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“Yeah, well.” I bite my lip to keep it from wobbling. “We have history. He’s not all bad.”
“If you tell them, they might not suspend James.” She shades her eyes, leaning in a bit. “He didn’t start the fight, so he shouldn’t even be suspended in the first place, but if they know the wholecontext, how could they? He didn’t break any official rules by messing up that throw. Darryl’s the one who hurt you and then fought him, that’s breaking the rules.”
“I guess.”
“Even if you’re on a break or whatever—which you know I think is stupid—”
I sigh. “Yes.”
“—you owe it to James and to yourself to report it. You can’t just let Darryl get away with that kind of shitty behavior. He shouldn’t get suspended and then be able to make up the credits over the summer, come on.”
“I know you’re right,” I admit.
“So what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know!” I burst out. “I feel like he already got punished, I guess. James took care of that.”
“That’s not the same as a real consequence. Who’s to say he wouldn’t do the same thing to someone else? Or worse? Maybe getting expelled would be the wake-up call he needs.”
“You’re right.” I pull my sleeves over my hands. It’s cold in the diner; that’s something I should investigate. Maybe there’s something wrong with the heater. I hope not, because that would mean spending money we don’t have to fix it.
“You don’t know he’ll get expelled,” she adds. “You’d report it and the student discipline council or whatever would figure it out.”
I know Laura’s right. Even though Darryl only kissed me, in that moment, I was afraid he’d do something worse. Maybe if we had been truly alone, he would have tried it. But the thought of reporting the whole incident feels... embarrassing, I guess.
“I fell for his shit and put myself in a position to let him do this.”
Laura shakes her head. “Tell me you’re not saying you think this is your fault.”
“I shouldn’t have agreed to talk to him.”
“You’re not in control of his actions.Hechose to kiss you without your say-so.Hechose to punch James. He chose to do all of this, Bex! Let him deal with the consequences!”
“If I didn’t meet with him, then James wouldn’t have had a reason to miss that throw.” I sniffle. Tears seem to come so easily lately. “I let myself get drawn into his orbit again, and then I couldn’t keep it quiet throughout one fucking football game.” I swipe my hand over my eyes roughly. “I was a fucking idiot.”
“I wish I could hug you right now,” Laura says. “I would hug you so hard.”
I smile, hiccupping. “I’d like that.”
“You could come down to Florida for a couple days. Maybe it would help you clear your head.”
I shake my head. “Thanks, but I can’t. There’s so much to do here.”
“Okay,” she says, reluctance clear on her face. “I have to go in a minute, but let me know what you decide, okay? If you want me to be there when you report it, I will be.”
When she hangs up, I sit back, bringing my legs up to my chest. The bell at the front door rings, but it’s just Christina, bringing in snow on her boots.
“Hey, Bex!” she calls.
I wave to her. “Thanks for coming in.”
“There’s a boy waiting outside,” she says. “He asked if you were in here.”
My heart skips a beat. “What did he look like?”
“He’s blond.” She grins, a little slyly. “Really cute, too.”
So not James... but not Darryl, either. “Thanks. I’ll go talk to him.”
