Loser || WlW

Thirty-One

 "Why do you let him hurt you?" Grace asks, taking a sip of her coffee. She's facing away from me, sitting on the couch in her living room as I change into something dry from her closet.

"It was two football players versus me." I cough again. "It wasn't exactly a fair fight," I say as I pull one of her hoodies on.

I cough again, the taste of toilet water staining my tongue as I sit next to her.

The principal sent Trevor back to class and said a humorous prank such as a swirly didn't warrant disciplinary action at our age.

"I know. I'm sorry," she says and shakes her head. "Trevor really pisses me off." She scoots closer. "Are you feeling any better?"

I nod and for a moment, I wonder if she'll catch me in my lie, but she half-smiles and squeezes my hand in hers.

My phone dings. It's Brittany.

I could give him chlamydia for you.

I can't help but grin. You have chlamydia???

No, but I know where I could get it.

I flip the phone closed and look at Grace who's watching me with concerned eyes.

"Brittany said she'll give him Chlamydia for me." I don't realize how dumb I sound until it leaves my lips.

Grace hits my knee, her eyes wide. "Thank you for reminding me! That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Brittany having Chlamydia?" I raise an eyebrow.

She gives a playful eye roll and shakes her head. "No. I think you should be careful around her though."

"What do you mean?"

"You remember at the pizza parlor when she was talking about how jealous she was of Claire?" she asks.

I rub the stress from my forehead. "Mhm."

"I'm just saying." She moves so her leg is pressed against mine. "I care about you and I think sometimes you forget that if someone killed Claire then they're going to be good liars."

Something bubbles in my chest but I can't put my finger on it. Anger? Because she's accusing my friend of murder? She's right though. I can't brush the idea under the rug just because Brittany is kind to me. Especially after what her old friends told me at The Mariana.

I haven't googled it, even though I could. If Brittany, the Mayor's daughter, attempted to kill her sister it would be all over the news. But I know what it feels like to have everyone know everything about you. I would never do that. I promised myself I would let Brittany have her privacy.

"Christ. I just want to finish my senior year and put high school behind me." I let out a hopeless chuckle. "That was my pact to myself, you know? The first day I walked through the door into Jefferson High, I promised this year would be different. I wasn't going to give Trevor a reason to bully me. I was going to stay in the shadows," I shake my head, "and now..." Tears push at my eyelids. "This year has been so shitty."

She pulls me into a hug without saying anything.

"I just wanted one normal year. Make a few friends, maybe go to prom, graduate... And then never see Jefferson High again," I continue.

Grace smiles and cups my face in her hand, pushing a tear away from my cheek with her thumb.

The conscious decision to kiss her hasn't flitted through my mind when I close the space between us, but as I move to press my lips against hers, she moves away.