time he’d seemed willing to cross the line of our friendship? Why had I chosen that moment to grow a conscience?
I knew why.
Because I loved him.
Beyond reason.
And well into madness.
Adding to my unsettled feelings, I ran into Chad by the school office. He wasn’t alone.
“See ya, sis,” Dizzy said. Sensing the vibe, he split, going off in the opposite direction, following the come-hither looks of a girl while I remained where I was, staring slack jawed at Chad with Missy.
What the hell?
“I’m driving you to and from school,” she said to him, her blue eyes flashing with icy heat. “And helping you as I see fit while here.”
“I can carry my own books.” Chad wore a scowl, along with his Southside High basketball T-shirt and jeans.
“You can’t, not with your crutches.” She tossed a long lock of her black hair over her shoulder. “Quit being an ass. Your dad’s paying me to do a job, and I’m going to do it.” With his backpack slung over her shoulder, she gave me a dark look and took off.
As soon as she turned away, I went to Chad, throwing my arms around his waist. “I missed you,” I said, noting he’d lost a lot of weight.
“Missed you too.” He eased back, watching Missy until she turned the corner and disappeared.
“Are you back at school now?” I asked, wondering why he hadn’t told me.
“Half days.” He nodded, seeming distracted.
“That’s good. Right?” I asked.
“It’s something,” he muttered.
“What do the doctors say?” I searched his gaze. “I thought you were on strict non-weight-bearing instructions through the end of the year.”
“I don’t want to talk about doctors,” he said bitterly. “Or their fucking prognosis.”
“Okay.” My eyes widened in response to his vehemence. “So, how about Missy? When did that happen? Is she your chauffeur?”
“Until I get the boot off.” He frowned. “She’s part of my deal with my dad. If I don’t follow doctor’s orders, she reports to him, and he rides my ass.”
“Sounds like that sucks.”
“You have no idea.” Chad shook his head. His blond hair was more unkempt than usual and longer. The ends swept his wide shoulders.
“I guess not. But if you’d return my calls, maybe I would.” I put my hands on my hips. “And maybe we could put our heads together, and I could help you.”
“Can you turn back time? Give me a perfectly healed tendon? A scholarship?” His eyes flashed. “Stay another year at school instead of graduating early and leaving me behind?”
“I have to graduate early.” My brows drew together. “You know how it is with my uncle.” But I felt guilty. I’d never considered how that decision might affect Chad.
“You’re so self-absorbed, Lace Lowell.” He spat out the accusation, and I winced. “You think the world revolves around you alone and your drama.”
“I don’t.” Yet as I denied it, I wondered if he was right. Maybe I was selfish. I certainly needed him desperately, and wished I could talk through with him what had happened on the beach with Bryan, along with my trepidations about the test.
“Your poor me, I have two guys sniffing around me act, three if you ever cared to notice me, has gotten old.”
“You don’t like me.” I narrowed my eyes. “Not like a boyfriend.”
“Not anymore.” He glanced in the direction Missy had gone. “Hey, I gotta go.”
“Okay, but can we talk later?” My stomach swirled as he turned back to me. I didn’t like his expression. It was so cold and distant. “Maybe at lunch?”
“I’m going back to my house after fourth period.”
“Maybe I could come over later after school,” I said softly, my voice small, like I suddenly felt with having to beg for scraps of his time.
“You get walked to school by your brother. Walked home by your boyfriend, or the one you deny is your boyfriend.” Chad’s lips had an ugly curl to them. “You gonna walk three miles all by yourself through La Rasa territory to come see me?”
“Maybe—”
“Listen.” Cutting me off, he put his hands on my shoulders, and I wanted to cry. “For a while, it worked well, you and me. But not now. Not with all I have going on.”
Again, he glanced away. Missy had returned. At the mouth of the hall, she folded her arms over her chest. He refocused on me, and I noted the crease between his brow was deeper.
“Face it, Lace. Your life is going one direction, and mine’s going another.”