Page 32 of TJ Powar Has Something to Prove

Please, please say it’s okay.

He doesn’t. He just exhales. “Then I’ll see you around, I guess.”

A roaring sound fills TJ’s ears, making it impossible to hear anything else. This can’t be happening. This must be a nightmare. There’s no way he’d be so willing to let her go forthis. “Liam, wait,” she whispers, struggling to keep her voice even. She grabs his arm. “Let me explain—”

He pulls out of her grasp, looking pained. “Just stop, TJ.”

And he walks away from her.

She stares after him, shell-shocked. Her boyfriend broke up with her. Just like that. He doesn’t even seem affected. And here she is on the verge of tears, heart splintering, begging him to stay. That’s not how it should be. She should be going downswinging, damn it.

The roaring sound fades, and the real world comes rushing back in, along with TJ’s anger.

“Fine!” she shouts after him. “Leave, then. I’m sure you can find something hairless to make out with, like a naked mole-rat or, better yet, your pillow. That’ll be your only two options from now on!” He doesn’t look back, although some people turn and stare. Not her best insult, but it still makes her feel better.

She spins and stalks to the parking lot, ignoring the whispers. The back of her neck is hot.

She drives home on autopilot, clutching the wheel in a deathgrip. What a complete asshole. She can’t believe it. He’s going to apologize later, like usual. He’ll remember why he liked her in the first place.

At that thought, TJ’s treacherous brain pulls her back to when they first started dating.

It had been a long time coming. But despite their flirtation in class, he didn’t ask her out until grade eleven, at a home soccer game.

She’d come running off the field, jubilant after blocking the opposing team from scoring. Liam’d stepped away from his friends on the sidelines to congratulate her on a good game.

Her hair was a mess from her last slide tackle, and she pulled the elastic off to redo her ponytail. He watched her shake out her hair. “You’re so pretty,” he said. She paused while piling her hair back up. His words had more effect on her than she wanted to admit.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” she teased.

His reply was instant. “Okay. I want to go out with you.”

She dropped her hands. “Didn’t I say ‘something I don’t know’?”

His friends laughed. Liam shook his head.

“Damn, TJ. I was trying to be smooth.”

“Try harder.” She was grinning despite being nervous. “You were saying you wanted to go out with me? Why, because I’mso pretty?”

“No.” He paused. “Because you’re funny, and smart, and you make every class we’re in a hundred times better. Pretty is just a bonus.”

Past-TJ was sold. Present-TJ laughs out loud in the car. What aliar.

When she arrives home, the TV is on, a fact she barely pays attention to until she slams the front door behind her.

Her dad jolts into wakefulness, and she realizes he’s been sleeping on the couch. “TJ?”

She hadn’t been ready to see him. But now she remembers he was waiting for her to come home so he could take their shared car to work. He’s in his housekeeping uniform with the hospital insignia, ready for another night shift.

TJ shucks her shoes off, trying to control the anger she knows is etched all over her face. “You can take the car now.”

“Oh. Okay.” He looks bewildered, scratching the top of his head. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she grits out. He opens his mouth like he’s about to ask more, but she darts up the stairs before he can. She doesn’t bother putting her bag away; she goes straight to the bathroom and locks herself in. She turns on the fan, lets her clothes drop on the floor, and gets in the shower, cranking the water to a blistering hot full blast. She leans her head against the tile. And finally, it’s loud enough to drown out the sobs she would never be able to explain to her parents.

NINE

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