#Chapter 13 Your Problem
He doesn’t let me go like he did earlier today. Instead, he follows after me closely.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
But I keep my head down, refusing to answer.
He rushes forward and stops in front of me.
“C’mon, Cynth. Look at me, would you?”
Hah. I’m not sure when we’d moved on to the cutesy nicknames stage of our fake relationship, but it’s interesting to know we’re here now. Especially after he just dissed a girl who he’d let flirt with him for days.
All the exhaustion and irritation that’s been building up finally boils over.
Fine. He wants to see backbone?
I’ll give him backbone.
“Don’t get carried away, now. Falling in love is a no–go.”
He blinks, surprised at the tone of my voice. It’s lower than usual, as it usually comes out when I’m beyond caring.
“…What are you talking about? I’m not in love with you.”
The laugh I let out is ugly.
“Really? Running after me, always trying to protect me, hanging out with me…it’s all just kindness and friendship, huh? Well, if I could make the mistake of misunderstanding, who
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knows what Charlie thought with how you treated her, eh?”
I watch as understanding finally dawns on his oh so precious, handsome face.
“Wait, you think I… With Charlie? No, I was just being nice. We just-”
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“Walked around with her breasts against your arm, let her feel your clothes, get all close to you while your girlfriend is in the same room. C’mon, you’re not an A+ student, but you’re not daft, Alex.”
He seems to take the insult genuinely, his brows starting to scrunch.
“What the hell… Look, she doesn’t even know we’re faking, so why are you ragging on me
instead of her?”
“Precisely because we’re faking. You don’t belong to me, and I don’t belong to you. But no one else knows that, and it’s our job to act like we belong to each other. I think I’m keeping up my part pretty damn well. How ‘bout you, Alex?”
He breathes in deeply, looking about ready to keep fighting. But, against my will, I shiver in
the cold air. All of the anger in him seems to deflate, and he sighs instead.
Alex seems to decide to be the better person, no longer keeping up the antics. Instead, he
moves forward and hugs me, warming me with his body.
“Okay, okay, let’s not be angry. It’s been a stressful night… Let’s just go for a drive and cool things off. Maybe catch a bite to ea-”
I don’t let him finish before I’m shoving myself out of his arms.
“Don’t use the s–same tactics as you w–would with your flings, Alex! Especially when y- you’re not gonna change your beh–avior!”
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My voice is breaking up, the bravado seeping out of me as my anger fails to keep me warm.
“U–Unless you’re gonna k–k–eep your side of this d–deal, then we sh–ould break it. O- Otherwise, it just m–akes more trouble f–for me.”
Without waiting for him to reply, I shove past him and rush to my car. I almost can’t get my keys into my car door, but I manage to get them in and unlock it, quickly sitting inside.
In one of my rear–view mirrors, I see Alex throw his jacket to the ground in anger.
Once I’m home and heating up my toes in a partially filled bathtub, I start to wonder if I’d said something out of line. He’s never really gotten angry with me before, so maybe something I said had gone too far…
But no. I don’t think I’ve said anything out of order. His acceptance of every girl’s flirting until he doesn’t want to deal with it causes more harm than good. It hurts all the girls he hangs out with, and now, it’s been hurting me directly.
I don’t have boys hanging off my arms at all hours of the day…not that I could even if I wanted that, but still.
…Anyway, with what I’ve said, it’s likely our deal is off, at least for now. While Alex coming in to stop the bullying has been nice, I’ve got to prepare to handle it myself now.
Fine. Short end of the stick. I’m quite used to that.
“Hockey training” is the last text message we’ve exchanged for several days.
I don’t intend on initiating contact since I’m not the one who bunged this plan up. Still, it’s frustrating that he’s not coming with a due apology. So, perhaps our plan of playing house really has burned to the ground.
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I huff, which apparently attracts Hailey’s attention as she passes by while I stitch some cloth together.
“Cynthia? You okay?” she asks. “You seem pretty tense…and I haven’t seen Alex around recently.”
“Nothing to do with him,” I answer back, my tone more clipped than I’d like. She seems a tad surprised. “Probably w–won’t have anything t–to do with him again.”
“Really? Oh…” Haily sighs, leaning against a nearby wall. “…That kinda sucks. I thought
you two were pretty cute.”
“…You’re p–probably the only one in R–Redmond to think th–at way.”
“I see… Well, chin up. He was pretty shiesty anyway.”
“What?”
“Hmm? Oh, shiesty. Like, dishonest, greedy, inconsiderate… You don’t listen to rap?”
I stare at her, all glasses and twin–tail braids in a sweater with a button–down shirt under
- it.
“…I didn’t…th–think you did.”
She tuts at me. “Stereotyping is the root of all evil, Cynthia.”
Despite my bad mood, I can’t help but snort a bit.
I wish that bit of humor could carry me throughout the day. But it’s gone by lunchtime, when I’m sitting alone in the cafeteria once again.
Alex and I had been meeting up for lunch during our false dating scheme, but since we
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aren’t faking anymore, I’m alone again. This, of course, hasn’t gone unnoticed,
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If I pay close attention, I can hear the people whispering about me as I pick up my food and return to my quiet place. I know it won’t be too quiet for much longer, Soon enough, the bullies will get brave again and come confront me without the big hockey player to protect
- me.
Just as I sit down, I see some guys move in my peripheral. Think of the devil, I guess.
“Hey, Boston. Broke up with your boyfriend?” one guy asks.
I glance up at him briefly before I return to opening my milk carton. He was one of the guys mixed in with the group that made Hailey cry. Maybe he and his crew want to earn brownie points with the girls in Danielle’s circle or something.
“Ooof, did he wear you out already? You lasted a long time, good job, hoe.”
They crowd around me, making my back itch again. But I keep my eyes on my plate, ignoring them.
“You know, I’ve heard teen pregnancies are on the rise. Did he mess up?”
“Man, Alex is gonna have to pay child support!”
One of the guys gives me a once–over that makes my skin crawl. “It’s gonna be an ugly baby, too, yikes.”
Their comments shouldn’t call for a response at all. I should ignore them. And yet…
It’s so terribly frustrating that I have to go through this. Why? Just because they want some girls to like them?
Irritation builds in me faster than usual as they close in, my hand clenching on my fork.
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They even sit beside me…
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No… If I’m going to deal with this on my own from now on, I need to stand up for myself. I
can’t be the same quiet person as I’ve always been.
“…You…”
“Oh, she’s gonna talk! Hey, start recording so we can make it a beat later. Heard her
stutter’s sick.”
My jaw clenches, but I finally look up at them.
“Y–You should go a–wa–y.”
One of them shoves my tray of food away, the tray and utensils clattering on the ground.
“Or what?”
…Ah. I’m…not sure I can deal with this quite yet. I’m not ready.
Their presence starts to turn my bones into concrete, despite my effort to glare back at
them.
“I…”
“She asked you to leave her alone.”
A familiar hand lands on the guy’s shoulder, pulling him back so he’s not in my face.
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