Page 40 of The Bully's Dare

“Truth,” I say.

“What’s your favorite memory?”

“Christmas time. I was eight. It was the first year me and Pearl were on our own. Her cooking is…questionable, at best. So we went out and got Chinese food.”

Jason chuckles. “Is that a real thing people do?”

“In New York? Yeah.”

“What’d you like about it?”

“I liked that it was just the two of us. We just…got to goof off together. We had a chopstick tickle fight. Stupid kid things.”

“I love stupid kid things.”

“Me too.”

“Truth,” Jason says.

“Is it easier for you to talk to me over the phone?” I ask.

“Yeah. I think so.”

“Why?

“Sometimes, I feel like I’ve got to put on this face. I feel like people expect me to be a certain way. And then I just…become that.”

“An asshole?”

“No, I mean…perfect. My dad is always like…you’re either a winner or a loser. There’s no in between. And I get it, he expects big things from me, but…I don’t know.”

“It sounds like a lot of pressure.”

“Yeah. Exactly. Right now, it’s like…I’m just talking to air.”

“Air that talks back.”

“Something like that.”

We lapse into silence and, for a minute, I just listen to him breath on the other end. I can feel the air between us, through the phone cords.

Through my curtains, the sky starts to glow orange.

“Pick dare,” I tell him. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” he obliges.

“I dare you to hang up.”

There’s a long silence on the other end and, for a moment, I think he did it.

“Jason?”

“…I dare you to hang up.”

I can’t help but grin.

18

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