He stepped over Colette and me too. “See ya, Nikita.”
The bell rang to signify classes restarting as Sicily walked into the school and out of sight, but I didn’t even try to move. Instead, I settled back, repositioning Colette in my arms, and just waited. I’d been in more than my fair share of scraps in my day and knew that she wasn’t concussed or suffering from any serious injuries. It was just a matter of waiting until she regained consciousness. Still, both her eyes were totally swollen and already turning black and blue, and her lower lip was also cut and bleeding. I used the edge of my jacket to dab as much of the blood away as I could, but she’d need a formal cleaning up once she came to. She would probably be wearing the battle scars from that fight for several weeks.
After almost an entire class period, Colette shifted in my lap, let out a groan, and then opened her eyes as much as she could with the swelling. It broke my heart how little she could open her eyes, even more so when tears started to slide out of them that I knew weren’t from the physical pain.
“Is Cherri still here?” she asked.
“No,” I replied. “She left.”
“Did she say she’d forgive Avery?” I let out a sigh before I could stop it from coming out, and Colette started to cry a little harder. “I’m not stupid, you know, Nikita? I’m one of the smartest ones in our whole group.”
“I know that,” I replied. “That’s why I don’t get it. Why do so much? Why keep giving Cherri the time? Doesn’t it upset you how she’s acting?”
“She’s my friend,” Colette replied, “and I want Avery to feel better again. I know that they were closer to each other than they were to me. I even knew that they probably didn’t like me a whole lot. I’m vain and kind of stuck up and full of myself, but at the end of the day, you guys are my friends. I’m that way because you guys just accepted me like I was. Cherri did too. I want her to know that, even if this is how she’s going to be from now on, I’ll accept her, and I know Avery would as well.”
“Neither you nor Avery deserves that.” My arms were half wrapped around her, so I squeezed a bit in a sort of half-hug. “You’re a good person. No one deserves to be treated this way.”
“You saw it too,” Colette said. “That look in her eyes. She didn’t want to hit me. Not at first.” I had seen that look. It was brief and fleeting, but it was there. “Somewhere between the Cherri we knew and this version of Cherri is the genuine article. I want her to know that we’ll be with her while she tries to figure herself out and while she tries to get over Deon. She’s angry right now. I can’t blame her.”
“No offense, Colette, but I did not expect you to be the most forgiving and humble out of all of us.”
Colette laughed a little, wincing in pain as she did it. “Yeah. That’s fair.”
“I don’t think anything we have to say to Cherri is going to change her right now,” I said. “She needs to go on whatever journey she thinks she’s on, and then, maybe, once it’s all over, there could be a place for us in her life again.” I wiped some of the tears from Colette’s face. “We’re all starting over from square one. I now realize just how much I love all of you guys, and I can’t just stand back while she continues to hurt you. Whatever she needs to go through, I get it, but I’m not going to let her take out her anger on us. We don’t deserve that any more than she deserved what happened to her.”
Colette nodded. “Maybe you’re right.” She smiled a little. “Jaxon was pretty upset, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah, he’s…” I shook my head. “I’ve never seen him like this before, Colette. You’ve got him right where you want him.”
She let out a squawk that was either meant to be a giggle or a cheer. I wasn’t sure which. “Sooner or later, they all come after me.”
I laughed. “I love you.”
Colette looked up at me. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I said.
She squeezed my arms. “I love you too, Nikki. I’m glad we’re friends.”
“Me too.”
Every time I thought the year had brought the last