There was a bit of murmuring in the background. I saw Amelia shoot me a look from afar.
“All right, I’d say the game’s over,” announced a bored Jackson while Taylor was dealing with her dad.
“June?”
I heard a voice calling me from far away, but all I had to do was look in Will’s and Ari’s eyes to catch a glimpse of the guilty looks on their faces. I heard a strange ringing in my ears. I couldn’t even focus on what people were saying around me anymore.
I wasn’t going to stay here for a second longer.
I stood up and bolted out of Poppy’s room. Footsteps followed me down the stairs, but I didn’t turn around.
“June!”
Will was following me. And if his reaction was predictable, I wouldn’t have expected Ari’s reaction as she called my name at the top of her lungs.
“June! Wait!”
They must’ve both felt guilty.
“No, I gotta tell her.”
William’s voice got lost in the chatter of the living room, and when I finally got to the street, I took a deep breath of fresh air.
I gotta go home now, I told myself. It wasn’t Will and Ari who’d made me feel this way. Nor was it Taylor or Tiffany. It was just the fear that I’d burst into tears and break down in front of everyone.
I took one last breath, then put the jacket hood over my head and continued down the sidewalk. Without realizing it, I walked past James, who was sitting on the roadside smoking with a girl.
“June, listen.” Will. Again.
“I don’t want to hear it,” I spat without thinking.
“June!”
I heard Ari’s voice again. It made me literally lose it.
“I said I don’t want to hear it!” I exclaimed, this time more firmly.
“Oh no, but I do,” James said.
“Shut up, this doesn’t concern you!” Ari scowled at him.
“When it comes to getting it on with someone who’s not your boyfriend, it always concerns you, doesn’t it?” he prodded her.
“Sorry, June, you just moved here, and you don’t know—”
William? Did William have the balls to still talk and make useless excuses?
“It was just a kiss.”
“I don’t want to hear it. You made out? I’m happy for you. Congratulations. I’m out.”
I crossed my arms and glared at them. William was a little disheveled while Ari always looked immaculate. They really were a perfect couple.
“What’s going on?” asked Amelia, running out the door. She didn’t look at me or William. All her attention was on Ari.
“Look, I’m trying to change,” Ari said, lowering her eyes to the ground.
The lane in front of Poppy’s house was barely lit, but I definitely noticed the way Amelia was glaring at her friend.
