Page 57 of Withered

I feel a pang of jealousy because I wasn’t the first. He must have had some other girl here before. The smile on my face almost disappears, but I try to hold it, showing absolutely nothing.

“He only got Tyler here,” Esme continues. “You must know him; he attends the same school as you.”

Relief rushes through me when I hear Tyler’s name. That means I’m the first girl he brought here. Suddenly I’m feeling ecstatic again, and the smile is back in full force. “I know Tyler.”

“You both have fun. I need to get back to work,” Esme says she’s leaving us.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask Jake.

“Didn’t tell you what?” He retorts back.

I give him a pointed look, and he just shrugs. I shake my head at his behavior, and Helen returns with our food in a small trolley. I feel bad because she had to take out the trolley for us, which is loaded with several plates, and my eyes are stuck on a particular plate that has the cheesecake. She leaves once the food is set on our table.

Jake digs right into his food while I am confused.Where do I start?

I grab a piece of what I think is shortbread (they look more like biscuits) and take a bite.Yummy.I alternately switch between the sponge cake and cheesecake.

I grab a hold of my coffee when Jake chuckles, “You do know the food isn’t running away, don’t you?”

I ignore his comment and sip my cold coffee. Just when I lift the glass, a perfect mixture of coconut and coffee enters my nostrils, and the taste spreads on my tongue.This is so damn good.

I don’t pay much attention to Jake, but I see he’s done eating and is yet again busy on his phone.What is on his phone?He must be playing that game again.

I look at the coffee in my hands and ask Jake, “I haven’t seen your dad yet; where is he?”

Either I imagine it or he sits straighter than before.Oh no.

Proving that he is a smart jerk, he plays cool and asks me, “I haven’t seen your dad yet; where is he?”

I grunt in response, narrowing my eyes. “I asked you first.”

“I asked you now.” He shrugs.

“My parents are both doctors. You’ve met Mom; she is a pediatrician, and Dad is a cardiologist. They work in the same hospital, but Dad is mostly at the hospital,” I tell him.

I want to ask him more about his father, but I hold back because of the way he reacted earlier.

“That explains you,” he says.

I furrow my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“That you are uptight and a nerd. Your parents are perfect, and you must have got everything that you want,” he says this, eyeing me.

Anger stirs inside me. “My parents don’t buy me grades. I have to work hard myself to get them. A nerd or a prude; I don’t care what they think of me. I only care about what I think about myself. As for being uptight, I think I already proved that by coming to the party. My family might look perfect from the outside, but the one who stays inside with them is the one who knows the truth. Everyone has their ups and downs, and so do I. I thought you were different, but you just proved me wrong by proving you are the same jerk I knew from the very beginning.”

Tears form in my eyes, and I blink rapidly so they won’t flow out. Grabbing my purse, I tuck a twenty-dollar bill under my coffee glass. That should cover my part. I take one last look at Jake and see him throwing daggers my way, his hand clutching his phone tightly.

As I walk by, he grabs my wrist and asks, “Where are you going?”

I glare at him; he has a tight grip on my hand, making it hard for me to wriggle out. I groan and dig my nails into his hand, which makes him lose grip, and I manage to free my hand. “Away from you. Don’t even think about following me.”

I leave the café and start walking towards my house, which is only ten minutes from here.

I flop down on the couch when I reach home. I close my eyes, and Jake’s face comes in front of me. I open my eyes and rub my temples. This boy makes me mad.

As I grab a glass of water to drink, I try to think about how my day went. Why does Jake have to always call me uptight? I’ll let the nerd slide because that’s who I am, partially. But isn’t he a little too quick to judge?

Taking my phone out, I quickly text Kristy, telling her to call or text me whenever possible. I have to tell her everything; I have to vent it to her. I’m afraid if I keep this all inside me, I’ll go insane.

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