Page 119 of We Shouldn't Be Together
I smile back at her. It doesn’t even matter what she says when I get to hear that laugh.
Her teeth graze her bottom lip, and then she whispers, “I like it.”
Something twinges in my lower back. My jaw tightens, and my ease smothers in guilt. I can’t tell Tabitha I also like it. Once I do, I’ve completely back-stabbed Jamie.
I let out a gasp and fling Tabitha’s hand from mine. I’ve already stabbed Jamie in the back. I’m hanging with the enemy. I’m comforting the enemy.
“Kai?” her voice trembles as I stumble backward. “Wh-what’s wrong?”
“What are we doing?” I blurt, the racks of shoes mocking me. “What am I doing?”
“I… I don’t understand.”
“We can’t be doing this,” I utter under the store’s fluorescent lights. “I can’t be holding your hand.”
Her frame shrinks smaller. “Oh, I see. Umm, yeah, okay. I get it.”
“Do you?” I question, stepping closer to her. “You know, Jamie’s my best friend.”
She nods frantically. “Yes, I know.”
“And you’ve…”
“Said horrible things to her,” she rushes ahead of me.
I exhale slowly. “Yeah, you have.”
She lifts her shoulders slightly higher. “And I promised I wouldn’t do it again. And I haven’t since I made that promise.”
“I know, but…”
“But, I told you,” she cuts in again, “I would be Camila’s target to save Jamie.”
I groan. “I don’t want that.”
She raises her palms in exasperation. “But you don’t want to get caught by your friend.”
I rub the heel of my palm against my throbbing forehead. “This is a mess.”
“Kai, just tell me what you want to do. I thought we were getting closer, but if you want to stop that…”
This time I cut her off. “I don’t know what I want.” I lower my hand and see the sadness in her glossy doe eyes. “Yeah, we were getting closer, and it was nice. But I don’t want to do this behind my friend’s back.”
“I love how loyal you are to her.”
“I lied to her, Tabby. I lied to Jamie. I never do that.”
“Oh.”
“I lied to her because I wanted to spend time with you, and I didn’t want Jamie to ruin it.”
She chews her lip again. “So what does this mean?”
With a drooping posture, I huff. “No idea. This sucks.”
Tabby gathers her curls to the side, and she sniffs against the wetness coating her lash line. “I’m so confused. You just asked me to see you on your birthday, and now you’re flinging me away.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “But I’m confused too.”
