Fallen Crest Public(143)

Tate was in one of the chairs Heather and I sat in when we took our breaks. As I came closer, she readjusted her legs, throwing one over the opposite knee and doing it again before she realized I was there. Her fingers had been tapping on the chair in an impatient motion, but she stopped all of it and threw me a forced smile. “I should’ve figured you were there. Your two men took off a second ago.”
“Yeah.” I frowned at her. “What are you doing here?”
Since she got the blow job video back, Tate had melted into the background. I rarely saw her at school. She called everything off with Logan, no longer hooking up with him when he wanted. If she was here, it was because of Heather and that had me worried.
She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m not here to mess up your holy trinity with the two gods. I’m here to see Heather.”
“Like I said,” I clipped out, “what are you doing here?”
Mason had told me what he thought would’ve happened with Tate and Heather if Kate had done everything she wanted. I agreed with him about Tate. She would’ve turned against me, but I didn’t agree with him about Heather. He thought Heather would’ve distanced herself from me, but she wouldn’t have done that. If they destroyed Manny’s like they were planning to, Heather would’ve torched Kate’s house like I torched Budd’s truck.
I knew she would’ve reacted like that. I told her Kate’s plans, and she exploded. Natalie and Jasmine had been at their lockers at the time, and she tried to head over to them. I held her back, but the two caught the commotion and scurried away.
They were smart. I’d been touched by Heather’s loyalty. She wouldn’t have pulled away from me. Because of that, my protective side was coming out. Tate had hurt Heather too much in the past. I wasn’t going to let her do it again.
When Tate flicked her hair over her shoulder and ignored my question, I yanked her chair towards me. She was trapped by me now, and I repeated my question. “What are you doing here?”
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously. You’re mama bear now?”
“Violence doesn’t scare me. You should remember that.”
She started to roll her eyes again, but stopped at my words. Her shoulders dropped in surrender. “Fine. I finished all my classes. I’m out of here tonight, and I have no wish to stick around for graduation. This school has been nothing but a pain in my ass.” She gestured inside, but the movement was halfhearted and it fell in her lap. “I came here for two reasons. Heather and Logan. I can see now that both reasons were stupid. I’m an idiot.”
My eyebrows went up, and I moved back as she stood up. “Does Heather even know that you’re out here?”
“No, and it doesn’t matter. I’m wasting my time. I’m going to go.”
That was odd, but I wasn’t going to stop her. I agreed. She should go. Heather wasn’t going to forgive her. Ever.
She went a few steps, but stopped and swung back. “You know what? Fuck it. I don’t give a shit. He can’t hurt me anymore.”
What the hell?
She gave me a bright smile. The renewed zeal behind it had me holding my breath. That wasn’t a good look, not on Tate. Then she said, “My dad lost his job, and when he said I could move back with my sister, I had no problem with it. I was an idiot before and because of it I lost two great people in my life: Logan and Heather. I thought I could come back, grovel for a while, and both would let me back in.” She gestured to Manny’s. “You can see that’s not happening. Heather will never forgive me, and I know it. I just haven’t wanted to accept it, but not with Logan. I got it through my thick skull a month after I moved back.”