I let out a breath and try to calm my racing heart as I write my name at the top of the sheet.
That was way too close for my liking. Next time, I’ll be more prepared.
By lunchtime, I collapse down into the chair beside Brooke. “I’m exhausted,” I tell her. “Today has literally been non-stop.” She silently turns her head my way and narrows her eyes on me. “What’s that look for?” I grunt.
“There’s a rumor going ‘round ‘bout you,” she says.
“Oh great,” I say with a groan as a million possibilities come to mind. I mean, has Jesse said something to get payback for this morning, or maybe it’s Nate who’s come up with something after I shut him down. “What is it this time?”
“That you were seen getting out of Nate’s car this morning,” she says with a roll of her eyes as though the possibility of me doing that is slim to none.
I press my lips together and look away.
“What?” she shrieks. “What the hell, Tora? Please tell me I’m imagining this. I mean, how? There’s no way my best friend voluntarily got in Nate Ryder’s car this morning, as the best friend I know would have rather walked,” she tells me before an annoyed crease appears between her eyebrows. “And for another matter,” she adds. “It’s lunch. Why am I only just finding out about this now?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Believe me,” I tell her. “Me riding to school with that sewer rat is only just scratching the surface.”
“Huh?” she grunts. “What could possibly be worse?”
“Try living with him,” I say.
Her mouth pops open before it slowly closes again. “Umm… I don’t even know what to say to that. You’re joking, right?”
“I wish,” I grunt. “His mom sent him to check on me after you left last night and he deemed I was incapable of looking after myself. He practically kidnapped me and took me back to his place. I’ve had to deal with his glares and Jesse’s comments all night.”
She throws her arms around me. “Shit, Torz,” she says with a pout. “That would have been horrible.”
“Believe me, it was,” I say. “That’s why I’m going to need you to give me a ride back to my place after school. There’s no way in hell I’m staying there all weekend.”
“No problem,” she says before a wicked grin crosses her lips. “Now, tell me you’ve got dirt on them? There’s got to be dirt.”
With that, I launch into my rundown of how my night went, but I find myself skipping over major parts of the story, say like, when I threw up my dinner and how I’d caught him with another girl. I also skip right over the part about what happened up against the wall this morning.
As we talk in the cafeteria, I can’t help but notice stares digging into me from three separate tables. My first instinct is to look across to Nate’s table, only for the first time in years, it’s not his stare that’s coming my way.
It’s his girlfriend, Ashley.
She must have heard about the whole car ride thing unless Nate has told her the whole story, which I very much doubt. I mean, I wonder what her perspective would be on Nate dirtying the sheets with that random girl last night?
I look across to the next stare to find Elle and roll my eyes. It’s been a week since she confronted me in this very room about Josh, and so far, her bark has been a lot worse than her bite. She hasn’t had the balls to do anything about it which could either be a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, she could be too busy with cheer practice to make any moves, or she’s planning something big.
Just great.
Next up, it’s the eyes of Josh, only this isn’t quite so much as a stare, it’s more of a leer. You know, the ‘I’m going to get you naked’ leer which is honestly not the best look for him. I mean, the more and more I spend time with him, I realize he isn’t all that great. He has the looks and the title of being the quarterback, but he also has the personality of a brick wall. I’d rather watch paint dry than spend any more time with him.
I’ll have to drop this thing. Sure, it was fun to start with, but it’s getting boring quickly.
The bell for the end of lunch rings and before I know it, it’s the end of the day and I’m dashing down to Brooke’s car in hopes of not being seen by Nate. I find it only three cars down from his and duck down beside it until Brooke comes strolling out without a care in the world. “What the hell are you doing?” she grunts as she takes me in.