She Drives Me Crazy(55)

She notices me and a curious expression steals over her face. The corners of her mouth lift the slightest bit.

I start to smile back, but just then, the gym door bangs open. We turn to find the soccer team marching toward us, Charlotte Pascal at the front of the pack. She looks furious.

“What the fuck is this?” she says. “None of y’all are supposed to be here. I reserved the gym for soccer conditioning.”

“Since when?” Danielle says. “Friday before the semester starts has always been basketball’s day.”

“Not this year,” Charlotte says, hands on her hips. “Did you not check the reservation list?”

“Go run outside,” Danielle says dismissively. She spins away from Charlotte and turns to our teammates. “All right, start with layups. Split up so we have rebounders.”

She goes to pass Googy the ball, but Charlotte intercepts it, the ball hitting her palms with a sharp smack. The energy in the gym changes instantly. Everyone freezes.

Danielle looks ready to commit murder. “Give me the ball, Charlotte.”

“No, Coach, I don’t think I will,” Charlotte says, guarding the basketball under her arm.

I want to strangle her. My teammates are seething. Charlotte’s teammates are smirking, though some of them look uncomfortable.

“What’s going on?” someone interrupts.

There she is. Irene in her element, high ponytail in place, blazing eyes roaming over the scene. My heart lodges in my throat.

“You’re not needed here, Ireenie,” Charlotte sneers. “This discussion is for athletes.”

Irene’s eyes sizzle. “Then it’s a good thing we came over, Char. Because not only are we athletes, we’re also very good at determining who to root for in these situations.”

The air prickles with tension. Charlotte takes a step forward, basketball still trapped under her arm. Her focus is entirely on Irene.

“And who is it you’re rooting for?” she asks in a deadly quiet voice. She turns around and gestures to me. “Your girlfriend?”

My heart beats forebodingly.

“’Cause I heard you’re no longer an item,” Charlotte continues. “At least, that’s how it looked when I saw Scottie with Tally Gibson at my boyfriend’s New Year’s Eve party.”

Irene’s jaw twitches almost imperceptibly. Her eyes flicker toward me.

I do everything in my power to stop my body from flushing red, but it’s no use. My skin is on fire as everyone looks at me. It’s the exact signal Charlotte needs.

“Wait,” she says in a faux surprised voice. Her mean eyes bore into mine. “I thought you said you told Irene that you were there with Tally.” She spins around to Irene. “Didn’t Zajac tell you?”

My body burns so hot I think I might pass out. Irene’s cheeks have turned a patchy dark color. We lock eyes for a splintering second.

Charlotte pulls out her phone. “Lord knows we’ve had our differences, Ireenie,” she says, “but for old times’ sake, I’ll do you a solid. It’s only fair for you to know.”

She drops the basketball carelessly and walks toward Irene with her phone. My pulse is hammering; I’m sweating like I’m in a nightmare. I have no idea what’s on that phone, but I know it’s bad.

Charlotte leans in toward Irene so no one else can see what they’re looking at. It’s easy to tell the exact moment Irene sees whatever the bad thing is, because her jaw locks and her mouth sets into a thin, firm line.

She looks up at me for a quick, searing second. Then she clears her throat.

“Practice is over,” she says in a shaky voice. “Everyone go home.”

She turns on her heel and walks off with her head held high.



* * *



I chase her down in the parking lot. She’s completely alone, without even Honey-Belle to fuss over her. I catch up to her as she’s slamming her duffel bag into her car.

“Irene! Wait!”

She turns to me with those dark, expressive eyes. My heart drops when I see they’re full of tears.

“What, Scottie?” Her nose is dripping, but she doesn’t bother wiping it away.

“What did she show you?” I ask in a small voice.

She stares at me as if deciding whether I’m even worth talking to. “A picture of you kissing Tally.”

I go completely numb. Charlotte must have snuck up on us in the loft while I was trying to take care of Tally. What did she do, follow us up the stairs? Army crawl her way toward us in the dark? The thought makes me sick.

“Irene, it’s not what it looks like. She was wasted and I was trying to help—”

“Why were you there in the first place?”

My mouth snaps shut. “Because … Because I…”

“I don’t have time for this,” Irene says, moving to get into her car.

“No—wait—please,” I say, grabbing her arm. “I was falling for you and it scared the hell out of me. My feelings for Tally weren’t going away and I—I thought if I got some closure—” I shake my head. “I went to see her and she invited me to Prescott’s party. Things got out of hand. She got drunk and was totally miserable and—and I let her kiss me. But then I stopped it. I took her home just to make sure she was safe. I haven’t seen her since.”