How to Save a Life(27)

Laney Jacobson had come to stand next to Jared. His eyes flicked to her, then back to Evan. He hitched the strap of his backpack higher on his shoulder. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Evan’s eyes found me, standing at the edge of the crowd.

I read an apology there, for dragging this stuff out into the hallway for the whole school to see.

Evan took a step back. “Forget it. Never mind.”

“Oh, no you don’t.” Now Jared moved after him, his hands balling into fists. “I want to know what you’re getting at, Freakshow.”

I saw the ire rise up in Evan’s face again and the clench of his jaw against it. He glanced at me, his expression a mix of pleading forgiveness and heated anger.

“Forget it, Piltcher,” he said, and turned to go.

Jared gave him two steps. Then let his backpack slide off his shoulder as he lunged toward Evan. He seized the collar of Evan’s shirt and spun him around, the other fist swinging. Evan side-stepped the blow and slugged a left hook into Jared’s face.

The sound of fist on flesh is like nothing else. The tense hush in the hallway made the blow even louder, like the thwack of a basketball on a gym floor. Then everyone seemed to yell at once and surged like a mob, tightening the circle around the fight. Laney’s shriek rose above it all as she knelt by Jared, who had sunk to the floor. He brushed her off, spitting out a mouthful of blood and a tooth.

“You’re dead.” Jared spat another wad of blood as he looked up at Evan. “You’re done, Freakshow. I will f*cking end you.”

The crowd stared, bristling with anticipation. Evan shook his head with a disgusted exhale. He pushed through the crowd, heading for the exit doors. A clanking rattle as he shoved one open and stepped into the rectangle of blinding light outside. Then he was gone.

The bell rang, shattering the air. Everyone jumped in their shoes and began to clear out, murmuring commentary and playing the action back.

Head down, I hugged the wall until I reached the exit doors. The heat outside was like a blanket thrown over me and my eyes screwed up against the sun. I could just make out Evan striding past the bleachers, heading across the football field.

“Hey! Evan, wait!” I hurried to catch up with his long strides, but he kept going. “Hey!”

He stopped, shoulders slumped in defeat, waiting for me. I caught up to him, glared with my one visible eye.

He glared right back. “Why?” he demanded. “Just…why, Jo?”

I recoiled. “Okay, fine. Yes, I should have warned you last night…”

He jabbed a finger toward the school. “You hear the shit they were saying about you?”

“So what?” I fired back. “I expected it. I didn’t expect you to make it a million times worse by picking a fight with Matt King.”

“You’re right. Because I picked a fight with the wrong f*cking guy.” He scrubbed his hand over his face, his knuckles bloody and swollen. “It was Jared, right? Why him?”

“What the hell business is it of yours?” I said, crossing my arms. “Or anyone’s? And how the hell did you know it was Jared and not Matt?”

“Jo…”

“Why are you even asking me about Jared?” I said, clutching the sides of my shirt. “Why don’t you ask him why he whores himself out to strange girls?”

“I don’t give a shit about Jared,” Evan cried. “It’s not about the f*cking politics of it, Jo. You’re not a slut and I’m not going to let anyone say you are. Secondly, it hurts to hear you were with another guy, okay? Especially when that guy has been one of the biggest *s to me for three f*cking years, never letting me live down my time at Woodside.” Evan’s eyes darkened as he looked harder at me. “Is that why you picked him? Jared of all f*cking guys?”

I rocked back on my heels. “Are you serious? I picked Jared because he was there. That’s it. There’s no conspiracy. You haven’t told me about the time you were at Woodside, and you know what? I haven’t asked. Did you notice that? I didn’t ask because I was trying to give you space about it. Or the benefit of the doubt. Because I don’t give a shit about what the rumors say.”

Evan ground his teeth, thinking; I could see the muscles in his jaw twitch.

My instinct was to snap back, to walk away. But I moved a step closer instead.

“And I should have told you about Jared, but it all happened before you and I. And he wasn’t there last night. He wasn’t there, Evan. It was just you and me. For the first time, the old pain…that wasn’t there either.”

A short silence and then Evan relented. “Yeah, okay, Jo.”

“I f*cked up with Jared,” I said, my arms crossed. I kicked at a clump grass. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you.”

Evan sighed. “You didn’t f*ck up. I’m not pissed at you. Maybe I should be, but I’m not. It’s none of my business, like you said. But what they say about you, that’s my business. It’s my business now. I know you can handle yourself, Jo, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to take care of you.”

I turned my head away to hide the sudden sting of tears in my eyes. “That’s just the future firefighter in you talking.”

“Hey, come here.”

Evan drew me to him, wrapped his arms around me. My eyes fell closed with relief, as we held each other in the center of the football field, with the early morning sun blazing down on us. And then I felt Evan tense a little, a shadow falling over us.