Chapter 26 #2
“Yeah,” I nodded, confused as to why she would be upset. “It’s a surprise party, so if you see Sebastian, don’t mention it. And if you need a ride, you’re welcome to come with us.”
She flicked her gaze to Jae and then back to her water bottle.
“Yeah. I’ll let you know if I need a ride.”
Cheese and rice.
“So, how was your…vacation?”
I shot Jae a glare, but he ignored me, focusing his attention on Shiloh.
“Where were you again? With your boyfriend Adrian, right?”
Read the room idiot! I kicked Jae in the shin, but he still ignored me.
Shiloh looked up and deadpanned, “Yeah, we were fucking all week. I’m so sore I can barely walk.”
Jae coughed, trying to clear the food that had likely gone down the wrong way, and I slapped my hand to my forehead. He fucking deserved that.
“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” he sputtered.
“Really, fuckwit? Of course I’m joking. Considering the last thing I said to Adrian was to eat a bag of sweaty shit-dipped dick tips, I’d say we’re definitely not a couple. We broke up a while ago, not that it’s any of your damn business.”
I grimaced at the disgustingly detailed description.
“I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.”
“That’s what you get for being a nosey motherfucker,” she shrugged, leaning back in her seat.
“Bag of sweaty shit-dicked dip ticks. Frick. Bag of sweaty shit-dipped dip licks. Shit. That’s a tongue twister. How did you say that so confidently?”
Shiloh smirked at Jae, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m just better at being a bitch, I guess.”
Jae rolled his eyes, and I glanced over at Shiloh.
“So, at the risk of getting told to eat a bag of dick tips, where did you actually go? You haven’t responded to messages all week. We were really worried about you.”
She chewed her cheek, fidgeting with her unwrapped sandwich and finally sighed. “I told you I was sick.”
I could feel Jae’s eyes on me, but I didn’t give in, just nodded and stuffed a grape into my mouth. I wasn’t going to have that conversation in the middle of the cafeteria. “Okay, so now that you’re back, we can plan out Thanksgiving break. Any ideas people?”
“Well, we’ve still yet to finish any of the shows we’ve started,” Jae mentioned with an annoyed look at the both of us.
“It’s not my fault all the shows you want to watch are long as fuck,” Shiloh shot back.
“It’s not my fault you fall asleep ten minutes into every episode we start.”
“Alright, chill. Both of you. Shiloh, eat something.” I slid a bag of pretzels from my lunch in front of her. “Lunch is already almost over. And Jae, stop antagonizing her.”
“But-but she’s the one name calling and insulting my taste in TV shows,” Jae pouted.
I threw a grape at him and he caught it with a laugh.
Shiloh stared at the bag of pretzels, and I frowned.
“You want something else? I’ve got a some carrots and hummus.”
“Um, no thanks.”
“You busy tonight? You want to come over after school?”
She gave me a curious look, our eyes locking for a long moment. I wished that I could read her mind. Or that she would tell me what was wrong. I could see it in her eyes. Sadness and something else that looked like longing.
“Um, yeah I’ll just meet you at your car after class?”
I nodded, smiling.
The rest of the day was a mind-numbing blur of classes, and I probably should’ve paid more attention, but I was way too keyed up to see Shiloh.
There was something off. Usually when we hung out, she’d eventually drop the mean girl bullshit, well, she’d take it down about three notches and be laughing and smiling.
But today, she was extra mean and this morning, that hug…
I rubbed at my chest, making my way through the hallway to my car.
Fuck. That was not some normal ‘hey, I missed you’ hug.
That was a ‘fucking hold me and don’t let go, please’ koala clinging hug.
Like she was trying to permanently glue herself to my body.
Oh, crap. Maybe it’s her brother’s birthday or something?
I pulled out my phone to text Sebastian and ask him.
I didn’t expect him to reply immediately, so I put my phone away and smiled with relief at Shiloh leaning against my car.
She smiled back and it felt genuine until I got close enough to see her eyes.
My stomach bottomed out, and I felt something deep in my gut telling me not to let her out of my sight.
Her eyes were sad, but that longing from this morning was replaced by something that looked like defeat.
The feeling was clawing up my throat, and I pulled her into a hug.
She let out an umph, her hands still at her sides.
“Woah, you good?” she asked with shock, standing stiffly as I held her to my body.
“Yeah,” I muttered, my chin resting against her head.
There were too many lies piling up and I didn’t know what to believe anymore. All I knew for sure was she was going to stay the night and tell me what the hell was going on before she left. Otherwise, I was done giving her leeway—my dad was going to get involved whether she hated me for it or not.