“Go ahead.” He releases her and steps between us. “You have nothing left to hold over me anymore, you donkey-faced thundercunt.”
Another round of laughter and cheering ripples through the cafeteria as Audrey gapes in disbelief. She’s always been the queen bitch. It never occurred to her that she could lose her crown, but judging by the atmosphere here, it looks like she has way more enemies than she realized.
“This isn’t over,” she screeches over her shoulder as she stomps away.
I glance at Jared and force my appreciation through parched lips. “Thank you.”
He nods, and I’m worried he’s going to leave. So, before he can, I reach out to grab his arm. “I’ve been trying to call you.”
“I have a new number,” he says.
“Oh. Well, I was hoping… maybe we could talk?”
“Sure.” He shrugs.
“I’ll wait for you at my locker.” Court winks at me as she gets up from the table.
“Okay, thanks.”
She leaves, and Jared takes her place. The cafeteria is starting to clear out, and the bell will sound soon. But I have to do this now. I just hope he’ll hear me out.
“I’m so sorry, Jared. I did an awful, horrible thing. I betrayed your trust, and—”
“It’s okay,” he cuts me off. “I deserved it.”
“What?”
He taps his fingers against the table and sighs. “I said all that shit to you that night because Audrey told me to. She wanted me to humiliate you and cheat on our fake relationship with one of her friends at the party, so I did.”
I should have known.None of Jared’s words or actions made any sense that night.
“But why would she ask you to do that?”
He’s quiet for a moment, and the sadness in his eyes catches me off guard. I recognize that hurt because I feel it too.
“When Jacob and I first got together, we agreed to keep our relationship under wraps. His team was important to him, and he didn’t want to compromise that. I thought I was okay with it, but the longer it went on, the harder it was. I was sick of lying to everybody and watching girls throw themselves at him right in front of me. One night, at a party, I let my emotions get the best of me, and we started arguing. I didn’t even realize Audrey had heard us until it was too late.”
“Oh, no.” My stomach twists. I think I can see where this is going.
“She didn’t even hesitate,” he says. “She threatened to out both of us, and Jacob freaked. He was pissed at me for being so reckless. I just wanted to fix it, so I told Audrey I’d do whatever she wanted. She asked me to humiliate you, and I didn’t want to do it, Kail. I swear I didn’t. But it felt like an impossible choice. I was in love with Jacob, and I thought he loved me too.”
“Didn’t he?” I whisper.
“Apparently not.” Indignation taints his voice. “Audrey made another deal with him behind my back. It wasn’t enough to punish you. She wanted to punish me too because I didn’t abide by her schoolwide ban on you. That’s why she fucked Jacob in the gazebo. It was all to prove a point. Audrey gets what Audrey wants.”
“That’s just… so messed up. I’m sorry, Jared. You didn’t deserve that.”
For a second, we sit there in silence, digesting the awful truth. I hate Audrey for what she did to him. But more than anything, I hate that he’s hurting because of me. I know it might not mean much now, but I want him to know that I’m here as a friend. A real, honest to god friend.
“I want to apologize for my actions,” I tell him. “What I did that night was rotten and I’m not going to make excuses for my behavior. I just let everything go way too far.”
“This place has a tendency to do that to you,” he answers wryly. “Don’t sweat it, Kail. You did me a favor, honestly. I mean, yeah, my parents were dicks when they found out, but that’s nothing new. I can be myself now. And fuck anyone who doesn’t like it.”
“Yeah, fuck them.” I glare around the room.
We both laugh then, and it feels like another enormous weight has been lifted off my chest. But the humor gradually disappears, and Jared lowers his voice.
“I’m sorry someone hurt you,” he says. “If I ever find out who it was—”