Page 53 of For Emery

“Em.”

A cold shudder shot up my spine. That had never happened before when I heard Jordan’s voice. I contemplated not stopping, but I needed to hear his side. I needed him to make it all make sense to me. So I stopped, causing the rushing students to step around me. I didn’t turn around.

Jordan caught up with me. “Hey.” He smiled with a hint of black around his eye, but his face looked nothing like Flip’s face.

“You happy with yourself?” I asked, anger brewing inside of me.

His brows shot up. “Come again.”

“You happy you only ended up with a little bruise?”

He scoffed. “So, I see he already got to you?”

My eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What’d he tell you?”

I crossed my arms. “Why don’t you tell me.”

He shook his head. “Nope. I wanna hear the shit he’s spewing.”

“I thought you saw firsthand what violence does to people?”

“Em, this has nothing to do with your—”

“It has everything to do with you knowing better.” I held up my fist. “This solves nothing.”

“He started it.”

“You’re not ten.”

He gnawed on his bottom lip, stopping himself from saying whatever it was he wanted to say.

“And I don’t care who started it. You know better.”

He balked. “You can’t go around telling me what I can and can’t do.”

I couldn’t have stopped my jaw from dropping even if I wanted to. “I’m starting to see the truth.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re not the guy I thought you were.”

“Come on, Em,” he pled. “You know me.”

I shook my head. “I thought I knew you.” I spun around and took off.

“Are you seriously walking away again?” he yelled. “We saw how well that worked out last time!”

I could feel myself getting choked up, but I wouldn’t allow it. I didn’t do anything wrong. He did.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Emery

I spent a long night studying in the library. I’d wanted to be alone. Wanted to let the silence and old books distract me from my anger at Jordan. But nothing helped. I couldn’t understand how he could hurt Flip like that. He knew Flip and I were friends. Hell, he and Flip were teammates. Didn’t it matter to him? Did anything matter to him?

My phone rang in my back pocket as I entered my dorm room. I slipped it out, half expecting it to be Jordan pleading his case again, but it was my mom. “Hey,” I said as soon as I answered the phone.

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