“Why don’t you eat this, White?”
James flipped me the bird, causing Jordan to fly into a rage for the umpteenth time.
“Where are you going? Remember practice,” he reprimanded his son.
I saw James run his fingers through his uncombed hair before it fell on his forehead again.
“It’s Sunday,” he muttered. “I don’t have practice.”
“Yeah, you do, the coach upped the sessions to prep for the game next week.”
James stared at his dad absentmindedly.
“Ah, and I saw Taylor’s mom this morning at the car wash. She asked what color your suit would be for the winter formal. She still hasn’t bought the fabric for her daughter’s dress. I don’t know, she said that you’d be color coordinated or something like that.”
Jordan’s words hit me like a slap in the face. A cold shower that woke me up from the lethargy that I’d been lulled into for a little too long. I jumped for a moment, and then remembered who James was. I remembered that he had a life that was completely different from mine. Sure, there was the James I knew, but there was also the James I saw every day at school.
Unattainable.
Girls, sports, prohibited entertainment. I’d forgotten the distance separating us. Was I really that naïve? Was the fact that he hugged me in his sleep all it took?
James clicked his tongue before letting out an irritated sigh.
“I don’t even know if I’m even gonna be here in two months, and that pain in the ass wants to know what I’ll be wearing in a few months?”
A dark shadow crossed over James’s face the second before we turned around to leave. Something must’ve made his mood change. But then again, what could I know about that? I didn’t know anything about James, I only knew that there was the good part in him that attracted me. His loyalty, almost brutal honesty, and the protectiveness with which he treated his friends, brother, and sometimes even me. James was smart and knew how to make me laugh when he wanted to. But he also had a dark side that pushed him away—from me and all the others.
“I’ll give you a ride home. I’m about to run errands.” Jordan chased away my thoughts with that offer.
“Thank you so much. I’ll get ready.”
“Take your time. I’ll finish my coffee and then we’ll go.”
I thanked Jordan and went upstairs. James’s bedroom door was open, so I went in and immediately regretted it.
“Take your stupid clothes,” he spat, throwing the backpack at me.
“Where were they?”
But James wasn’t listening. If he’d seemed cheerful before, he seemed in the worst mood now. I saw him lock himself in his bathroom without saying a word; I just heard the roar of the water coming from the shower.
His change reminded me of William.
It was shaping up to be an intense afternoon, but my mom’s threatening phone calls and texts suggested that going home would spell certain disaster.
31
Blaze
“I have work to do. Gimme a half hour, son.” My dad had dragged me with him to school even though it was Sunday.
“I couldn’t stay home?” I groaned as we walked down the deserted hallway.
“You have that appointment with your therapist after.”
“Come on, Dad.”
“You skipped it yesterday without warning and embarrassed me. Luckily, he squeezed you in this afternoon as a favor to me.”
