appearance. “That’s cold. Getting schooled by Luna.”
“Stay the hell out of this, Andrew,” Caleb said.
Andrew lifted both hands. “Sorry, bro. None of my business.” He turned and gave me a chin nod. “After lunch?”
“Sure.” I handed my card to the lunch lady and headed to my usual table.
My heart was beating so fast, I had a hard time walking straight. Thankfully, no one paid any attention to our little encounter.
Jake glanced up from his tray with repenting eyes. Finally, we’d have that talk he’d been avoiding. I puffed a big breath of air out. Great, just when I needed all my wits, I felt so unhinged.
I sat facing Jake. “Leave,” I said to Pat without looking away from Jake.
She hastily retrieved her tray. “See you in homeroom, J.”
“Where were you last night?” I asked.
“Luna, we need to talk.”
“Damn right we do.”
“I’m sorry about upsetting you Saturday.” He raked both hands through his shaggy hair.
“You’re sorry about upsetting me?” I ground my teeth and inhaled deeply. “This isn’t about me, Jake. This is about you jumping into a black hole.” I waited for his reply, but he fixed his eyes on his tray.
“How long have you been using?”
“Just a few times.” His eyes were downcast, and his shoulders deflated.
I tasted the metallic flavor of fear in my mouth. But I needed to remain calm. “How long?”
“You’re not my fucking mother,” he said, making eye contact with me for the first time.
“That won’t keep me from busting your ass.”
“Chill, Luna.” He looked away. “Three or four. Maybe more. I don’t keep a fucking log.”
“Jake, you know better. This is a non-refundable, one-way ticket. What about our plans? At the end of the school year, I’ll be an adult. We’re gonna get out of this hell-hole.”
“Does it ever occur to you that those are your plans, not mine?”
“No! It never occurred to me. Not when you planned every single step along with me.” But as I said it, I recalled the conversation we had regarding our future. Jake was always a passive participant. “Wait, you aren’t bailing on me, are you?”
He let out a bitter laugh. “Bail out on you, or my mother? Either way, I’ll be a fucking jerk.”
The bell rang, ending lunch. Jake’s chair screeched as he got up. “We’ll finish this conversation at home.” He shoved his untouched sandwich inside his backpack and left. I remained petrified in my seat.
When I looked at Andrew’s table, he gave me a chin nod, which I replied to with a slight dip of my head.
Surely Caleb noticed our interaction because from my seat, I could see his jaw muscles tensing.
Regret and something else I couldn’t define swamped me. Screw it. I was going to talk to Caleb and apologize. It didn’t matter what others thought about me. I stood up to go to him, but Jessica chose that same moment to grab his hand and pull him toward her. She put his arm around her shoulder, and they rode into the sunset without a glance back. Caleb was pissed, and I couldn’t fault him for it.
I headed for the custodian closet. Andrew was one of the few clients I dealt with, in the confinement of the school building, the main reason being his father’s position as mayor. If shit ever hit the fan, the mayor would go out of his way to clean up the mess.
Certain that no one was around I slid inside the janitor’s closet. It had become our usual Monday rendezvous, except for that first day of school when I met Caleb. I tried to push Caleb out of my mind. It was consuming me. It was like my brain had been rewired and programmed to find a reason, regardless of what I was thinking about, to take a detour and think of him.
The knob of the door turned, and Andrew snuck in. He had his ever-present grin that always unnerved me. “What’s up, Luna?”
I pulled his weekly package out, this time it was weed and oxycodone. He handed me the money.
“So, what’s with Caleb and you?”
“None of
“Stay the hell out of this, Andrew,” Caleb said.
Andrew lifted both hands. “Sorry, bro. None of my business.” He turned and gave me a chin nod. “After lunch?”
“Sure.” I handed my card to the lunch lady and headed to my usual table.
My heart was beating so fast, I had a hard time walking straight. Thankfully, no one paid any attention to our little encounter.
Jake glanced up from his tray with repenting eyes. Finally, we’d have that talk he’d been avoiding. I puffed a big breath of air out. Great, just when I needed all my wits, I felt so unhinged.
I sat facing Jake. “Leave,” I said to Pat without looking away from Jake.
She hastily retrieved her tray. “See you in homeroom, J.”
“Where were you last night?” I asked.
“Luna, we need to talk.”
“Damn right we do.”
“I’m sorry about upsetting you Saturday.” He raked both hands through his shaggy hair.
“You’re sorry about upsetting me?” I ground my teeth and inhaled deeply. “This isn’t about me, Jake. This is about you jumping into a black hole.” I waited for his reply, but he fixed his eyes on his tray.
“How long have you been using?”
“Just a few times.” His eyes were downcast, and his shoulders deflated.
I tasted the metallic flavor of fear in my mouth. But I needed to remain calm. “How long?”
“You’re not my fucking mother,” he said, making eye contact with me for the first time.
“That won’t keep me from busting your ass.”
“Chill, Luna.” He looked away. “Three or four. Maybe more. I don’t keep a fucking log.”
“Jake, you know better. This is a non-refundable, one-way ticket. What about our plans? At the end of the school year, I’ll be an adult. We’re gonna get out of this hell-hole.”
“Does it ever occur to you that those are your plans, not mine?”
“No! It never occurred to me. Not when you planned every single step along with me.” But as I said it, I recalled the conversation we had regarding our future. Jake was always a passive participant. “Wait, you aren’t bailing on me, are you?”
He let out a bitter laugh. “Bail out on you, or my mother? Either way, I’ll be a fucking jerk.”
The bell rang, ending lunch. Jake’s chair screeched as he got up. “We’ll finish this conversation at home.” He shoved his untouched sandwich inside his backpack and left. I remained petrified in my seat.
When I looked at Andrew’s table, he gave me a chin nod, which I replied to with a slight dip of my head.
Surely Caleb noticed our interaction because from my seat, I could see his jaw muscles tensing.
Regret and something else I couldn’t define swamped me. Screw it. I was going to talk to Caleb and apologize. It didn’t matter what others thought about me. I stood up to go to him, but Jessica chose that same moment to grab his hand and pull him toward her. She put his arm around her shoulder, and they rode into the sunset without a glance back. Caleb was pissed, and I couldn’t fault him for it.
I headed for the custodian closet. Andrew was one of the few clients I dealt with, in the confinement of the school building, the main reason being his father’s position as mayor. If shit ever hit the fan, the mayor would go out of his way to clean up the mess.
Certain that no one was around I slid inside the janitor’s closet. It had become our usual Monday rendezvous, except for that first day of school when I met Caleb. I tried to push Caleb out of my mind. It was consuming me. It was like my brain had been rewired and programmed to find a reason, regardless of what I was thinking about, to take a detour and think of him.
The knob of the door turned, and Andrew snuck in. He had his ever-present grin that always unnerved me. “What’s up, Luna?”
I pulled his weekly package out, this time it was weed and oxycodone. He handed me the money.
“So, what’s with Caleb and you?”
“None of
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