“Be reasonable, please. You aren’t in any condition to face them. You’ll end up getting your ass kicked.” I wasn’t fully clear on what was happening, but all of a sudden I heard James turn to chew Tiffany out.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to take drinks from strangers?! Fuck!”
“Says the school drug dealer.”
I immediately recognized that biting voice. Taylor.
She’d left the place with two girls, and shot James a fiery glare. Who knew what she told her dad after getting that picture.
“I have something in here that has to do with you, Jamie,” she said fiercely, waving her rhinestone-clad iPhone.
He glared at her.
“Don’t make that face, sweetheart. Everyone knows I love revenge. Especially against bastard traitors,” Taylor whispered, like an evil cat. Then her narrowed eyes darted to me.
“Poor Snow White. I’m sorry to tell you this, but there’s no knight in shining armor in this story. I hope you realized that,” she said before turning around. Her words made me freeze.
“James, what kind of revenge are you talking about?” I asked bewildered, as he turned on a vape pen.
“Nothing, you don’t— Don’t worry about it.”
He walked away. I picked up my pace immediately, but when James figured out that I was following him, he called his friend.
“Jax, you drive,” he said as we walked to the parking lot.
“Look, don’t blame Tiffany. It’s not her fault. She’s a victim. She accepted the drink from that—” I tried to say, but James, clenching his jaw, didn’t seem to like that argument.
“Please, don’t remind him,” suggested Jackson.
“I know, but Tiffany—” I tried to argue, but James sternly reprimanded me.
“Why did you listen to Tiffany? She’ll make you do things you’ll regret.”
“Are you an expert in doing things you’ll regret?” I asked, rushing to keep up with him. James stopped and looked down at me.
“A lot more than you think, princess.”
“Speaking of, I don’t want to go home,” I admitted.
“What?”
“Please, if I go home like this, my mom can’t be held responsible for her actions.” My confession seemed to bring out a little bit of his humanity.
“Fuck,” I heard him curse through clenched teeth.
James tapped his index finger on the vape pen.
“This is the last time, White,” he spat, astounding me.
“I’ll drive you home. But you get in back with June,” ordered Jackson when we approached his pickup.
“What? And why?”
James seemed reluctant.
“What if White vomits on my seats? You can at least use your precious leather jacket to clean it up. I haven’t forgotten the last time I let you use my car when you guys played blind man’s bluff with the tequila,” his friend prodded. I burst out laughing, but James wasn’t in the same mood that I was.
He stayed still. After we got in, my head collapsed onto his chest. I looked up at his Adam’s apple, which quickly slid as soon as James felt the heat of my breath.
