The Stand-In Boyfriend (Grove Valley High #1)(64)
His face softens. “I didn’t…I didn’t mean—”
“He doesn’t know how I feel,” I hiss under my breath.
“I just—”
“And he’s a teenage boy. He’s allowed to date around. I mean, look in a mirror. No wonder Abigail’s a total mess—you’ve replaced her with a different girl every month for the last three years.”
His eyes are like lasers on my own. “Don’t talk about things you don’t understand.”
I scoff. He told me he spoke to Abigail after I told him to that time, but she’s still going around acting like a complete idiot, giving me dirty looks whenever she can and trying to sidle up to him at lunch. If I were his actual girlfriend, I’d be pissed about it. As it stands, it just makes me pity her. “So it’s okay for you to have an opinion on Jessie, huh? Someone you’ve never bothered to have a real conversation with? It’s okay for you to rip him apart, but when it’s about you—”
“Leave it,” he demands.
“So what if Jessie’s dated other girls? It doesn’t last, and you know what? He can’t help who he likes.”
“AND NEITHER CAN I,” he shouts, loudly enough for the whole damn school to hear.
I freeze, my heart going crazy in my chest. We stare at each other, and I don’t see anyone else. Nobody else in the world exists right now. I see nothing but Chase as he rubs his hand over his eyes.
“Abigail, those other girls—” I swear I let out a sigh of relief. For a second there, I thought he was referring to me. Of course he’s talking about the girls he’s dated.
“It’s none of my business,” I cut him off. I don’t know how it’s come to this. All I wanted to do was ask him about Jessie and his party. I don’t know how it’s turned into this.
“Liv—”
“No, honestly, I don’t want to hear it. It’s up to you what you do with Abigail and those other girls. It has nothing to do with me.”
His jaw clenches.
“But can you please just cut Jessie some slack? He’s a good guy and you don’t need to be an ass just for the sake of it.”
I don’t know what I expect him to do now, maybe agree with me? Apologize? He does neither.
I glance away, suddenly exhausted. “I’m going to go,” I mutter, turning and walking away without waiting for a response.
“You met him just before your dad left.”
This freezes me to the spot, the mention of my father sending an electric current down my spine.
“He was someone fun and new that you could focus on after your dad walked away.”
I slowly turn to face him, my face a complete mask. I trusted him with that stuff about my dad. I didn’t tell him so he could throw it back in my face to win an argument.
“I know he was there for you when you needed him, but have you never thought he might have filled a hole and the reason you cling to him so hard and put him on such a freaking pedestal where he can get away with treating you like crap is because you link him to your dad and you’re too scared to say anything to him in case he walks away too?”
A single tear slides down my face.
He pales. He knows without me even having to say anything that he’s gone too far, that it’s completely unacceptable for him to talk about my father.
“Liv—”
“Don’t,” I warn him. “Just don’t.”
I turn back around and walk to my car as quickly as I can. I brush past Sophie and whatever it is she’s trying to say to me then climb into the driver’s seat, tears streaming down my face. I throw my car into reverse, peel out of my spot, press down on the gas, and drive faster than I ever have in my life so I can put as much distance between Chase and myself as possible.
WHEN I GET BACK FROM my run on Tuesday evening, Chase is waiting for me on my doorstep. I turn the corner onto my street and slow my pace to a walk when I spot him. I briefly wonder if I can get away with turning around and not seeing him, but I know that’s childish. Besides, his eyes are already pinned on me, and he stands to greet me as I start to slowly walk up my driveway, eyeing him warily.
“Hey,” he greets me.
I nod in return. I really can’t be bothered to deal with him right now, but I do know I need to resolve this one way or another. I hate being in a fight with anyone, and against all odds, Chase has become a close friend. I’ve been playing our argument over and over in my head, thinking over what he said and wondering how it came down to me feeling so utterly low. Deep down I know he didn’t mean to hurt me. I could see he regretted bringing my dad into it the minute he said it, but I still think he overstepped the mark with what he said about Jessie. This was supposed to be an arrangement that benefited both of us, not us psychoanalyzing our relationships and making judgments about the other.
“Can we talk?”
I nod and move past him to open my front door. My family is out visiting Ray’s mom, but I have too much homework so decided to stay here and not make the hour drive each way. I hold out the door for Chase and lead the way to my kitchen. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and offer him one. He takes it cautiously. In fact, he’s being cautious around me in general. He’s keeping his distance and acting like I’m a newborn colt he’s scared to spook.