Lewis and Zach would totally freak out and try to crack skulls if they knew some guy hurt me. I’m angry at Tyler, but I’m pretty partial to his brain remaining intact.
I need Gen’s help. She may be pretty, but she is tough. She once told Lewis, who’s never had to work at holding on to a girl, to shape up or she wouldn’t be with him. She’ll know what to do about Tyler. Because walking away from him goes against every fiber of my being clamoring to remain close.
But I can’t. Not after what he just did.
I walk up the steps to Lewis’s small A-frame house, and peer into the broad front windows. He and Gen are sitting on the couch watching television, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He leans over and whispers something that puts a smile on her face.
Maybe I should stay with Zach. Or maybe I can talk to Gen, then crash at Zach’s? Or drop by Nessa’s? She has a roommate, but she probably wouldn’t mind me sleeping on the couch.
Gen’s head pops up. “Mira?” she says through the open window. She springs to her feet and Lewis does too, a worried look crossing his face.
“Hey,” I say as I let myself in, attempting to look upbeat. “Sorry to interrupt, I…” I what? Needed a friend? Needed to get away?
All of the above.
“Come in,” Gen says before I can finish. She grabs my arm and leads me into the kitchen, where she pushes me onto a stool at the counter. She rustles around in the cabinets and pulls out mint Oreo cookies and a tub of Red Vines.
“What can I get you to drink? We have Jägermeister”—she makes a gagging face—“or rum. I haven’t had a chance to stock the place with good alcohol yet, only the sugar products. We’re left with what Lewis has around.”
“Um, I’m not sure I need anything.” I don’t drink much, especially not when I’m sad. Reminds me too much of how my mom copes.
“Mira.” Gen lowers her voice. “You look really upset. Are you okay?” She glances over my head. “I’m only asking because Lewis is about to come over and interrogate, so unless you want him involved, we should pretend like we’re having girl time.” She holds up her hands. “That is, unless you need to talk to him? It just seemed like—well, I’ve seen that look before. Crap, I’ve worn it. You look heartbroken.”
I let out a sigh. She’s right. I came here to talk to her. “Rum and Coke. And pass the cookies.”
Gen’s mouth compresses and she nods as if I’ve confirmed her instincts. She quickly mixes two rum and Cokes, pouring them into wineglasses. “We’ll pretend it’s fine wine,” she says, and hands me mine. “Give me a sec and I’ll get us some alone time.”
“You don’t have to?—”
She shakes her head. “No, it’s fine.”
Gen walks over to Lewis and talks in a low voice. He raises his head and glances over. I take a sip of my drink.
“Mira,” he says as he walks toward the stairs. “Gen says you want to talk about girl stuff.” He cringes, though I don’t think he realizes he’s doing it. “I’ll be upstairs if you need anything.”
I don’t even want to know what she told him. He probably thinks I have PMS or something. But he glances back a couple of times, so maybe he suspects more.
Gen returns and grabs her wineglass.
“I don’t want to lie to Lewis,” I say.
I’m already uncomfortable with the one piece of information I’m keeping from him. I don’t want to add to the list.
“This isn’t lying. This is girl time. I told him you have personal girl issues to discuss with me. No lie there. You can tell him what’s up later, if you want. Once I’ve helped you figure out what you should do. You know, the right way. Not the guy way.”
I smile, despite my sadness. This is why I came. “Yeah, Zach and Lewis aren’t good for chatting about this kind of thing.”
“Boys.”
“Right.”
She sips her drink and leans forward conspiratorially. “So, which boy are we referring to? Have I met him?”
I slide my finger over the rim of my glass. There’s no way to say it, except to say it. It’s not going to sound good no matter how I put it.
“Tyler.”
Gen chokes on the gulp she just took, holding up her hand while she hacks and grabs a towel from the oven door. “Tyler?” she gasps.
