What’s that all about?
“Well, this was a nice little reunion, but you’ve seen Bubble, so you can get on your way, Harley. Ciao,” Juju says, attempting to push him away.
“Not so fast. I’d like to catch up with Bubble,” he says without taking his eyes off me.
“Bubble?” Riley’s voice is gentle, and I love how he didn’t call me by my name. Harley has no business knowing my name. I know Riley has my back if I want him to send Harley away. But now that he’s here, I want to know what he has to say for himself before I kick his ass to Timbuktu.
I look up at Riley. “I’ll text you later, okay?”
He stares into my eyes, and I wish I could tell him what I don’t want to say aloud in front of Harley. “We’re still on for tomorrow, yeah?”
“Of course.” And with that, he returns to his car and leaves.
I watch as the car containing the person I want to be with disappears while the one I want to murder is still a few steps away.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Harley?”
“I came to see you, baby. You disappeared after I left the hospital. I was worried sick.”
“You were so worried sick that you went and got my spot on the cheerleading team. Tell me, did you sleep with the coach to get in, or was it a straight knife in the back situation?”
I don’t bother with my suitcase or any of the stuff in my car. I walk to my building, picking up Juju’s suitcase by the door. Even though the last thing I want is to have Harley anywhere near my personal space, it’s cold out. Juju is also wearing unseasonable clothing.
“I didn’t stab you in the back, Bubble. You were injured. Someone else would have taken the spot. Wouldn’t you have wanted that person to be me?”
I open my front door and walk inside my small apartment. It’s cold because I haven’t been in for a week, so I turn on the heat. My new personal goal is to get Harley out before the apartment gets warm.
Juju stays silent. I love her, but our conversation about this whole thing will happen later.
“You know what, Harley? You’re right. I would have wanted you to have the spot. If you’d talked about it with me. If you’d asked me if I was okay with it. But I was in the hospital with my whole career destroyed in one single moment, and what did you do? As soon as you could stop playing the caring boyfriend, you left me.”
He at least has the decency to look ashamed. “I did love you, you know?”
“You had a funny way of showing it. But you know what? I don’t even care if it was real anymore. I just want you out of my life. I don’t know why you’re here, but you’ve seen me. The door is over there.”
This is one of those rare times when I hate that my usually cozy apartment is too small. I can’t make a dramatic exit unless I go hide in the bathroom or my bedroom, so I go to the kitchen and start brewing a pot of coffee.
“I know what I did was wrong, but I was hoping you’d put it behind us and—”
“And what? Want to get back together? Fuck no.”
“I need your help,” he says.
I laugh. “I have no money.”
“It’s not money I need.”
I turn around and cross my arms. This should be good.
“I went out to celebrate my spot on the new team and someone spiked my drink. Nothing bad happened, but there was a random drug test the next day, and I failed. Now I have to audition again if I want to get back in.”
I look at Juju. “Did you tell him I helped Brandon with his audition?”
“No. This dickwad just came over and refused to leave until I told him where you were. I already had my flight booked to surprise you, and he just followed me.”
Harley stares at me. “You’re the one who helped Brandon get his role?”
“No, asshole. Brandon helped Brandon get his role. When will you get through your head that only you can help yourself? No one else can do the work for you. I just gave him some choreography ideas, and he ran with them. Anyway, you’re still here. Go away.”
