“Shocked I know the term? Or shocked that I used it correctly?”
I drew in a sharp breath. “What I said was only partially—I mean, if you twist it—I—you know what that word means?”
He chuckled. “English is my strong suit. That’s why I don’t pay attention in class.”
“Didn’t you almost fail, though?”
He shrugged. “C-minus. Not bad for never turning in homework.”
“That means you would’ve had to ace all your tests, though. Read the material?”
“What? You think I can’t read?”
“Not that you can’t. Just that you don’t.”
He grinned. “Maybe I have a few tricks up my sleeve every now and again.”
I quickly turned away from him and tightened my arms across my chest. I wasn’t going to let him disarm me. I wasn’t going to let him in. I wasn’t going to let him closer, or talk to him about anything, or even tell him why the hell I was out here. I wasn’t going to indulge my personal life with the school bully. No matter how he tried to woo me into it.
But, I had to admit, he’d officially shocked me.
He snickered. “Still not gonna talk?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
“Even though you now know I’m not just a bully?”
“No one is ever ‘just’ anything. Being a bully is your dominating trait. So it is what it is.”
“But, if it wasn’t, you’d talk to me. Wouldn't you?”
“Doesn’t matter now, does it?”
He chuckled. “Answering a question with a question is never a good thing, Cleaver.”
And even though I tried keeping my guard up, I felt it slowly slipping down with him.
Something I didn’t even think to be possible.
14
Clinton
I mean, I got it. I understood why Rae didn’t want to talk with me. I just found it crazy that we both ended up here at the same time. I mean, fuck. She was sitting on my bench! A bench I’d practically claimed back in eighth grade. I came to this damn park whenever I needed to clear my head. Whenever I needed to fuck some shit up without getting into trouble with the town of Riverbend. Most of the cracks in these slides were from me. The broken, rusted-through metal monkey bars had been broken through in the first place because of me terrorizing this damn place. I mean, parents and families alike had abandoned it years and years ago. The second the sandbox became infested and sent kids to the hospital, they shunned this place. Making it the perfect park for angsty teenagers and homeless people alike to find whatever fucking piece of solace they could in this decrepit park. And with Rae sitting on my damn bench?
I didn’t believe in coincidences that much.
Especially since you can’t stop thinking about the girl, asshole.
I licked my lips. “I come here sometimes, too.”
I heard Rae snicker to herself, but she didn’t say anything.
“It’s true. I’ve come here regularly ever since eighth grade. I sit on this exact bench, right where you’re sitting, and I stare between those two dying trees.”
I pointed off into the distance as she drew in a deep breath.
“It’s not going to work. I know you’re making this shit up.”