Hesitating, I shake my head, brushing hair behind my ear and backtracking to what I was doing before. “I have a student coming in soon. Plus, there’s nothing to talk about.”
Collecting the papers where I left them, I organize them based on appointment times. There’s one first thing this morning, and one before my last class. I note his presence behind me as I saddle up next to the heater attached to the wall, which makes weird noises I should probably call maintenance about.
“Piper.”
I still don’t turn.
He sighs. “I know you’re mad, but—”
“Why would I be mad?” I spin around, pinning him with my eyes while lifting a brow in inquiry. Realistically, I should let it go. I never even thought about him since the funeral. But seeing him brings up memories I wish I could easily forget.
Memories of Danny and him laughing, of Jesse and him teasing me about embarrassing stuff I said or did, and the three of them being friends without me. I’d always been jealous. Bitter that they found friendship with each other when I only had Danny if he wasn’t busy. Sure, that changed with time. My crush on Carter shifted to Danny the more time we spent together, but once more it was in vain.
That hurts to think about.
His head dips. “You know what.”
I play dumb, knowing I should stop baiting him to admit it. “Listen, I’m kind of busy right now and I’m sure you have plenty of things to do before class. So…”
My eyes go to the door, but his stay on me. The color darkens in exasperation and I know he’s being reminded of how annoying I used to be growing up. The little sister nobody wanted.
He plants his feet and crosses his arms over his chest. “No. You’re upset about the Danny thing and we need to talk about it.”
Something inside me snaps, like a tetherball free flying in the open air just waiting to smash into some innocent victim’s face. “The Danny thing? Wow. You’re right, Professor. I am upset about ‘the Danny thing’. You know, the fact that he’s dead and not coming back.”
His features change, paling. “Pip—”
“How could you?” I accuse, voice breaking as I drop the papers again and match his stance. While his expression is tight and regretful, mine is full of rage. “He looked up to you and Jesse and you two always acted like he was beneath you because he was younger. I thought you were all friends, and you didn’t even show up to his frigging funeral.” I want nothing more than to swear, to curse at him, but the habit of refraining from dropping f-bombs these days is too strong thanks to Ainsley.
His lips press into a straight line.
I shake my head. “So, yeah. I’m upset. But, no. There’s nothing we need to talk about because you can’t change what’s already been done. You…” My nostrils flare as I battle unshed tears from falling. “I know you weren’t the driver that took his life, but you could have at least been there to show your support.”
His jaw moves a moment before his head does, slowly nodding in agreement. “I know. I should have been there, but I couldn’t. Danny and I had our share of issues that had a lot to do with our age gap, okay? But he was a good guy, a good friend, and you’re right. I could have gone and checked on Mable, Jesse … you.”
You. I don’t want that to get to my head, but I do. I let his words soak in and simmer until I’m a little less angry. He could just be saying I’m right, but I know he’s not. His father always taught him not to be prideful, so when he’s wrong he admits it.
But I’m also wrong too.
Blowing out a breath, I lean against the edge of the heater. “I’m sorry. He meant a lot to me and sometimes I wondered if you and Jesse even liked him or just put up with him because he wanted to be your friend so bad.”
“We liked him,” he says quickly.
“It didn’t seem like that.”
He doesn’t say anything right away. One of his palms scrapes against his slightly scruffy jaw in contemplation. “I can see why you thought that. Jess and I were closer in age and could do more than we could with Danny. But don’t mistake that, Piper. Losing Danny, no matter how much distance was between us after we went our