Addicted
“Yeah, but he made it painfully obvious just now that he would dump her in a heartbeat for you. She’s probably out there going off right now on his ass.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, picturing it in my mind. I hoped she was getting him good in front of everyone. He deserved it after what he did to me.
“Brina, have you forgotten that I go with Mohammed?” I asked, realizing I almost forgot about him my damn self.
“I didn’t forget, but you and Jason belong together. Drop that zero and get yourself a hero!”
I laughed. No, she wasn’t using that played-out line on me.
“Look, I’m not feeling too good right now,” I confessed, turning to face Brina. “I think I’m going to go see the school nurse and tell her I need to go home.”
Brina brushed the strand of hair back that was dangling in my face. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just stomach cramps,” I replied. “After all, I’m on my period.”
We both fell out laughing. I felt much better by the time Brina headed to her afternoon classes, but I went to the nurse and faked sick anyway. I’d endured enough drama for one day.
My mother picked me up out front, a look of worry shadowing her face. “You okay, baby?” she inquired, rubbing my arm after I got in the car. “You want to go see Dr. Hill?”
“Momma, it’s not that big of a deal! Just cramps from my period.”
The worry lines on her forehead dissipated a little. “Oh, all right. Let’s get you home so you can go straight to bed. I’ll fix you some hot soup and a pot of tea with lemon.”
“Thanks, Momma!” I turned up the radio, pushing the preset buttons until I found some decent music, as opposed to that classical crap my mother always listened to in the car.
“No problem, baby.” She patted my knee as she pulled out from the parking lot. “It’s not every day my baby gets her first period. This is a big event.”
I thought about Jason’s big-ass mouth broadcasting it and muttered, “If you only knew.”
Later that evening, my daddy brought up a dinner tray with roast beef, potatoes, carrots, and greens. “Hey, princess!”
“Hey, Daddy!” I was so happy to see him. He always enhanced my mood. “How was your day?”
“Just fine,” he replied, setting the tray down on my nightstand. “We’re having a bit of trouble getting the beams situated for the top floor, but we’ll get it straight in the morning.”
“That’s cool!” I looked over at the tray and noticed a bunch of small daffodils crammed beside the plate. “Oh, Daddy, you picked me flowers!”
He chuckled, flashing his cinematic smile at me. “ Actually, those are from Jason.”
“Jason! That trick ass!” I covered my mouth, realizing my slip.
“Zoe, what did I tell you about using profanity?”
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” I pouted. “Jason just makes me plain ole sick sometimes. You have no idea what he did to me today!”
“Yes, I do. He told me everything.”
“He did?”
My daddy nodded, trying to suppress a smile, and I was tooooooooo through. My first period was becoming the event of the freakin’ century. I didn’t even want my daddy to know I had one.
“Uh-huh, sounds like another lover’s spat to me.”
I popped him gently on the arm. “I hate him, Daddy!”
“Hate is a very strong word.” He picked up the flowers and held them out to me. “Besides, he can’t be all that bad. He sent me up here with these flowers and his apology.”
“Apology?”