Stay With Me (She's With Me #2) - Jessica Cunsolo Page 0,31
basically hailed me as her hero. “I wish I had the balls to punch someone right in the face!” she gushes. “Did you see how useless I was hiding behind Mason?”
She pauses, considering what she said. “Okay, maybe I’d never punch someone, but at least I wish I wasn’t so scared of confrontation. Like, my locker neighbor keeps spraying this god-awful cologne every time I’m there, and I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to it. But will I ever say anything to him? Nooooo. Because that would involve confrontation.”
She frowns, and I feel like she’s talking more to herself now than to us. I unlock the front door and we all pile in, out of the chilly winter air. I check the garage and find my mom’s car missing. I shoot her a quick text, asking when she’ll be home, but don’t expect a reply anytime soon. She probably went to her new boyfriend’s house—the one I’m not allowed to know anything about—instead of coming home.
“Who’s your locker neighbor, Char?” Noah asks as we take off our shoes and jackets, and head into the living room to sit. “Is it Lakerman?”
Charlotte sits cross-legged on the floor, facing the couch, and Chase sits beside her. Noah sits on the smaller couch, and Mason and I sit on the bigger couch. Aiden heads into the other room, presumably to call and check on the twins.
“Yeah, Peter Lakerman. Every time he sprays it, my neck and chest break out in hives,” she explains, subconsciously rubbing her collarbone.
“After the Christmas break when school starts again, I’ll talk to him,” Noah promises.
Charlotte’s blue eyes widen with alarm. “Oh, no! It’s fine, really. You don’t need to say anything.”
“Charlie, you’re breaking out in hives. Clearly it’s not okay,” Chase emphasizes, giving Noah a look laced with some jealous undertones. Chase is in love with Charlotte. I’m assuming it bothers him to know that she never stands up for herself, even if it is just asking her locker neighbor to spray the cologne after she leaves so she won’t break out in hives. Is he jealous that Noah stepped in to play hero before he got the chance? Noah doesn’t even feel the same way Chase does about Charlotte, he’s just being Noah.
“Lakerman is cool. I’ll just tell him you’re allergic and to switch colognes, or at least spray after you get your books and are long gone,” Noah explains, smiling like he just solved a Rubik’s Cube in under thirty seconds.
“But you don’t have to go through the trouble,” Charlotte says timidly.
Noah frowns and looks at Charlotte like she just told him the earth was flat.
“We’re friends. It would be trouble if I didn’t say anything,” he confidently asserts, making Charlotte blush slightly.
“I wish you would’ve told me.” Chase frowns. “I could’ve done something to help.”
Chase would’ve helped Charlotte right away if he’d known what was going on—he is in love with her, after all. I’m sure he’s not happy that Noah gets to be her knight in shining armor before he got the chance.
Aiden walks back into the room and my eyes are automatically drawn to him.
“It’s okay, Chase, really,” Charlotte says as Aiden crosses the room and sits beside me on the couch. “You know I don’t like being the center of any kind of drama.”
“Speaking of drama,” Noah starts. “What the hell, Amelia?”
“At least you didn’t miss out on any of the drama this time, Noah,” Mason teases.
“I didn’t set out to start anything this time!” I defend myself, but as I think about it, I add, “Not that I did the other times.”
“What happened to all that hippie-dippie make love, not war stuff you always preach? All that ‘I don’t want anyone else getting hurt so let’s stop fighting and sit around braiding people’s hair’ bullshit?” Noah asks with a smirk.
“I don’t want anyone getting hurt on my behalf. Yes, I want the cycle of violence to end, but he started saying all that stuff about Jason and Jackson and I don’t know … I lost my shit.”
Now I have a better understanding of why the Boys automatically want to punch people when they find out their friends have been hurt; you just don’t let people disrespect the people important to you like that.
“You threw the first punch! I was so not expecting that!” Chase exclaims.
“Yeah. It was hot.” Mason winks, and Aiden stiffens beside me.
“Don’t get used to it,” I mumble. “My hand is still throbbing.”