After a moment, he dropped me. I started to crumple to the floor, unsteady, but he grabbed me by the back of my jacket and hauled me back to my feet, shaking his head.
“All Carly was supposed to do was make a scene, okay? Give Renee a hard time for fucking her date. I didn’t know she’d take it this far.”
“Would it have changed your actions?” I asked, rubbing my throat. Jake is still standing there with us, but he hasn’t said anything one way or the other. I know he’s feeling hurt, too.
“Yeah,” Matt said, and I believed him. “I wouldn’t have done it.”
“Look.” I sit down on the arm of the couch and fold my arms. “We need to talk to Renee. We need to apologize.”
“Fuck that, dude,” Jake said suddenly, hands in the air. “I am not ready for that.”
“Of course, you’re not ready. You’re pissed. And you’re hurt. I am, too.”
“Then why do you think we need to apologize?”
“Because it could be too late by the time you’re ready to face it.”
“For who?” asked Matt.
“For all of us, dude. For all of us.”
There’s no more discussion about Renee or Carly until we finally get home well after dark. As we approach our apartment complex, I spot a car running out front, not far from our front door.
“Shit,” Matt said. “Isn’t that—-”
“Carly,” finished Jake, and the three of us stopped walking, eyes on Carly’s vehicle. I didn’t think she had seen us yet, but there was no way to reach the front door without her spotting us.
“Should we leave?” I asked, and Matt shook his head, looking at Jake.
“Fucking Renee wasn’t a one-man show,” he said. “You need to face her now, Jake, after leading her on to get into Renee’s pants.”
“What if she kills me?”
I grin, punching Jake playfully in the shoulder. “You’re the quarterback, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but—-”
“Then run fast.”
