by Lannah Smith
"Yeah," a smug nasally voice replied. "Remember Andrew's party? We met there and fucked inside the closet."
My stomach clenched.
"How was it, Chrissie?" another girl asked. "Was he good?"
"Let's just say it was the greatest sex I've ever had."
They were still talking but I couldn't hear anymore. My mind was on the fact that John had cheated on me during the break.
See? He was a fucking liar.
I couldn't believe I was all kinds of fool for letting him into my life again. I should have accepted Skull's offer to beat him up. He was a dick.
A slap broke through my distress and I jerked my head up.
"I don't have the clam, you stupid slut!" shouted the voice that belonged to Chrissie.
Wait, what?
"Apologize to her, Laura!"
I squeezed my eyes shut and silently laughed without humor.
Chlamydia? She had the clams and John still fucked her?
Served him right if his balls fell off. Now there was no way I was letting him near me ever again, that womanizing bastard.
The girls went out and I buried my face into the palms of my hands and sighed. Realizing I had no tears to shed over John's betrayal, I lifted my head back up and stared at the tiles over the toilet. I felt my temperature increase. The more I thought about what I just heard the more my anger elevated and I did my best to lock it down.
Taking a deep breath, I turned and opened the stall door. Sophia was in front of the sink, staring at me through the mirror, looking like she'd seen a ghost. I scowled at her.
"What?" I snapped as I threw the stall door close.
She dropped her gaze and continued to wash her hands. "N-nothing!"
Still trying my best to lock down my anger, I walked over to the sink to wash my hands. I saw her flinch at the corner of my eye and resisted the urge to shout at her. She was always playing the victim, always acting like she needed saving. Well, good for her. She had Gage. She could act like a scared rabbit all the time and she'd still have Leon who wouldn't think twice about saving her.
Stonily, I left the rest room and joined Hannah in our table. She began to talk my ear off and I half-listened as I took a long sip of my coffee to calm myself down. There was still so much anger in me and I was beginning to think this feeling would never end. But I had the strength of mind borne of loads of practice to set the pain, the hurt and the anger, and what caused it, aside.
"You know, I've been thinking..." Hannah spoke in such a contemplative voice that it made me look at her.
"Big surprise there," I murmured.
Hannah let out an exasperated sigh before continuing, "Like I said, I've been thinking. It's about what you told me about Leon, Sophia."
Sophia's brows furrowed in confusion, her drink suspended mid-air. "Yeah, and?"
"You said Leon could be sweet when he isn't a jerk. And that he's always a perfect gentleman to you. Opening your doors, carrying your stuff, paying for your dinner, that sort of thing. So maybe the other guys aren't that bad, either."
My eyes narrowed at her. "Don't even think about it, Hannah."
"Leon's an alpha. I offered to pay for dinner once and let's just say it did not end very well," Sophia explained. "And besides, I've only met John but I could tell Leon's other friends are not exactly prince charming material."
Hannah shrugged. "Who needs prince charming? I'd rather get myself a bad boy. Maybe I should try going for John."
I clenched my teeth and glowered at her. If I hear one more word from her about John I was going to do some bodily harm.
"I just heard John might have Chlamydia," Sophia immediately told her, glancing at me nervously. "So, no. Not John."
Feeling some of my anger slip away, I speared her with a glance and looked at Hannah.
"I also heard he have the crabs from Melissa, too," I muttered, making up the lie as I spoke, before taking a bite out of my muffin. "And if he tapped Roxie from class D, he probably has gonorrhea, too." Now that I didn't have to lie about. I did hear she had gonorrhea.
"Oh, gross," Sophia said, wrinkling her nose. "I just saw him flirting with Roxie the other day. Does she really...?"
He flirted with Roxie the other day?
Damn him. Damn him and this jealousy to hell!
"Yes," I replied coolly with a practiced artifice.
"Oh, look at you two," Hannah gushed, clasping her hands together. "You're agreeing with each other. I'm so happy my two best friends are finally getting along with each other. Who knew being stubbornly optimistic would work out just fine!"
I almost rolled my eyes.
"It's funny to think of John as a playboy," Sophia muttered thoughtfully.
The urge to shout at her and slap her began to overwhelm me again.
"Why?" Hannah asked, twirling her straw in her drink.
"Well, it's because he doesn't seem like the typical heartthrob, you know. He's sort of like Leon, dark and scary. But he does smile a lot, doesn't he? And he is kind of hot."
"Kind of hot? The guy is practically an Adonis."
"He's nothing but a waste of space." I found myself muttering. I couldn't take hearing his name anymore and I couldn't take this pretension anymore. "A complete asshole. A bastard. I can't believe some girls are dumb enough to hit that. I hope he gets all the STDs in the world. Fucking pig."
Hannah giggled as she slapped my shoulder playfully. "All the STDs in the world? That is freaking harsh, Terry."
"Wow," Sophia breathed in surprise. "You seem to really hate him, huh?"
I leaned forward and hissed, "Guys like that aren't worth a smart girl's time. But considering you're stupid enough to fall for Leon, I guess you don't really understand, right?"
Her head jerked back and hurt flitted across her features.
"Terry!" Hannah snapped. "That was totally uncalled for!"
I leaned back slowly. Sophia's eyes were starting to tear up.
"Apologize to her, Terry." Hannah looked angrily at her best friend. "Now."
I finally rolled my eyes. Funny thing was, I didn't regret my outburst. She deserved a reality check. I did too. I was stupid enough to fall for John.
Sophia was looking at me through wet eyes and I knew I should fix this. Haru would have me punished if he knew I was a bitch to her. But I still wasn't apologizing.
"I'll buy you a latte," I told her, echoing Chrissie's not apology in the ladies' room.
She blinked. Then light dawn and she started to giggle. My lips twitched at how easy she was before I lifted my coffee to my lips. Hannah looked confused but as soon as she saw that Sophia was smiling, she too smiled.
The tension diffused soon after and the entire time we spent in the coffee shop soon became comfortable and fun. I let myself contribute to the discussion, even taking Sophia's side when Hannah scolded her for always wearing unfashionable clothes. To seem like I was looking out for her, I took Sophia home first and and Hannah last afterwards in my car and the conversation kept on going, mostly because of Hannah's chatty nature.
"Good night," Hannah called as she waved from the porch of her home. "Sweet dreams, Terry."
I pursed my lips and thought, still nursing my anger, there was no way I'd have sweet dreams or fall asleep tonight.
The moment I was at home, I locked myself in my bedroom. Julie had sensed my bad mood when I arrived and had already learned to leave me alone. I dumped my purse on the table, my pumps on the floor and threw my body across the bed.
Mission accomplished, I grimly thought. Sophia was warming up to me and I'll soon have her trust just like Haru ordered.
Then I remembered what I had heard earlier and my fury ignited again, rising to dangerous peaks.
I tried to distract myself, to think about Sophia and my plans but before I could think about what I was doing, I'd knifed out of bed, snatched my purse from the table and pulled out my cell phone.
And before I could stop myself, I'd already unblocked the last number I
wanted to unblock and pressed call on the last number I'd wanted to call.
"You asshole."
John was wiping his nose with a tissue when he answered the call. He sat up abruptly, almost hitting his head on the roof of his truck, when he heard the sweet voice of the last person he'd thought would call him.
"Terry?" he murmured in surprise.
"You fucking asshole!" Terry repeated, her voice rising, and there definitely was nothing sweet about it anymore.
John let out a long sigh. It's been weeks since he'd last heard her voice, weeks of trying to live through the pain and acting like he was fucking dandy. Then she calls, gets his fucking hopes up before dashing it to the ground callously?
And what the hell was her problem now?
"I don't understand," he told her, looking outside to check if Leon had come out of Sophia's house. His head was throbbing and her angry screaming wasn't helping. "Why are you shouting at me?"
"How dare you ask me not to give up on you? How dare you ask me to give you one more chance when you fucked another girl while you were supposedly taking care of your precious Nicky during the break!"
He fell silent.
Then he asked in a voice that was a dangerous quiet, "What the hell?"
"Chrissie Adams? Ring a bell?"
John wanted to laugh. He wanted to laugh but he was afraid he'd start crying again.
Fuck, how can Terry be this cruel to him?
"No, it does not," he bit off. "Damn it, Terry. I've been so busy taking care of Leon that I never went to any parties. I didn't even go to my parent's annual banquet on New Year's. Whoever told you that, whatever it is that you've heard, it's not true."
"And you think I'd believe you?" came her incredulous reply.
"Then why'd you call?" he replied tersely.
She became quiet.
And his temper snapped.
"I'd been nothing but honest with you, Terry! You think I'd fuck it up over some girl?"
"Don't shout at me," she returned, no longer testy or sharp, just careful.
"I almost got Leon killed tonight because I couldn't focus and could not stop thinking about you!" he kept on shouting. "So forgive me if I can't stop shouting!"
She fell silent again.
"Rohan. That stupid little fuck," he gripped. "He got us taking a guy out in the warehouse because the bastard was cheating on his step sister and talking shit about her. Leon tried to stop him from killing him and what did the fucker do? He slashed a knife at Leon!"
Just thinking about it made him pissed, so seriously fucking pissed. He'd almost killed the brat himself if Skull hadn't stopped him. And Leon, knowing how infuriated he was, asked him to take him to Sophia's so she could see to his wounds. Usually, when one of them was wounded but not badly, they'd let Skull see to it. But it seemed Leon wanted John to distance himself from Rohan.
If Sophia freaks out because of this and breaks up with Leon, he'd seriously have the little fuck disposed. But they needed to find him first.
"Fuck!" John clipped, running his hand over his hair. "Fucking little psycho."
"John..." Terry started but he cut her off.
"Now he's gone and disappeared, making us - making Leon worry like crazy."
"John."
When I find him, he'd wish he'd stay gone."
"John!"
"What?" he asked and his tone was cutting.
"Are you hurt?"
This time, it was him who fell silent.
He closed his eyes, letting her concerned words wash over him.
"John?" she prompted.
He pulled in breath. His headache had worsened and his nose had become itchy like hell.
Cruel. She was so fucking cruel.
"No," he answered curtly but ruined the effect when he sneezed.
Fuck.
"Are you sick?" Her sweet voice came back at him instantly.
He opened his eyes when he heard a door close and saw Leon coming out of Sophia's house.
"It's nothing. I got to go."
"F-Fine," she whispered.
He didn't disconnect just yet. Leon was kissing Sophia on her porch and his mouth made a decision and carried it out before his brain caught up.
"I love you, Terry," he softly said.
Then he disconnected the call.
"Ready to go?" he asked Leon when his best friend entered the truck.
Leon nodded and fastened his seatbelt. "Let's hurry."
John nodded back and started the truck. He wiped all thoughts of Terry in the meantime, determined to focus only on Rohan and his stupidity.
Hell, but at least the little brat's mess will temporarily distract him from Terry.
But this wasn't done.
Terry reached out to him first, although she did it upset, but it still counted.
Their relationship was so far from done.
Rohan was done when he finds him.
John wiped his nose with the sleeve of his jacket after sneezing.
"Did you catch a cold?" Leon asked.
John lifted his head, rubbing his nose. Leon was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed while he was crouched on the ground. They were waiting for Rohan to come home after he disappeared from the warehouse. The cover of the trees shielded them from being found out by the occupants of the house in front of them but he knew if he didn't stop sneezing they'd probably be found out.
This was such a pain, John thought miserably.
"I don't know," he mumbled. "I've been sneezing since this afternoon and it's getting worse."
"Sounds like a cold."
"I'm fucking Hercules." He sneezed again and groaned. This fucking sucked. "I don't get a fucking cold."
"Why don't you go back to the truck, John?" Leon muttered in a slightly pissed off voice.
"No, I'm okay."
"You're not. Just go home," he insisted, nudging John with his boot.
"No. I'm really okay." John pushed his boot away. "Stop worrying about me."
"Who said I was worried? I just don't want you to give us away."
John smirked up at him. Didn't he just tell him he cared about him? The little jerk.
"Whatever." His smirk turned into a scowl. "If only I had a Sophia who'd take care of me, I'd go home and let her pamper me all night long, if you know what I mean."
Leon didn't say anything but he looked like he wanted to something, like give him major bodily harm.
"A girl who doesn't question where you go, what you do, who you're with, man, you certainly hit the jackpot on that one," John carried on, his features darkening with each word.
A girl who wouldn't treat him like fucking garbage for making a stupid and an unavoidable mistake.
A girl who wouldn't keep getting his hopes up.
Fuck, but Leon surely won the lottery on that one.
"Too bad I don't have a girlfriend who'd bandage my booboos, too," John continued to mutter.
"Shut up," Leon growled down at him.
John exhaled audibly. "I'll never understand women. One second they're all over you and the next, they're cold as fuck. You don't even know what you did wrong."
"Are we still talking about Sophia?"
"Obviously not."
"If you just stop fucking things up—"
John cut his eyes to him, giving him an incredulous look. "The hell? You're giving me relationship advice now?"
Leon didn't even know who the girl was. Or did he?
Ah, fuck, but him being sick was making him weak and emotional.
"His relationship game is strong." Skull's voice reached them as he appeared from behind them, a large, hulking shadow in the darkness of the woods before he stepped into the dim light surrounding them. "Can't say the same thing to you, John."
John's lip curled in distaste. Just because he cried in front of him doesn't mean Skull had the right to judge him. He didn't even know Terry. Getting up on his feet, John retorted, "Oh, scared little girls in the elevator lately, Skull?"
<
br /> Skull's grin disappeared. "Hey, she jumped into the conclusion that I was going to hit her just because I raised my hand to scratch my head," he enunciated through clenched teeth. "Wasn't my damn fault."
