Page 23 of Friend
Chapter Five
Rooftops
I was sitting at the dining table, eating dinner alone, before my misery was truly complete when Bianca’s father texted me.
Mr. Geier:Bianca has a date?
I’d been expecting this for hours but still drew a blank on how to respond. However, I couldn’t put it off. We usually talked around this time anyway, so he would know that I was avoiding him.
My shoulders slumped as I texted back a reply.
Me:Supposedly. It’s not a good idea.
I stared down at my phone, and it took a moment too long for him to respond.
Mr. Geier:Why? Most teenagers date.
His response floored me, and I almost dropped my phone as panic raced through me. Did this mean he was considering it?
Then what the heck—did that mean I could ask her out?
The silence in the darkened room was deafening, and the empty room seemed to close in around me. I set the phone, screen up, on the table in front of me as I pushed my barely eaten dinner away. My fingers were shaking as I ran them through my hair, and my mind was racing with a plausible reason to give him as to why she shouldn’t go out withhim.
I just didn’twantBianca to go out with Cory Moore. And it was as simple as that.
I couldn’t tell him the truth—at least not about the bullying, or Cory’s threat. They knew about Cory and his friends but thought the group had outgrown the behavior. If her parents knew they were still around, they’d take away the little freedom that she had.
She was already being suffocated. I would have to deal with them on my own—and still needed to figure out what Adrian was up to.
Me:Because he’s an idiot. And I can’t watch her if he’s driving her places.
Mr. Geier:Good point.
My breathing eased—he fell for it.
Mr. Geier:Okay, I’ll tell her no. But I want you to find out who he is.
I pressed my fingers into the back of my neck, a surge of annoyance crashing into me.
Find out who he is?
She didn’t even tell them hisname? Did she not think they’d want to know? What was she thinking? She couldn’t possibly have expected them to be okay with her going out with just anyone.
Me:Okay. What did she say about him?
Mr. Geier called in response instead of texting. I answered immediately. “H-hello?”
“Finn, we have to work together,” he said without preamble. “I’ve never seen her this emotional over a boy. It could be serious.”
Oh no…
“Um…” Kiania’s sniggering response echoed in the back of my head, and my fist pressed against the table.
Emotional. Serious. Over Cory Moore and his annoying dimples.
I wanted to throw up.
“How so?” I asked.
