Page 101 of Unexpected Prejudice

He rolled his eyes at my joke and stood up. Moving his hand through his hair, which looked great for someone who’d just woken up, he pulled out his phone.

“For real now, how do you like your coffee?”

Levi

Andrei was a mess.

That’s something I never thought I’d say.

Our strong Andrei was a wreck. Not that I blamed him. I mean, I couldn’t begin to imagine how I’d feel if someone told me Jessie had overdosed on pills and was a second away from dying.

After the terrible ambush Shay-Lee’s gang did to us at our old school, we drove to the hospital. We got off pretty easily, thanks to Diesel, who came in time and saved our asses. Still, we needed treatment for our injuries. Jordan, who also came to help, was in a worse state than any of us and had to stay there for a few more days.

In the morning, after Jessie, Andrei, and I were free to go home, Andrei received a call from Daniel, Miles’s dad. As it turned out, Miles was bipolar and had a mania episode without anyone realizing it for the past few weeks. The other night, he crashed and tried to commit suicide.

Hearing the terrible news about his boyfriend’s suicide attempt shocked Andrei to his core. He was so horrified while receiving the news that he almost collapsed. He would’ve if not for Jessie, who grabbed him in time.

I wished there were something we could do to help him. Watching someone as strong as him, over the past two days, breaking apart was devastating. He refused to eat, kept to himself, and barely spoke to any of us. I heard him talking with Daniel over the phone, but I didn’t dare to ask how Miles was doing.

Everything turned chaotic so fast. It had started last week when someone broke into our surfing shop and destroyed the place, followed by a bunch of bullies kidnapping Jessie and ambushing us, and then what happened with Miles—it sounded like a script for a horrible movie.

I snapped back to the present, sitting at the dining table with Andrei and Chief. We were supposed to be having breakfast, but no one had touched their food. While I tried to find explanations in my head for the chaos, Chief tried to convince Andrei that what happened to Miles wasn’t his fault.

While his words were nothing but the truth, I doubt Andrei listened to any of them.

“You couldn’t have known, Andrei,” Chief said for the third time since we sat down. “Miles decided not to share that part of himself with you, so there was no way for you to know he’s bipolar and was having a mania episode. Even if you did know, what happened is still not your fault. It’s a complicated mental disorder, no one expected you to recognize it.”

“But it is my fault,” Andrei hissed back, his jaw tensed and his fists clenched. “All the fucking red flags were right there, but instead of helping, I sent him away.”

His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was red. He looked awful with dark circles around his eyes due to the lack of sleep and stubble he hadn’t bothered shaving. Moving his hands over his tired face, he grunted and shook his head.

“Fuck, I’m such an idiot. So fucking stupid.” His shoulders started trembling, and Chief put his arm around him. Andrei kept blaming himself because of the huge fight he and Miles had the night of Miles’s suicide attempt.

“It’s okay, just let it all out.”

I moved uncomfortably in my seat before I got up, assuming Andrei wouldn’t appreciate a crowd when he cried. Stepping out of the room, I left the two of them alone. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel empathy for Andrei. I did. I was just not good at showing it. Dealing with my own emotions embarrassed me, let alone others’, so I tried to avoid them at all costs. It often gave people the wrong assumptions about me being cold and detached, which was sometimes true but usually wasn’t. Regardless, I doubted Andrei cared about anyone being with him right now.

“Hey, Babydoll,” Jessie said as he came down the stairs, wearing one of his favorite pastel T-shirts and a pair of beige shorts, high socks, and sneakers. His hair was still dyed platinum, but he’d mentioned changing it to blue.

“What are you up to?” I asked as I noticed he had his backpack on.

“I’m going to visit Jordy in the hospital. Wanna come?” He brushed his tongue over his bottom lip, where he had a deep cut. His pretty face was spouting a few bruises, but thankfully, that’s where it ended. I knew that much of it was thanks to Jordan’s help, but it didn’t change my mind about the guy or his relationship with Jessie.

“No, and I don’t think you should go either.” I moved toward the stairs when Jessie stopped me.

“He helped us, Levi.”

“They’re his friends.”

He shook his head.

“What?” I asked, wanting to understand the reason for the disappointment in Jessie’s eyes.

“You’re judging him for no reason, Levi. You know he isn’t friends with those guys anymore, not since he saved my ass on Halloween. It’s not cool.”

“Well, sorry I’m not cool enough for you,” I grunted, and Jessie reached for my shoulder.

“You know that’s not what I meant. I just think that suddenly, you’ve made up your mind about Jordan, and it’s not a good thing.”