Page 16 of The Publicity Stunt
She frowns, her confusion slowly dwindling, and brings her hand up to her hat. “You want my hat?”
“Uh-huh.” I lean back and watch her shoulders slacken in response to the restored distance between us.
“Why?”
“You asking questions wasn’t part of the deal. Just give it to me.” My tone is crisp and to the point, but maybe she can’t read my mind after all.
“You wanna … wear it?”
And now I feel like an asshole. I take a deep breath and sigh heavily. “No, I want you to stop wearing it.”
“What? Why?”
“Because people pick on you.”
“So?”
So? Was that not clear enough? “So I don’t want anyone to fucking pick on you, April. And if you keep wearing that hat, they’re not gonna back off.”
“I can handle myself,” she says softly.
This is when I should probably drop it. She said she can handle herself. Drop it and move on, Parker.
But of course, I don’t.
“You can’t handle shit. I’ve seen you get bullied because of that stupid hat more times than I count.” Judging by the way her eyebrows lower and pull together, I know I’ve said all the wrong things. I always do. And I can’t stop. It’s one of my fatal flaws—not knowing when to shut the fuck up. “It’s just a hat. There are other ways of seeking attention.”
Her eyes go big and round and a little glassy, and she shifts back. “I don’t need you to rescue me.” She throws the stack of papers onto my lap and gets up.
Fuck. “April.” I reach for her hand, but she brushes me off.
“And I don’t think I want to see your comic anymore.”
“I’m sorry.” I get up with her. “I shouldn’t have said it like that. I’m sorry. I don’t know why—”
“It’s okay.” Her voice is softer than usual, layered with a bit of guilt. Like me bitching at her is somehow her fault.
Ignoring the heaviness weighing down my chest, I nudge her foot with mine. “Hey.”
Her eyes slowly flick to mine. Her cheeks pale, and I just want to pull her to my side, give her a hug. She licks her lips and looks down at her shoes, nodding slowly. “I can take care of myself, I promise,” she whispers. “And I don’t … I don’t wear it for attention.”
Her chest rises in a slow inhale.
Mine collapses in an even deeper one. “I know. I’m so sorry I said that, Moore.”
“It’s okay.”
“You wanna stay over for dinner? My mom’s not home. We can get some pizza.”
April shrugs, making it very clear that all she wants right now is to be away from me. But we’ve been friends for a few months now. I know exactly how to win her over.
“We could watch that X-Men show you like.”
Her face brightens up immediately. “The animated series?”
I laugh. “Yeah.”
“You downloaded it?”
