “OMG,” she breathed. And for a second, it felt like her heart stopped.
    The image was fuzzy, the lighting as bad as Joelle had mentioned. But there was no question who it was: a bare-naked Mark, his eyes closed, lips parted, head back so thathis neck arched, revealing the medallion caught in the hollow of his throat. As if the shadowed outlines of his features weren’t enough to identify him, there was also the soaring eagle tattoo on his right bicep. Katie would have recognized it anywhere.
    “Aw, don’t look so sad. Cellulite’s not the end of the world,” Joelle said, and gave Katie a nudge. “Besides, you’ve got all that dark hair hanging down. You can pretend it’s not you.”
    Katie blinked, because even she thought at first that it was her. She looked hard at the bare back and butt, the pale arms, and the brown hair falling like a thick curtain over the shoulders. The girl’s head was bent as she kissed Mark’s shoulder while her hand rested on his hip.
    “It’s not,” Katie said, a sharp pain stabbing her chest. “That’s not me.”
    Joelle put a finger to her chin. “Hmm, that was pretty good. I almost believed it. Practice saying it a few more times, and it might sound convincing.”
    “That’s
not
me,” Katie repeated, anger swelling inside her.
    Tessa leaned over from the other side of the table, looking at the photo upside down. “Can’t you see the tat on her hand?” she said. “Katie doesn’t have any ink.”
    It wasn’t easy to spot at first glance, but the girl in the photo had the tattoo of a red rose on her hand, its stem wrapping around her wrist.
    “Oh, snap,” Joelle said, squinting at her iPad and then at Katie, a tight smile playing at her lips. “You’re right. It isn’t you, is it?”
    Though Katie was sure that Joelle had realized the truth all along.
    “Well, I’ll bet you two have lots to talk about,” Joelle said, and reached between Katie and Mark to retrieve her tablet. “What with Mark here banging your slutty twin.”
    Katie stared at Mark, not even waiting for Joelle to leave before she asked, “Who
is
she?” Her voice shook, and she felt hot all over, like she had the worst fever ever.
    “I think it’s a girl from the party. Someone Steve brought. I barely noticed her.” Mark shook his head. His face looked pinched. “I wouldn’t cheat on you, Katie, I swear.”
    “Right, he swears,” Joelle said, and tucked her iPad against her chest. She stared at Mark with what looked like hurt in her eyes. “Guess