11. Lydia #2
This time, when I look up, I happen to see him standing there with his helmet in his hand, glaring over at the bottom of the stands.
From this far away, I can’t completely read his face, but he looks mad…
or annoyed? I’m not sure. I follow his gaze and see Katie, Harper, and John standing together at the bottom of the bleachers.
I don’t even think about it when I put my books down and quickly walk down to them.
I haven’t seen Harper yet today, and I’ve already forgotten about Katie’s bad mood this morning, so I go to greet them.
Harper gives me an excited hug when she sees me, and then we all just fall into normal conversation.
Harper tells me about a back-to-school party some kid is having at their house, and that we should all go.
I tell her that might actually be fun. I haven’t gone to a single party all summer, so I’ll text Simone and tell her and Tyler to come, too.
John says that he was already planning on going, and he’ll get Eli to go too.
Then he tells us he should probably get to practice; he’s already running late, and will have to do a couple of laps because of it.
We laugh and tell him to go. He gives all three of us a side hug and tells us he’ll see us at the party tomorrow night if he doesn’t see us again before then.
Once he’s gone, I start talking to the girls.
Katie seems to be in a better mood, so I don’t bring back up this morning, but not long after, they both say they’re heading home and tell me bye.
I head back up to my spot on the bleachers and pull out my phone to call Simone like I promised to, telling her about my day, and now to tell her about this party tomorrow.
“Good morning!” she answers.
“It’s 4 PM, Simone.”
“Details! Tell me about your day!”
I shake my head. “It was…okay. I mean, normal, I guess. Lunch was fun. I got purposefully ignored by all the girls sitting at the table with us.”
“Ew, sad, mean girls,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“Oh, and Katie was super weird this morning in first period.”
“Weird how?” she asks.
“I was excited to see her in my class, and when I walked over and talked to her, she kinda just blew me off and was mean, but when I just talked to her, she seemed back to normal, so I don’t know what was wrong.”
“Hmm,” she says, pondering. “Maybe I’ll text her and check in, see if there’s something going on.”
“Yeah, that would be good, maybe she’ll tell you, cause she didn’t seem to want to tell me. Oh! There’s a party tomorrow night, a back-to-school party. You know, just an excuse for kids to get together and drink, but I actually wouldn’t mind going if you wanted to.”
“One hundred percent, I want to go! We haven’t been to a party in months.”
“That’s what I said,” I tell her, laughing.
We keep talking for a while until I see that practice is over, then I tell her I have to go. We tell each other bye, and then I hang up, pack all my stuff up, and walk down the bleachers. When Eli walks off the field, he barely acknowledges me. He just gives me a quick side hug and pulls away.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I have to go change and grab my stuff. I’ll talk to you back at my car.”
That’s all he says before he walks away.
I instantly feel my stomach drop. I don’t know what could have upset him.
Was it me talking to Katie and Harper? I know he doesn’t like them, but he never gets mad that I still talk to them.
Sometimes he makes me feel bad for wanting to hang out with them, but he doesn’t ever really stop me.
My thoughts just keep cycling through what could be wrong as I wait at his car.
I finally see him walking towards the parking lot, bag swung over his shoulder, and his expression is pretty neutral.
He daps up some of the guys and tells them bye before walking over to me, unlocking the car, and getting in without saying anything.
I stand there for a moment, still confused, before I get in too.
He doesn’t speak until after he pulls out of the parking lot fully. “What the hell was that?”
I blink, confused. “What was what?”
He makes this disgusted expression at me. “Hugging all on my best friend, in front of me and everyone else to see.”
I’m totally caught off guard. That’s not what I thought he’d be upset about. “Are you serious?”
He looks over at me. “Why do you want to make me look stupid?”
“I literally don’t understand what you’re talking about. He hugged all of us, and it was barely a hug.”
“You’re my girlfriend; it’s disrespectful to be touching other guys like that. Let alone my best friend.”
“We’re all friends?”
“So he’s your friend now?”
“Is he not?”
“No, he’s my friend. You know him through me, that’s it. If you want to be ‘friends’ with him, go ahead. You might as well be fucking him too.”
“Whoa! Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not kidding, Lydia. You already hang out with girls that get around and are sluts, then to be hugging all on other guys…it makes you look like one.”
“But I’m not? You know that!”
His voice rises, anger lacing every word now. “I don’t know what you do when I’m not around! I don’t know who you talk to behind my back!”
Instantly, my brain fires off flashbacks of my dad…of the yelling, the constant accusations to my mom. Memories I’ve suppressed. I try to swallow the anxiety taking over.