Page 113 of My Rules for Revenge
As we walked out of my room, I stopped and stood back for a moment. For some strange reason, I felt like something bad was going to happen. I was suspended, the future of my relationship with Eddy was uncertain, and I felt like something was going to happen to someone close to me. It turned out…I was right. My troubles weren’t over. Not by a long shot.
CHAPTER 28
EDDY
Over the next couple of months, I was devastated and depressed as the school year was set to end. I was in love with Heather. I didn’t realize it until she refused to look me in the eye. She thought I was bad news, and I couldn’t exactly blame her for it. I broke her trust.
Once the basketball season was over, things went very sour. Since I didn’t have anything to distract myself with, I just thought about what I did over and over and over and over again. I replayed every moment where I screwed up.
My anger and resentment at Frankie, Porter, Marcus, and the other guys on the team began to rot inside me. I replayed the moment in the locker room where they surrounded me and forced me to be quiet. I imagined myself taking them all on and swinging in every direction. I knew they’d beat me down easily, but at least I would’ve stood up for myself.
I had no one to talk to about this stuff, which was maddening. My relationship with my parents was strained enough. They were on the verge of divorcing, and I was afraid to find out the reasons why. I was already dealing with enough torment.
I wanted to talk to Heather, but obviously, that wasn’t an option. A chance encounter with the last person I expected to see outside a convenience store in Central Lake Plaza changed everything.
I walked there to buy a couple of snacks after school. I was letting myself go during the offseason despite the pleas from my coach to stay in shape. I didn’t care one bit. Once I walked out, I glanced up and saw Jacob. He had just walked out of the nearby GameRocks store. He grinned and approached me.
“Eddy? I thought I recognized you,” Jacob remarked.
“Hey, man.”
“How have you been?”
“Eh, I’ve been alright. You? How’s the new school?” I asked.
“Well, it’s trashy and ghetto. It’s filled with roided-up morons and gangster wannabes. They’re very similar to the people that live in my neighborhood.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Yeah, it’s splendid. Well, it was cool seeing you, bro. Take care of yourself, Eddy.”
As Jacob began to walk away, I had a strange compulsion to continue talking with him. Probably because I had no one else to talk to.
“Wait up.”
Jacob stopped and turned around. He looked surprised.
“What’s up?”
“Are you hungry, by chance? We can go to that Chinese place that’s right here. If you want, of course. It’s entirely your choice,” I offered.
“You know what? Fuck it. Let’s do it.”
As we went inside and ordered, we caught up. Admittedly, it was weird to think of Jacob as a friend when he was the guy who leaked Heather’s nudes. I wasn’t sure why I asked him to have lunch, but it was a difficult time in my life, and I needed to vent to anyone who was willing to listen.
“So, I was in the area because I needed to get some school records for college,” Jacob explained.
“Are you still going to Bright Rock?”
Jacob shifted uncomfortably and sighed.
“Honestly, bro. I have no idea. The admissions team is ghosting me. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Damn. That sucks.”
“Yeah, but guess what? I brought it on myself. You already know why,” Jacob pointed out.
“That situation with Heather and Indira seems so far away now. It’s crazy,” I remarked.
