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“How can he be trying to get me back if he hasn’t even talked to me?”
Mia shrugged. “He’s probably biding his time. Giving you a few days to calm down and realize how much you miss him.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen.”
“Obviously. But he doesn’t know that.”
I couldn’t decide if Mia was reading the situation completely wrong or if Jeremy was arrogant enough to believe I might be able to get past what he’d done. I prayed, for both our sakes, he wasn’t planning to win me back. There was no way I was giving him another chance.
“Let’s just hope you’re wrong,” I finally said to Mia.
“I don’t think I am,” she replied. “But I hope so too.” She sighed and gave me a grateful smile as she went to take a bite of the pizza I’d given her. “Enough about Jeremy. We have much more important things to talk about. Like Violet’s first bonfire party this Saturday. You’re coming, right?”
I groaned. “Not you too.”
Her brow furrowed with confusion as she glanced at Nicole. “Have you already started trying to convince her to come with us?”
“Nope. Not me,” Nicole replied. “I figured I’d wait for you. You’re far more persuasive.”
Mia turned to me, an expectant look on her face. She clearly wanted to know who had mentioned the party to me, but I wasn’t ready to tell her about Reed’s invite. I decided it would be better to try to avoid the whole thing entirely.
“The fact you think I need persuading tells me everything I need to know about bonfire nights. Besides, it’s been a tough week. I don’t think I’m in a bonfire party mood.”
“But they’re so fun,” Mia replied. “Pretty much everyone goes. From Sunshine Hills and Ransom. You can’t miss it.”
“It sounds like a recipe for disaster,” I said. “I thought kids from Sunshine Hills and Ransom hated each other.” I could still remember the tension in the room at Summer’s party when Reed and his brothers arrived.
“Not on bonfire nights,” Nicole explained. “They’re kind of like a neutral territory, and since the parties are so good, no wants to mess that up.”
“That’s right,” Mia added. “Annabelle Doyle’s family owns a huge farm outside town, and she hosts the parties out in one of the fields with her brother, Jasper. He goes to Ransom, but she’s here on a scholarship. They have friends at both schools, so they make it work. Anyone who starts shit on bonfire nights is banned from returning. Please come, I promise you’ll have a good time.”
“What if Jeremy’s there?”
“If you worry about that, you won’t go to a party for the rest of your senior year,” Mia said. “Besides, it’s in a big-ass field, and there will be tons of people, so it shouldn’t be hard to avoid him.”
I still didn’t feel convinced, and it didn’t help that I knew Reed was going to be there. He made me nervous, and I wasn’t quite sure why. He’d been nothing but nice to me so far despite the fact Mia was adamant I should steer well clear of him. I hadn’t listened to her warnings about Jeremy, and that turned out to be a huge mistake. So, Reed was just going to have to survive without his jacket a while longer.
“I still think I’d rather spend Saturday night with a tub of ice cream,” I said. “But you guys go, and you can tell me all about it on Sunday.”
The end-of-lunch bell rang before Mia could say anything else, and her eyes narrowed on me. “This conversation isn’t over,” she said. “I’ll convince you yet.”
“We’ll see,” I murmured, but I didn’t like her chances.
The cafeteria emptied quickly, and the three of us all had different classes, so we went our separate ways. I hurried to my locker to pick up the books I needed, but I froze when I rounded the corner and it came into view down the corridor. Jeremy was leaning against my locker, waiting for me.
I briefly considered turning around and running in the opposite direction. But Mia’s advice was still clear in my mind. She’d told me not to let him get to me, so I squared my shoulders and continued to my locker.
“What do you want, Jeremy?” I demanded when I reached him. My words were laced with hostility, but he seemed completely unaffected by them. He gave me a timid smile as if my sharp tone was nothing more than a gentle breeze passing by. Just a few days ago, I might have melted at that smile. But not now. Not anymore.
“I wanted to see how you were doing,” he said.
A few people glanced our way as they passed, but thankfully no one was within earshot as they were all too busy hurrying to their next class.
“I’m doing fine,” I said. “And I’m late for class.”
I reached for my locker door, and he reluctantly edged out of my way.
“I’ll walk you there,” he suggested. Was he really not going to take the hint?
