Page 97 of Silent Damage

Jason tilts his head in that cocky way he does when he’s trying to size someone up. “Because he is, isn’t he? I saw the way you were with him—all smiles and googly eyes. You’re obsessed with him.”

“What? What are you even talking about?” I ask.

“I saw the way you were around him, Gabe. He’s your best friend now—maybe even more than that.” He lets that land, hitting me square in the chest.

“You’re fucking crazy. Torren is my friend—we work together.”

Jason folds his arms over his chest and says, “Yeah…friend.”

“He’s got a boyfriend. Besides, who are you to say shit about my friendship with Torren? What about the way you looked at Tobias?”

Jason’s eyes flash with shock. “I wasn’t looking at Tobias in any kind of way.”

“Bullshit! You looked so happy when he came over and praised you. You were like a little puppy, yipping and licking his fucking hand.”

“Shut your mouth,” Jason spits at me.

“It’s true! You were fucking gushing.”

“I was not! He’s the boss,” Jason hollers.

“Do you plan on fucking the boss?” I ask.

“Are you fucking your boss?” he yells back at me.

“No!”

“Are you sure about that, Baby Gabe?” he taunts, using Torren’s nickname for me.

I stare at him in utter disbelief—he’s done some shitty things, but this? He’s going to make my friendship with Torren a thing to use against me?

It’s all too much—

Then, I realize something. I’m talking. Continuously.

For him.

I feel like an atomic bomb that’s about to explode with everything I’m feeling right now…

So, I let it detonate.

“Don’t you get it? Listen to me, Jason. Listen to me. I speak. For you. Just you. Not Torren. Not even my mom gets this, and do you know why? Because I care about you so fucking much that I am willing to do something I said I’d never do again just for you. I waded through that fucking crowd, fighting to get to you so I could help because I was scared for your life. Now, do you get it? Is this enough to prove how important you are to me, you fucking asshole?”

My chest rises and falls as I come down from my tirade.

I swallow, and it feels like trying to push glass down my throat.

Jason says nothing—just stares at me.

Then he takes a breath and asks, “Really?”

I’m so wrecked from this meltdown that I don’t even understand what he’s asking. “Huh?”

His eyes look right into mine with an overwhelming intensity. “You…you don’t do this with your mom. Talk like this?”

“No,” I say out of breath. “Not like this.”

He looks at me, stunned. “Why me? Why now?” he asks.