made it clear that I need to give her space. Three weeks is too long to allow my best friend to do things that I should be doing.
“Breaker told me she’s not afraid of him,” Dixon whispers. “We all put our hands on her, some of us more than others”— he drops his head— “but not him. He kept his hands clean.”
“And ours are bloody.” I take a deep breath. “What’s up with you, man?” I shake my head, trying to pull myself away from Palmer.
“I’m dealing.” He shrugs. He and I both know he’s not dealing with anything. Deflections is this kid’s middle name.
Not that I blame him for it.
We’ve had some time to step back, to see what we did. Sometimes, no matter what the motivation is, actions can never be justified. We fucked up, plain and simple, and now we get to deal with the consequences.
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” I stand when I see Palmer and Breaker heading out of the cafeteria. “I have to go, but I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yeah, sure.” He cups his head in his hands and settles into his pain. There’s nothing I can do for him right now. Until he is ready to face it, he’s going to have to wallow in it for a little while longer.
I push out the side doors of the cafeteria. The air is cold, but the snow has held off. Our luck is running out, though. It won’t be long until the campus is covered in a thick layer.
“Hey.” I walk up to them.
Breaker stands guard in front of Palmer as she ties her shoe. At my voice, she freezes, then stands, inspecting me. Her eyes bulge as she takes me in.
“Hey, man, what’s going on?” Breaker glares at me. I made him a promise, and now I’m severing it.
“I was wondering if I could walk you to class.” My words are directed right at her. She cuts her eyes to Breaker, a message passing between them. “Since when do you have to ask him permission?”
“You don’t have to,” Breaker states.
“Whose side are you on, asshole?” I ask, taking a step towards him. My patience is running fucking thin with this guy.
“Yours. I’m on yours.” Breaker erratically points at me, forcing me backwards. “Always have been, douchebag, but I’m also on hers.” He rolls his eyes over to Palmer, and she laughs. “You don’t have to talk to him, not yet, if you don’t want to, and you”— he glares at me over his shoulder— “it’s about damn time.”
Breaker storms off, and I would think he’s mad if it wasn’t for the stupid grin on his face. I pick up Palmer’s backpack and sling it over my shoulder. She follows my lead, falling into step beside me. We have eyes on us as we make our way through campus. It’s something I’ve grown used to since freshman year when I no longer could stay invisible.
“They’ve all backed off. Everything is back to what it was before. I’m invisible,” Palmer whispers. “Let me guess, you played a hand in that?”
“You can say that.” I tuck my hands into my pants pockets, forcing myself to stare straight ahead and not look at her.
“If you’re expecting a thank you, then you can fuck right off.”
I shouldn’t laugh, but I fucking do. This right here is one of the reasons why I fell for Palmer in the first place. She’s a snarly attitude attached to a pretty face.
“We’re still doing this then?” I jump in front of her, blocking the path. She tries to sidestep me but fails. “You want to hate me forever, Palmer, is that it?”
“As if I don’t have a reason to.” Her flat palms slam into my chest. I’m unmoving. My hands wrap lightly around her wrists, and she tugs. “Please, let go of me.”
“Fine.” I release her. “But you need to know, the fact that my actions caused you any hurt, kills me, Palmer. The intimidation was all a lie. Everything else, it was me.”
“If you think that makes it any better, you’re an even bigger asshole than I thought,” she groans. “What is with you boys, thinking because you say I’m sorry it makes it all go away?”
“Then how come you’ve forgiven Breaker?”
“Because I didn’t care for him like I cared for you, Marek.” Her eyes narrow, and her brows furrow. “Are you that dense, that you didn’t even notice how deep you burrowed under my skin, even when you were pretending