There was an itch between my shoulder blades—the kind that made me feel like someone was staring at me.
I turned to look around the room.
“You keep doing that. Is someone meeting you here? Are you looking for someone?”
We were going to keep circling around to this unless I told her. We’d get no studying done. I should just tell her and get it over with. “Someone bumped into me outside.” I clicked my pen. “They thought I was someone else, but it was weird. I just checked to make sure that they didn’t follow me in here. And they didn’t.”
Georgine went from glaring at my pen bag to staring at me. “What?”
“It’s not a big deal. She just flustered me.” I shouldn’t have told her. I should’ve brought up something else.
I could almost see the questions forming in her mind. I waited while she picked what she wanted to say first.
I slouched back in my chair. I didn’t care about being cool or wearing the right designers. I wore jeans and T-shirts and cardigans everywhere. If you asked me what brand they were, I couldn’t tell you. My hair was always slopped into a messy bun. I didn’t look like her. I couldn’t.
Georgine looked as if she’d walked out of a magazine. Her hair flowed in perfect waves down her back. Any makeup she wore was always on point. Her clothes looked expensive and like she’d planned out every bit of an outfit—down to the last accessory—the night before. Guys stared at her wherever she went, and everyone seemed to trip over themselves to get to her first. To be her friend first. To impress her the most.
I’d never be as beautiful or popular, and that was fine by me. I didn’t want that kind of attention. And I certainly didn’t need or want her approval, especially on something so insignificant as a pen bag.
And no matter what she asked me, I didn’t have to answer.
“Who was it? What did they look like?” She stood up and started looking around. “Were they tall? Muscular? Are they still here?”
Tall? Muscular? Was she looking for me to set her up with them?
“I’ll be back.”
Great. Now Georgine was going to make this into a big deal and call my mother, and then somehow, this would turn into me getting put back in the hospital. Again.
I’d been back four times already, and I wasn’t going back for a fifth time.
I was putting an end to this. I grabbed her arm as she tried to squeeze between my chair and the person sitting at the table behind me. “I don’t see her anywhere. It’s fine. Sit back down.”
She jerked her arm free, taking one long look around before going back to her chair.
I took a sip of my drink and choked it down. “I don’t know why I got this. I hate tea.” I muttered under my breath.
“Go get something else. While you get in line, I can take a look around outside for that crazy person if you tell me what she looks—”
Shit. I wasn’t siccing Georgine on some poor girl who had the bad luck to bump into me. “I’m fine. It was a few blocks away, and the girl is long gone. She didn’t follow me here.” My words were harsher than I meant them to be, but I wasn’t in the mood for one of Georgine’s drama fits. “I’m going to go grab a Diet Coke. Want anything?” I tried to soften my tone, but Georgine wouldn’t look at me.
Whatever.
Georgine grabbed up her cell and started typing. “I don’t need anything,” she said without looking up from her phone.
I stood, staring at her for a second before walking away.
She was texting my mother.
I knew she was texting my mother.
God. Georgine was annoying. What kind of friend is constantly texting a friend’s mother to tattle on them? How old were we? If only I knew what she was thinking, then maybe I could get her to calm down. I didn’t even understand why she was so compelled to keep in constant contact with my mother. But short of reading her mind—which was impossible—I’d never find out.
I couldn’t remember what my relationship had been with Mother before the accident, but now it was tense. Very, very tense. And Georgine was always making it worse.
I wasn’t sure how much worse our mother-daughter relationship could get, but apparently, I’d find out soon enough. I couldn’t wait for that phone call.
I took some calming breaths while I waited in line. If I really thought about it, I had nothing to complain about. Not when you thought of all the real things people had to worry about. Mother apparently was born wealthy because she didn’t seem to have a job yet always had an abundance of money. It angered her whenever I asked, so I left it alone. All I knew was that my bank account was ridiculously full. My apartment was paid through the next five years. My fridge was packed with food. My bills were paid, including tuition. I could go to school and literally not worry about anything but learning and becoming the person that I wanted to be.