Four Doors Down(42)
The bitch!
The face is supposed to be off limits, and who knew she had such a throw on her? I actually feel a bit dizzy and tears have come to my eyes. I bite down hard on the inside of my mouth to stop them from falling. Have you ever been hit in the nose? I can promise you it hurts. I hold my hand to my face to see if there’s any blood.
“Shit, Becca, are you okay?” Jake asks, coming over and touching my arm.
Ryan’s behind him. “Becca, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Shut up,” I snap at Ryan as I shrug Jake off me. “I’m fine.” I feel anything but fine. Thanks, Ryan, once again you’ve made me look like a total idiot.
“Becca?” Ryan says. I won’t even look at him. He just let me get smacked in the face. On purpose. In front of everyone.
This is too much. I hate him, I physically hate him. I don’t care what his problem is. He shouldn’t be taking it out on me.
“Just finish the game,” I practically snarl.
He passes the ball over and we resume playing, but the excitement has gone from the game and everyone’s watching me waiting to see what my reaction will be. Great. By the end of school, everyone will know how Jessica smacked me in the face and how Ryan let her.
The bell rings and there’s still no winner. I drop the ball and walk to the locker rooms without looking back. I can feel eyes on me, like my watching classmates think I’m about to go crazy, and I feel humiliated, totally, totally humiliated. He’s done it to me again. Ryan Jackson has made me look like an absolute fool. Again.
It’s later in the day and I’m by my locker, my head still banging from the headache I’ve had since gym class. I’m still furious, and the curious glances and whispers that I’ve been getting from other students make it clear that the news of Jessica smacking me in the face has spread like wildfire.
I look up and see Ryan heading down the hallway, flanked, as always, by a couple of cronies. I slam my locker shut and stalk off in the opposite direction, ignoring him when I hear him shout my name. I’m almost at my car by the time he’s caught up with me and spun me around to face him.
“What?” I demand. I’m in no mood for this.
“Look, I’m sorry about the dodgeball thing earlier,” he says.
“Really? What part?” I ask sarcastically. “The part where I’m now covered in bruises thanks to your psycho girlfriend? The part where you took your shitty mood out on me? Or the part where you made me look like a complete idiot yet again?”
“I’m sorry, but you weren’t even trying.”
“Because you ignored me for more than half the class and only then decided to try and involve me!”
“Well you wouldn’t listen to me!” he shouts back.
“I don’t give a shit, Ryan,” I say and turn to walk away, but he grabs my arm and turns me around, not letting me leave.
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Yeah, well you might want to tell her that because I’m pretty sure she thinks that she is. Nice choice Ryan, you picked a real gem there.”
“You think she was jealous?”
“What? No. Of course not. Why would she be jealous of me? She was pissed off with your little act back there. And she’s not the only one.”
“What act?”
“Picking me up! What the hell was that about?”
“You wouldn’t move!” he shouts back.
“And what was the other thing? Oh yeah, kissing my bruise better?”
He has the good grace to at least look away when I say this. “That was a joke.”
“Yeah, at my expense, as usual. Just something else for you and your friends to laugh about.”
“What is your problem with my friends? You don’t even know them. John told me he’s tried talking to you in class a couple of times after we were all at my house that time and he couldn’t get two words out of you. And, for some reason, Katie really likes you, but you can barely smile at her.”
“I don’t need the popular parade taking pity on me.”
“Taking pity on you?” he scoffs. “You’ve got such a chip on your shoulder, Becca, you know that? You decide something and then that’s it, there’s no changing it.”
“Stop acting like you know me!” I shout.
“I do know you, Becca,” he throws back.
“Is that why you decided to teach me a lesson today then? Pull me down a peg or two, because of that chip on my shoulder?” I ask.
“You are so damn stubborn. If I’d been anyone else you’d have listened to me out there and made an effort.”
“Oh get over yourself, Ryan. You don’t have that much influence over me.”
He looks away, jaw clenched like he’s trying to decide something. A minute passes and he turns back to me. “You didn’t come to my game.”
My jaw falls open. This is what he’s mad about? You have got to be kidding me.
“Grow up, Ryan! Half the school went to your stupid little game. You got your precious record, and then went to the party afterward and banged one of the hottest girls at school. Boohoo for you,” I say spitefully. I don’t care how bitchy I sound, how dare he humiliate me and let me get hurt just because there wasn’t one more face in the crowd at his moment of glory.