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Chapter Fifteen
Emmett and I sit in awkward silence with nothing but the sounds of us quietly chewing our food, which seems louder with the absence of words. Beyond our little bubble sits the rest of the high school cafeteria, filled with laughter and everyone trying to talk over each other.
In the middle of it all is the Elite table. I have started a daily habit of studying Bridgett as she sits with them, but she’s smart enough to know not to stare back at me. She always sits, eating quietly, seeming completely detached from whatever the rest of them are talking about around her. She wasn’t kidding about preferring to keep her head down and stay out of their business the best she can.
I turn back to Emmett who seems determined not to look at me. “You okay?” I ask finally. He nods with a grunt, not saying anything. “I’m sorry Theo blurted that out about California,” I add. “I was going to talk to you about it, but I’ve been stressed and nervous about it all. Coach is putting a lot of pressure on me to make a decision…not to mention all the money stuff with my parents.”
“So, it’s true then?” he perks up. “That’s your top choice so far?”
“I…I don’t know yet,” I reply, feeling frustrated. “You know…I just said I was under a lot of pressure. It’s not exactly the response I was hoping for…For you to add to that feeling.”
“Whatever,” he grumbles. “Sorry. Forget I said anything.”
“What the fuck?” I mutter, wondering where the attitude is coming from.
“Hey, I’m leaving early today, so I won’t see you after school,” he states casually, still seeming irritated with me.
“Oh…okay…well…what for?” I ask in confusion.
He barely lifts his head, scrunching up his face. “Huh?”
“What are you leaving early for?”
Commotion rises from the corner of the room, distracting both
of us. Our heads whip around to see that Malcolm has left his lunch table and is pummeling some guy against the wall. Everyone watches in discomfort, but we all know better than to try and interfere. Their fight dissipates after a few minutes and everyone goes back to pretending everything is fine and normal. Who knows what that guy did to bring on Malcolm’s wrath.
I look back to Emmett, always feeling uncomfortable with any reminder that those are the kinds of things he used to do. Then I’m eager to hear why he’s leaving early, but before I can ask again he quickly stands and starts gathering his things.
“I’ll talk to you later, okay?” he blurts coldly before walking away with his tray.
He’s too far away for me to yell after him, and with Malcolm already riled up, I don’t want to draw any attention to us. I’m not done eating yet, but I can’t just let Emmett walk away and leave things so tense. I leave my food and go chasing after him.
“Hey!” I call out just as he’s rounding the corner in the hall. “Wait up!” He stops and turns towards me, but his eyes dart all around, still avoiding me. “What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean? Nothing,” he shrugs.
“You’re acting so weird,” I point out, annoyed that he seems to think I’m too stupid to notice. Or that I would let him get away with it.
“Just a lot on my mind,” he says quietly. “I have to go, okay?” He kisses my forehead and takes off again, leaving me with a nagging feeling in my gut.
It doesn’t seem like it’d do any good to chase after him again, so not knowing what else to do, I slowly turn and begin making my way back into the lunchroom. I walk with my brows furrowed and my head down, muttering under my breath the whole way. I hate it when I know something is going on with him, but he refuses to tell me what it is.
I can’t ignore how guilty I feel. I should have talked to him about California rather than treating him like some pity case who wouldn’t be able to work it out with me. Who am I to say he wouldn’t be able to find some kind of job there? Furthermore, what kind of job am I going to find there? I’m not ready to give up on the possibility just yet, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to take Theo’s money if it comes down to that.
As I get closer to the cafeteria, I see Bridgett coming through the double doors. She’s making her early escape to class, like she always does, avoiding whatever new drama could erupt in the hallways between periods.
“Hey!” I smile, knowing no one else is around.
But she breezes right past me like I don’t exist, ignoring me completely. It scares me at first, bringing back memories of the times Lily turned on me, but then the doors behind her swing open again as Malcolm and a few of his other cronies come filing out. They’re pumping fists, likely congratulating each other on their little show of dominance in the cafeteria. Malcolm doesn’t see me standing there at first and bumps straight into my shoulder.
“Watch where you’re going, whore,” he sneers, shooting me a look of pure hatred and disgust.
I ignore him and go through the doors, feeling relieved to know Bridgett probably ignored me because she knew they were right behind her. I sit back down at my tray with a heavy sigh, knowing my food is probably cold now.
I take a sip of my water, thinking it tastes a little weird. Then just as I am about to take a bite of my burger, I notice it has some kind of weird powdery substance on it that wasn’t there before. I throw it back down to the tray. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but it definitely seems like somebody tampered with my food. Not wanting to take any risks, I decide to just throw it all out.
Great, first they tried to kill me in my car, now they try to poison me. I think to myself as I return to the hall, still feeling hungry. It’s almost time for my next period now and the rest of the students are beginning to spill out to the lockers. I stop at my own to switch out the textbooks in my backpack, but I immediately notice that the lock is undone.
