Chapter 8 Callum #2
“If you don’t have the self-awareness to figure that out, I can’t help you.”
Great. She was doing that thing where women get mad at a guy because he doesn’t know why she’s mad, which made my head hurt thinking about it. “Just tell me. Please.”
“It really bothers you, doesn’t it? That I don’t find you charming. Or attractive.”
I pretended nonchalance, but my defensiveness was rising. “I already apologized for hitting on you. But let’s be honest. These genetics can’t be denied. I’m just working with what God gave me here.”
“You are so arrogant,” she seethed.
“You have your moments, believe me.”
“And you act so entitled.”
“Me? You’ve always had everything.” I said this in a mild tone, because I wasn’t criticizing, though my blood was definitely up. “Your two rich parents and your fancy business degree. I’m a lot of things, but entitled ain’t it.”
“Says the guy who was part of a famous singer’s entourage tonight.”
“I’ve worked my ass off for—”
“So have I!” she protested. “You don’t know a thing about my life.”
“Maybe not, but you can’t claim to know anything about mine.”
Zandra tried to get around me again, and this time she squeezed past me to the door. But when she jiggled the handle, nothing happened. “You idiot. You locked us in!”
I shrugged, because yeah, I’d locked us in. She wasn’t getting out of this conversation. Not this time.
Zandra’s scowl when she turned around said she knew it too. “We talked about the sticky lock in this storage room the other day. What the hell? Why did you do that?”
“To force you to talk to me. It’s been days, and I’m sick of you avoiding me.”
“So you locked me in a storage closet with you?” Her eyes went wide with disbelief, and she grabbed a toilet plunger from the shelf, holding it out like she was brandishing a sword.
The sight was so ridiculous I had to bite back a laugh.
“Feel free to call 9-1-1,” I said.
“My phone’s in my purse. In the office.”
“Then use mine. We can both explain our sides of the story to the dispatcher. But while we’re waiting for an officer to show up, we’ll have at least five or ten minutes to talk. That’s all I want. Just tell me what you think I did.”
She dropped the plunger. “Why do you care so much? I already told you I’m not going to talk shit about you to my grandfather. I’m going to be fair.”
“It’s because I care what you think.”
“Since when?” She paced the room like a caged tiger, though she could only take about two steps in each direction before hitting a wall or a shelf.
“I’ve always cared what you think. Even back in high school. You were…” I trailed off, thinking about how she’d been the smartest girl I knew in our class. Not just book smart. She could think on her feet, and she was funny. Sometimes damn near mesmerizing.
“You weren’t like anyone else in our class,” I finished. “You were more.”
Zandra stopped, the anger draining away and leaving pure confusion in its wake.
Then suddenly, she looked so sad that I had to force down the urge to pull her into my arms to somehow make this better.
But she didn’t stay frozen in place for long. She advanced, poking my chest with her finger. “You want to know my problem with you, O’Neal?”
My back hit the shelving unit. “That’s what I’ve been asking.”
“Then I’ll tell you.” Her eyes shone with sudden renewed fury. “You made my life hell after Jessa died.”
“Hold on, I did what?”
“You spread rumors that her death was my fault. You already didn’t like me, so you did the most hurtful thing possible.
Just because you could. You were the golden boy, so everyone listened like it was gospel.
And because of that…” She swallowed. “Because of you, people at our school were awful to me.”
Zandra’s body heaved, as if it had taken real effort to get all those words out. Yet confusion didn’t begin to cover what I was feeling.
“But I didn’t do anything like that. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Tommy Pickering told me it was you who’d spread the rumors. He taunted me about it.”
“Tommy?” Rage flared in my chest so hot and sudden I saw red for a second. Tommy had never been my favorite person, not even in our high school days when we’d technically been friends. But if he’d done something like this and pinned it on me…
I mean, what the hell? Why?
“Now you’re Mr. Volunteer Firefighter. Everybody’s favorite bartender. But I know the truth. You want to act like the past didn’t happen, but it did.”
“Zandra, listen to me. Tommy was lying. I have no idea why he would do that, but I swear to you, that’s what happened.”
“Right. Of course you’d say that.”
“I swear on my mom’s grave that I would never have spread rumors about you, especially not involving Jessa. Never.”
Zandra took a step back, as if she was finally hearing me.
“Yes, I disinvited you from the bonfire party that one time. It was stupid and immature.” I couldn’t explain my reasons without sounding like even more of an ass.
“I got up in my feelings. But we all knew how Jessa’s death tore you up after that.
I would never have done anything on purpose to make things worse for you. Ever.”
Something in my tone must have convinced her, because her shoulders sagged and she slumped against the closed door, looking exhausted and heartbroken.
A tear slipped free down her cheek.
Fucking hell.
The fight went out of me completely. I almost pulled her close to comfort her, but that would probably get me a knee to the balls. Instead, I pulled the key from my pocket and unlocked the door.
Then she seemed to process what had just happened, and her eyes flashed with renewed indignation. “Wait. You had the key? This whole time?”
“It usually hangs on the wall.” I pointed at the empty hook. “Right there. In case people accidentally close the door too hard.”
“You asshole.”
“Come on. You’ve locked me out of Manny’s office plenty of times in the last few days.”
“I’m going home,” she said, pushing past me into the hallway. “Before you can come up with any new, creative ways to torture me.”
“Zandra—”
“Please, Callum.” She sniffled, wiping her face. “Just let me go.” Her voice was so small and sad. So I stood there and watched her leave, feeling like shit.
Maybe I hadn’t done what she thought I did in high school. But tonight, I definitely felt like the bad guy.