“She broke up with Asher,” Natalie said.
Kelly frowned. “What? Really? Because of what I told you?”
“What did you think would happen?” I asked.
Kelly blinked. “I don’t know. I guess, I thought you guys would talk and there would be some other explanation.”
I rounded on her. “If that’s what you thought, then why didn’t you find out yourself before making me doubt my boyfriend?”
Kelly’s mouth dropped open. “Hey, I was just looking out for you!”
“What happened, Kel? Why do you think every guy’s a douche? Asher’s not like that. And now he hates me!”
“You didn’t have to go accusing him of anything, Jordan. You could have just asked him. Talked to him. But you didn’t. You got your feelings hurt and ran off crying. Did you even let him explain? Hmm. I didn’t think so. So, don’t go blaming me for what you did. All I did was give you the information. You didn’t have to believe me and you didn’t have to push him away.” With that, Kelly turned on her heel and walked away, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.
Well, crap.
“I gotta go,” I told Natalie. “I’ll see you later.”
But I didn’t. For the next couple of weeks, I avoided Natalie and Kelly, choosing to pack my lunch and eat it in the commons. I went to practice, worked on speed training in the basement, and then locked myself away in my bedroom.
I’d alienated both of my best friends. My boyfriend. And my little brother.
And every night, I opened my window. But Asher never sang.
Asher
“You miss her don’t you?”
“Who?” But I knew exactly.
Payton rolled his eyes. “Jordan, you idiot. You miss her.”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. You didn’t have to know me well to know I was miserable. It had been over two weeks since the argument in her backyard, both of them.
“I feel bad, though. Like it’s my fault. If you hadn’t covered for me-”
“Dude, it’s not like that. There was other stuff, too.” I stood to pack up my guitar. I needed to head back over to the high school. We were days away from the talent show and Payton had been working his tail off. He’d learned a song to perform on his own and then we’d worked on one to perform together.
“Other stuff like what?” he asked.
Payton and I had gotten pretty tight lately, but not that tight. “Dude, I’m not talking about your sister with you.”
“But you still like her, don’t you? And I know for a fact she likes you back.”
I stopped to look over at him. “How do you know she still likes me?”
Payton groaned as he rolled his eyes this time. “Are you kidding me? All she’s done is mope around for two solid weeks. She stares out the window at your house all the time. And her room has a permanent draft coming under the door because her window’s always open.”
I didn’t know if I should believe him. Jordan had done a bang up job of ignoring me. We avoided eye contact during practice, only speaking when absolutely necessary. Which didn’t happen often. I hardly ever saw her at school, even when I went looking.
And what did I think about her opening her window?
I didn’t have the heart to play outside anymore. The alcove between the trees had become our spot, mine and Jordan’s. I didn’t want to go out there anymore without her. But even if she did miss me, so what? She didn’t tell me. She didn’t apologize for not trusting me, for accusing me of basically cheating on her.
“It doesn’t matter, Pay. She doesn’t trust me. What can I do about that? She thinks I’m lying to her. Hiding things. And I’m not.”
Payton frowned. “Well, you are hiding what happened with me, right?”
“Well, yeah, but how can get her trust by breaking yours? It doesn’t work like that. Besides, I wouldn’t go behind your back like that, man. We’re buds, right?” I held out my fist.
Payton hesitated. But then he grinned. “Yeah, we are.” He bumped his fist on the top then the bottom of mine.
“Good. Now, I gotta get back to school.” I headed to the door, but called over my shoulder. “Keep practicing.”