Desmond grabs me and shoves me inside an empty classroom. “Keep your goddamn voice down,” he whisper-shouts.
I’m shaking my head, hands already forming fists. I need to hit something. Or someone. I need to funnel all of whatever it is that I’m feeling intosomethingor I’m going to lose my goddamn mind.
Des gets in my face and it takes everything in me not to draw back and hit my best friend.
“This sucks. You’re pissed off because you know you fucked up. You had a good thing going and she got hurt.” I open my mouth, but he cuts me off. “But you’re still not getting it Rafe.Shegot hurt. Her. Not you. You don’t get to be pissed off at her or anyone else because you’re a jealous asshole used to getting his way. She deserves better than that.”
“Get off me.” I shove him back. He takes a few more steps away, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed.
“This isn’t about you. Not what you want or what you think you need. If you want to get her back, then stop being a selfish prick and realize this is about her. What she wants and what she needs. That’s all that should matter right now.”
I work my jaw. The asshole is right and I hate it. My eyes fall to the floor and I force myself to take a deep breath before dropping down, my ass hitting the cool linoleum with my back against the wall. My eyes hit his once more. “What do I do?”
He rubs the back of his neck, a weary expression on his face. “I don’t know, man.”
“She won’t talk to me,” I say, my words hollow and empty.
Des sighs. “You’re making this about you again. It’s not just that she won’t talk to you. She can’t. You saw what happened before. She freaked out and damn near had a panic attack.”
Fuck.
An idea forms and suddenly, I know what I have to do now.
I push to my feet and head for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Out.”
“What do you mean, out? We have class.”
I shake my head. “I’m skipping. I have something I need to do. Just—” I pause. “Watch out for my girl.”
I head straight to the parking lot, ignoring Mrs. Ford when she pokes her head out of her classroom and asks me where I’m going. Season’s over. She can give me all the detentions she wants.
I spot Liu in the parking lot getting out of his Subaru WRX and make a split-second decision to call out to him. “Yo, Liu.”
His head jerks toward me and he scowls.
“Come on, we’re cutting.”
“What?”
I stalk toward his car and open the passenger side door. “Get in the car, Liu. I need a ride. Let’s go.”
Surprisingly, he does as I ask. I give him directions to The Missing Piece and have him park in the first available space we can find. There’s no hesitation as I walk inside. I don’t even need to think about what to get. I already know. He follows behind, uncertainty written across his face.
The woman at the desk takes one look at the two of us and her smile brightens. She’s wearing a low-cut tank top in the middle of winter, exposing her arms, both covered in ink. “Do you have time for walk-ins?” I ask, ignoring the flirtatious smile she gives me.
“I’ll check for you,” she turns to her computer before her gaze returns to mine. “And what about him, sugar? You both here for some work?”
Liu shakes his head in a definitive no.
“Just me,” I tell her.
“Alright then. Henry has some time. What are you after?”
I give her a quick rundown of what I’m looking for, and she assures me Henry has silver alloy and can seal the piece once he’s done.
