Page 34 of We Shouldn't Be Together
The sight of her being so flippant about my friend and her livelihood has me livid. I perch a hand on Jamie’s arm and her goosebumps are like braille.
“Oh, I’m looking right at the reason,” Camila says, puffing her chest like she’s ready to spout even worse venom.
In a shot, I lift a pointed finger in her direction. “One more word out of your mouth, and I’ll make sure you can’t speak for a week.”
It takes the wind out of Camila, who reluctantly deflates. However, Yvette stands taller, squinting at me like I just appeared. “Oh my gosh, was that a threat? Like you’re gonna whack her with that skateboard or something?”
An indignant gasp shoots out of her and Tabitha. I lock onto Tabitha, who, true to form, is checking out my outfit. She judges me for my beat up old beanie, open flannel shirt over my overworn T-shirt, and my ripped jeans that sit over my favorite sneakers.
“Umm, hello?” Yvette continues squawking. “Violence against women is not okay.”
I broaden my frame. “Did those words really just vomit out of your mouth?”
The girls recoil in repulsion. As I keep my stare pointed at them, they no longer focus on Jamie and awkwardly bunch together on the pavement.
“Why don’t you buzz off and ruin somebody else’s day?” I bark at them.
There’s a lot of hair tossing and tongue clucking, like I haven’t spooked them out of being absolute witches. They mutter together, scrambling to reach the high ground, but I couldn’t care less. I’m only happy when they leave in the opposite direction of Jamie’s café and I finally drop my skateboard onto the sidewalk.
Jamie lets out an exhausted and frustrated groan. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She hunches forward, grabbing the sides of her head. “If they were boys, I would’ve had them in a headlock and forced them to take back every word. But, thesegirls…”
“Hey, hey,” I coo, prying her hands out of her tangled blonde curls. “They’re complete hags. They’re getting what’s coming to them.”
Jamie retches like she’s about to puke on my T-shirt. “At school, it’s one thing. But, out here on Main Street…”
I tilt my head, watching the green tinge spread over her pale complexion. “Does it happen often outside of school?”
She frowns at her beat up sneakers. “No. I can take occasional comments at school. That’s life. But this last week, it’s really ramped up. Ugh. I don’t want Maddy to find out. I don’t want it leaching into our cafe.”
“It won’t happen. I promise.” I swallow hard, unsure how I’ll make it a certainty, but I mean the promise. “Why didn’t you tell me when the comments started at school?”
“It wasn’t your problem.”
“Them messing with you is absolutely my problem.”
She lifts her gaze and I’m taken aback by the icy sadness. “I didn’t want you to think I’m weak. I wanna be like you and the rest of the guys. No one else gets picked on.”
I throw an arm around her. “Because we all stick together. They get you when you’re alone. Case in point, I left you to pick up this stupid thing.”
Jamie brightens with a smirk. “It wasn’t so stupid a few minutes ago.”
I give her my most serious look. “You know what I mean. Man, how long have you been hiding this from us?”
Jamie’s eyes widen. “Don’t tell the other guys.”
“They’ll have your back.”
“No, it’s embarrassing. I don’t want you guys fighting my battles.” She rubs the heel of her palm against her forehead. “I feel like such a loser.”
I crane her chin up with my thumb. “Hey, those girls are all talk and no action. They don’t deserve space in your brain.”
“I’m trying to forget them. Believe me.”
“They’re not very ladylike. Maybe you can think of them as guys so youcantake them down.”
She snorts. “Guys don’t talk the way they do.”
“True.” I sigh. “You good, James?”
