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“I shouldn’t have said the things I said to Ben. It was in the heat of the moment. Our fight got so intense, it just came out.”
Them having a fight is news to me. “Fight?”
“Yeah. He was so mean. Said all these awful things to me. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hide what we were doing, but I didn’t know you two were a thing. He told me you weren’t.”
Okay,nowshe has my attention. “Wait, what were you hiding?”
A sob breaks through the line. “Mak, I tried to warn you. Tell you he’s not a great guy. He’s been playing us both. When he’s not with you, he’s been here. He told me nothing was going on between you two. It was just him feeling bad because he was a dick to you when you were kids. He fed me all these lies. Told me he loved me.” She breaks down, but I’m still stuck in some alternate universe where she just told me Ben has been sleeping with her. After what she pulled before, she thinks I’m going to fall for this? Ben has pegged her to be exactly what she is: Certifiable.
“Jenny, slow down. You’re trying to tell me you and Ben have been. . . together?” This is ridiculous.
“Yes, I’m so sorry. I’m a horrible friend. But he’s so convincing. He led me to believe he really did love me.” My head starts to spin. My gut tells me to tell her off. Then again, I’m sitting in the school office with Christine not four feet away. “If you don’t believe me, I have proof. I’ll show you all the messages.”
Not only do I not believe her, but I’ve had enough. She’s taken this way too far. “Jenny, I really don’t know what to say. . .”Except you’re crazy.God, why did I never see the signs earlier?
“Where are you? Can we meet?”
I’m hesitant to reveal that information. But then I realize, maybe it’s obvious. “I’m at school. Now’s not a good time—”
“I’m here. Please.”
Okay,thatdoesn’t sit well with me. Doubt swarms in my chest. Ben’s plea rings in my ears.Until I get the answers I’m looking for, I want you to stay away from her.My mind flashes with the possible outcomes. She’s here to beg for my forgiveness.Or here to kill you out of jealous rage.She wants to admit she’s crazy and make amends.Or burn the school down with you in it.She’s here to claim her love for Ben and fight me— “Oh, Jesus. You know what? Fine. Let’s chat. I think it’s about time we clear the air.” I end the call and stand.
“Are you okay, Makayla?” Christine asks, concern bleeding from her eyes.
“Yeah. Fine. Um. . . can you tell Mary I’ll be right back?”
She nods. “Sure thing.”
As I walk out, I wonder if I’m making a bad call. My brain spins with indecision. The best thing would be to turn around, go back inside, and tell her something came up. Or that we can have this chat over the phone. I also think I watch too many crime documentaries, and my mind is running away with me. To be on the safe side, I pull out my phone and text Ben, letting him know. Mid-text, my phone dies. “Again, seriously? Ugh. . .” I stall in my step. “I’ve seen this movie before.”
When I reach the bottom of the main entrance stairs, I spot Jenny at the end of the building. She’s pacing back and forth. She notices me and waves me over. My comfort level is in the negatives, and I’m quickly starting to doubt this decision. I cautiously make my way down the sidewalk. Of all the days for the parking lot to be a ghost town, this would be the one.
“Oh, God, thank you for talking to me. I know you must hate me.”
The closer I get, the more the hairs on the back of my neck raise. “I just want to get this cleared up. It’s kind of messed up, to be honest.” She’s been crying.
“I know, me too!” She clearly doesn’t know how to read body language because she comes to hug me. My nerves unravel, and I try to pull back.
“Shoot, I just remembered. Mary was waiting for—Jenny, what are you—”
Her hand shoots out. I don’t have a chance to block her. A sharp pain stabs at my neck. Every nerve ending in my body spasms, and I lose consciousness.
Chapter36
Ben
“Why areyou out here crying, duckling?”
She jolts at my voice and swipes her hands across her cheeks. “Saw you were here. Was really hoping for one night of peace from your lame face.”
I chuckle at her weak comeback and sit next to her, swinging my legs over the pool. Her hair looks shorter. “You know you love seeing this face. What’s really got you upset? Don’t like your haircut? I don’t think it looks so bad you need to cry about it.”
She turns her head to hide her tear-stained face. “None of your business. Why don’t you just beat it? I’m sure there’s some lost soul inside waiting for you to break them down.”
I try to throw a laugh and jab at her, but nothing comes. There’s nothing funny about how upset she is. “Nah, it’s my day off. Which means it’s your lucky day. You get the nice me.”
Her soft snicker does strange things to me. It’s sad. And pretty. And I don’t know. . .
