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So they are together. She’s been hiding him from me because of what we did.
I see how it is.
I drag my bag back up my shoulder and avert my gaze, my hand twitching to take my anger out on him. Skinny little shit. He wouldn’t survive one check into the boards.
He sneers when he passes me. “Have fun with that one tonight.”
That one.That one?“Have a little fucking respect.”
“Oh, you’re pissed at me? That’s rich. You know how long she’s been drooling over me?”
I shake my head, stepping toward him, crowding him against the wall. “Let me make one thing very fucking clear: You’re a piece of shit. You treated her like garbage because you’re a narcissistic pig, and I swear to God, if I see you doing it again, I’ll use your head as a puck. Do you understand?”
“Zaiah…”
I peer to my right, and in the time it takes me to see Lenore standing in the doorway in her turtle pajamas, Clark makes his escape.
Should’ve punched him. Dick.
She pushes her glasses up her nose as I stride toward her, dragging my bag. “What did he say?”
“I don’t know what you see in him,” I grind out, rejection nearly knocking me off my feet. I thought we’d turned a corner, but I was wrong.
She moves out of my way so I can walk in with my gear. “I don’t see anything in him, actually.” Her voice is so low, so tiny. “What I saw before was a figment of my imagination. I had a crush on someone who didn’t deserve it. That happens to me a lot.”
I spin on her. “What was he doing here, then?”
She studies the floor. “Trying to get me to sleep with him.”
I drop my bag, heart pumping.
“He didn’t take it well when I finally told him off.”
I swallow hard. “You did?”
She gives me a soft smile and walks toward the couch, taking a seat and wrapping her arms around her knees. “I also used the term narcissistic pig. To think I was even trying to get his attention.” She blows out a breath. “He said my attempts were so desperate that he assumed I’d be an easy lay.”
I turn and march toward the door until Len’s voice breaks through the anger spinning in my head.
“He’s not worth it. He’s not worth anything. Especially not hockey.”
I stop with my hand on the doorknob. She’s right. If I get into a fight on campus, I’ll be punished. I’ll probably get benched for a couple games, and in my senior year, that’s the last thing I want.
“I still might,” I say, turning back to her.
We both stare at each other for the longest time. With a sigh, she lets her knees go. “Can you not go right to your room?”
My shoulders relax. Finally. “I don’t have to be anywhere but where you want me to be.”
She struggles to smile, but her cheeks flush, giving her a pretty, pink hue. “We should’ve had this conversation before, and I’m sorry I was such a coward. I was embarrassed. I was confused. I—”
I walk toward her. “You don’t have to apologize.”
“Let me get this out. The day you saw me at the café?” She sniffles. “My friend Flora was pointing out how Clark is toxic, and it dawned on me that I let so many people like that into my life, and I don’t know what that says about me.”
Her eyes tear up, and I sit next to her, bringing her to my side. “You’re a nice person.”
She doesn’t allow me to comfort her. Instead, she blurts, “I need to bring up Trish.”