The Remedy (The Program 0.5)(71)

My smile fades quickly. A toilet flushes in another room; my heartbeat booms in my ears. Adrenaline begins to rush through my veins.

Jason hasn’t answered my greeting. His lower jaw is jutted out, his eyes narrowed with disgust. The good-natured teddy bear I spent time with is gone. I glance at the others, finding the same reaction to me.

Isaac’s expression falters when no one immediately acknowledges him. And in that moment, I think we both realize the truth. They know. Panic flashes in Isaac’s eyes, and he turns to me just as footsteps echo in the hallway, quickly approaching.

Kyle enters the room and stammers to a stop, stunned that I’m standing in front of her. At first her face flashes an instant of joy at seeing her best friend again. But it twists into grief, and then anger. Hatred.

I turn to Isaac, and he looks up and sees Kyle. He blinks quickly and steps back from the table of guys, shoving his hands nervously in his pockets. “Hey, Kyle,” he says in a quiet, raspy voice.

Kyle stomps past me, banging her shoulder into mine. The force of it knocks me sideways. “Jesus, Isaac,” she says in a worried tone. She goes to pause in front of him, looking him over like she’s trying to determine if he’s been injured. “Are you okay?”

He swallows hard. “Yeah, of course.”

Kyle casts a hateful glare in my direction and then puts her hand on Isaac’s arm. “I’m sorry we had to do it this way,” she says. “But you’re ignoring my calls. Look, I know you’re grieving, believe me I know.” Isaac pulls away from her touch, annoyed at her tone. She reasserts herself, gripping his hands. “That’s not her,” Kyle says, her voice cracking. “You know that’s not Catalina.”

She doesn’t say it like she’s angry. She says it like she misses her best friend. Like she’s worried for Isaac. Behind them, Jason rubs his face as if overcome. Then he bangs his fist on the table, making the glasses rattle.

“I can’t believe you, man,” he says to Isaac. “Why didn’t you tell me? She died! How could you not tell me that your girlfriend died?” He looks over at me, bitterly. “How could you bring one of those things into my house?”

A sickened sound escapes from my throat, a swift pain stealing my breath. I press my lips hard together to keep from crying, but my eyes well up nonetheless. One of those things. Jason was my friend. I thought he was my friend.

Isaac moves back from the table, glaring at all of them. But nothing can distract me from the way they hate me. This can’t be happening.

“You’re disgusting,” Jason says to me, tears dripping down his cheeks. “What you’ve done . . .” He holds up his hands like he can’t bear the enormity of my deceit. “He was grieving and you took advantage of that. What are you? What the f*ck are you that you could do this to another human being?”

What am I? What am I? the voice repeats in my head. The headache that started earlier begins to throb, the pressure building behind my eyes.

“Just get out!” Kyle snaps at me, pointing to the door.

I don’t move; I’m not leaving without Isaac. I dart a look at him, but before our eyes can lock, there’s a flurry of movement. Kyle’s across the room and inches from my face.

“Get out of our lives!” she shouts, bits of spit hitting my cheeks. Her expression is wild, angry. All of her grief tightened into a ball of hatred, directed at me. It’s easier if she can blame someone for the loss of her friend. It takes the sharp edges off her ache. She wants me annihilated because maybe if I’m gone, she will stop being reminded of her best friend’s death.

In the moment that I’m lost in my head, I don’t notice her cock back her arm. I register Kyle’s movement at the same time her fist connects with my jaw, sending a vibration through my face and into my head, cracking my carefully constructed reality.

I fall back, off balance, ears ringing. I drop hard onto the wood floor, catching myself to take much of the force with my shoulder. My wrist aches, and I clutch it to my chest with my other hand as I lift my eyes to Kyle’s. She covers her mouth, her knuckles still white from her clenched fist. She looks horrified by her actions.

She hit me, I think, stunned. She hates me so much that she hit me.

I’m a pile of rubble on the floor, and when I look at Isaac, the sight of me, pathetic and torn down, makes his face go red with anger. He tries to rush toward me, but Jason jumps up from the table and wraps his large arms around Isaac’s upper body, holding him back.

“Just let her go,” Jason growls into his ear. “You have to let her go, man.”

The room erupts in chaos. I watch, devastated by the scene. Isaac yelling, saying that he needs me. Jason pleading with him to calm down. Kyle’s guilty looks in my direction before she returns to Isaac, begging him to end this. Tonight was an intervention. Isaac’s friends had an intervention to cut the poison out of his life. To cut me out.

Jason lowers his voice, his tight grip turning into a hug. Isaac closes his eyes, listening to whatever Jason is saying. His body starts to shake, going limp. “Stop,” Isaac says, breaking down. “Stop.” Jason turns him around and holds him up. Isaac cries against his shoulder. “Make it stop,” he murmurs.

My tears are warm as they rush down my face, over my aching jaw. Kyle drops into a seat at the table, burying her face in her hands. Isaac’s sobs get louder, racked with pain.