Allison yanked her foot away. “You did what now?”
“It’s not—”
“How in the world did you end up there?”
I sighed. “He found me at the park. Did you know his father slaps him around?”
“Who in the world cares what his father does? How did you end up at his house overnight? Wait a second. Did you—?”
I slowly looked up at her and her eyes bulged.
“You didn’t.”
“It just sort of happened, Allison. I’m still not completely sure what happened.”
She scoffed. “An alien took over your body. That’s what happened. Are you serious? You slept with Clint Clarke?”
My face fell. “Let’s say that a little louder. I don’t think the rest of the block heard.”
“Does Michael know?”
“Hell no! Michael doesn’t know, and he won’t know.”
Allison nodded. “Good. Because after that fight, he’d kill you if he found out.”
“Yeah. I know.”
I screwed the cap back onto the nail polish and tossed it to the ground. I put my head in my hands, trying to steady my breathing as tears rushed my eyes. Allison’s hand came down against my back, drawing small circles with her palms. I drew in a deep breaths as my heartrate skyrocketed. Every time I thought back to last night, my hands trembled. My heart stuttered.
And I still didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing.
Allison kissed the side of my head. “Tell me what happened.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what happened. That’s the issue. We talked for a little bit. I found out why he’s such a dick all the time. He was kind enough to try and get my mind off D.J. and all that shit. And then, we were in his bedroom and I lost control of myself.”
“There’s gotta be more to this, Rae.”
I shook my head. “There really isn’t. One minute we were talking about our shitty parents, then the next minute he was kissing me and I didn’t want him to stop. It was just—”
“Are you sure we’re talking about the same Clint Clarke here? I mean, the boy who slugged away at our best friend?”
I nodded slowly, feeling so many emotions flood my stomach. Shock. Awe. Happiness. Confusion. But none of it was guilt.
Which confused me even more.
I looked up from my hands. “I really want to tell Michael about it.”
Allison scoffed. “You can’t. After taking the beating he did and stepping up for us—”
“For you.”
I looked over and saw Allison blushing.
“Well, at any rate, after what happened Friday morning, Michael wouldn’t speak to you for a while. He’s awesome and all, but the boy can hold a grudge.”
I groaned. “I don’t like the idea of keeping secrets from my best friends, though.”
She shook her head. “Trust me, it won’t do him any good to know. Plus, you’ve got me. You’ve told me, and you can keep telling me until you come to terms with what’s happened. Because I feel you shaking. I know you regret what happened.”