Page 75 of Unexpected Prejudice

“Hey, Jordy.” A goofy smile was glued to his cheerful, drunk face.

“Sup, Ty,” I answered as I tried to move on, only for him to hold my shoulder tighter.

“I was worried you wouldn’t come,” he mumbled into his empty cup. “I’m glad you did. I was waiting for you.”

Why would he be waiting for me?

“I mean… I wasn’t waiting for you like some chick. I just wondered when you’d show, ya know?” Ty was always the sloppy drunk who talked too much and overshared. “I just waited because, you know, we’re friends.”

“Yeah, sure.” I forced a smile because as lovely as it was to hear that about our friendship, I was more interested in finding Shay-Lee.

“You like me, right?” he suddenly asked and stepped closer. His big honey eyes were searching for an answer almost desperately, which took me aback.

“Sure, I guess.”

“Good.” That goofy smile took over again and lit his whole face up. He was an attractive dude who apparently found me attractive if you considered how his fingers kept digging into my biceps.

“You look good in this outfit,” Ty continued to mumble drunkenly while wobbling a bit. “But you always look good, I mean… like a bro.” His cheeks flushed red, only making things more awkward.

“Yeah, well, thanks, man.” I patted his shoulder and started walking away when Ty followed me.

“I mean, do you maybe want to do something?”

“Do something?”

“Yeah.” He moved his hand through his dark, tousled hair. “Like, I can get us tickets to some ball game or something. Or we can hang out by the pier.”

“The pier?” My brows rose with surprise. Was he aware he was asking me out on a date right now?

“I mean, we can go surfing instead. Do you surf? I used to surf, but then I broke my nose, and my plastic surgeon told me not to go into the—”

Ty’s words suddenly became white noise when we stepped into the living room, and in the middle, surrounded by the whole school, was my Shay-Lee. Only he wasn’t mine, and he most definitely wasn’t alone.

Levi

10:47 PM

I was a liar.

I had the sweetest guy for a boyfriend, and in return for him being a goofball of love and sunshine, I lied to him. I lied to him two weeks ago when I told him I had to study, but instead, I went out and met my mom. Then I lied to him last Saturday when I sat with her for coffee instead of going to the library. And I lied to him this morning when I told him I was going for a walk, but I actually went to help my mom move into her new apartment.

It hadn’t been my intention to lie, but it was also never my intention to restart my relationship with Yelena. I wanted to tell Jessie but knew he’d take it the wrong way.

Our little family was all Jessie would ever need, so trying to make things good with my mom would be like betraying our family. It was very out of character for him to even think like that, but it was also out of character for him to hate someone. And, oh, did he hate my mom. He hated her because all she ever did was hurt me, and unlike me, he would never forgive her. I didn’t think I would until this month when she proved she cared about me. She called and texted, made an effort to have lunch together, and even bought me a book she thought I’d enjoy.

Was I wrong for enjoying the attention? I knew I said she couldn’t fix the damage, but apparently, I was willing to let her try.

As Diesel parked Chief’s pickup truck near the big Halloween party, I decided tonight would be all about Jessie and his love for this holiday. Unlike me, who hated the whole concept, Jessie was all about dressing up and eating candy. My self-loathing could wait a couple of more hours, and even if it couldn’t, I would just drink it away.

Since the football team hosted the party, Jordan was the one to invite us. Coming here probably wasn’t smart, and Andrei warned us about coming before saying he was going to spend the night with Miles. I wasn’t surprised he’d skipped the party since he was still injured, although he was doing much better. And yet, because of Jessie’s love for the holiday, we chose to ignore Andrei’s warning and had come anyway.

“Sure you don’t want to join us?” Jessie asked from the back seat.

“Positive. Now, beat it,” Diesel grunted and gripped the steering wheel harder. He was impatient for an unknown reason.

“That’s a shame… but it’s your choice.” Jessie shrugged and climbed out of the truck.

“Bye,” I mumbled and got out. I barely closed the door behind me when Diesel pumped the gas and sped away. Choosing not to worry about Diesel and his habit of vanishing lately, I looked around.