Page 35 of Enemy Crush
Chloe shrugged, her cheeks reddening. “Just name calling.”
“And teasing,” Cassie added.
“But yesterday,” Chloe said, “they threw his stuff around and—”
“They were going to throw his inhaler,” Cassie said.
“Out the window,” Chloe finished.
“But Quinn...”
“You know, the prep school girl.”
“She stormed to the back of the bus.”
“And demanded Jordan hand it over.”
At this point I was almost getting whiplash trying to follow the alternating narrative as each girl completed the other one’s sentence..
“She what?” I could feel color draining from my face, remembering how I’d hung out with Sierra and her boyfriend Zeb after school. We’d gone to her house and gamed and I stayed for pizza. When I’d gotten home, Mason had been in his room and I hadn’t even gone to see him.
“She grabbed the inhaler back.”
“And made Jordan pick up Mason’s hoodie.”
“And give back all his things.”
“Then she yelled at the driver.”
“Quinn walked him home.”
I frowned, my stomach twisting and knotting as the twins nodded in unison. “That’s why I asked if he was okay,” Chloe said.
I hopped back onto my bike in a daze, my head spinning like a tornado. I’d been a jerk, no doubt about it, and now Mason had been getting bullied on the bus and I didn’t know anything about it—all because I was jealous over him getting a birthday card from Mom.
I pedaled down the lane like I was in a race, braking sharply at the front gate. My breathing was harsh and ragged as I fumbled with the latch and pushed my bike through, dumping it against the side of the house. I walked around to the front door and unlocked it. Hamish padded out from the living room.
“Hey boy,” I said, scratching behind his ears. He followed me to the couch where I flopped down with a groan of frustration. I wasn’t one for talking out loud to myself, but the self-loathing needed an outlet. “Am I the biggest jerk out? Like what the heck? How could I have been so mean to Mase? Grrrgh!”
I remembered back to the other day when I’d come into the living room to watch tv. He’d been curled up on the couch and was making a low humming sound which he often did when reading. Usually it was annoying but nothing to lose my head over. Except I did.
“Do you have to do that?” I’d shouted.
“Do what?” Mason had said, sitting up straight like he thought I’d meant taking up half the couch.
“That stupid humming. Can’t you just read in silence?” I’d switched on the tv and turned the volume up with no consideration that he was reading. He eventually retreated to his room.
Or when he said hello to me and I ignored him. Or when I’d snapped at him to clear the table when he was still eating his plate of spaghetti. Or told him to hurry up in the bathroom.
Yeah, I’d basically been a bully to him since seeing that envelope. And all the time, he was being bullied on the bus.
I wondered if that’s why Dad had taken him to the movies. As a treat, to cheer him up? Did he know about the bullying? And as for Quinn Devereaux...she’dsaved him.
She’d done my job.
Yeah, I was supposed to be the one to protect Mason, not...her.
That was enough to want to poke pins in my eyes.
