“None of your business,” he spat, pulling Jo closer to him. She didn’t fight him off.
“Like hell it ain’t,” I yelled. I was ready for this fight.
“If your sister wants to tell you, she will.”
There it was. Out loud. Someone had said it. And once something was said, it could never be unsaid.
My sister.
Who looked up at me with hate.
Chapter 27
The walk from the bathrooms back to the classroom was hell. Complete and utter hell. Neither of us spoke as we made our way back.
Me and my sister.
Every time I thought the word, my stomach knotted up. I felt something move up my throat. I wanted to hurl. So many images flashed through my mind, so many things that caused me shame. The way I checked her out during the track meet. The way she curled her body against mine that one stormy night. The way she held my hands and danced with me in the middle of a parking lot in the late hours of the night while my girlfriend was holding her drunk friend’s hair while she puked.
Why these images shamed me I wasn’t sure.
They were innocent.
It was friendship.
Why did they feel wrong?
If Jo was thinking on these same moments, I couldn’t tell. She had her hoodie over her head. By the time we reached the classroom door, the bell rang. Jo and I moved to opposite sides of the door to allow the rush of students out before going back in for our stuff. I was glad school was almost over.
I was glad we missed the rest of the day’s sex talk.
When Alec came through the classroom door I should have been prepared. Of course he would say something. It’s what he lived for—making others feel like crap. I know because it’s what I lived for once as well.
I wasn’t sure what kept me going anymore.
I wasn’t sure of anything at all.
“Wow. That was fast. She must be a tight little thing,” he said, nodding towards Jo who had gone completely still.
I was too exhausted to fight with him. Besides, his words caused a wave of nausea to overtake me. I moved so I could go around him, but he held his arm across the door so I couldn’t get through. “When you’re ready to try something new, Scary, let me know. You must be some kind of good if he’s still asking for it.”
“Move,” I said. I couldn’t even make my voice sound like it cared.
That’s when Alec made the biggest mistake he could. He reached out and tapped Jo under her chin. That was the end.
Jo grabbed Alec by the front of his shirt and pulled him from the doorway, slamming him against a locker. Caught off guard by her strength, Alec didn’t have time to bring his hands up before she grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his head into her knee. Alec staggered back and Jo started to pummel him.
By this time, a crowd had formed around the two but no one was cheering. They were silent. They were stunned. Jo was animalistic. And I could see that everyone was scared.
She had become Scary Carrie.
“BREAK IT UP!” Mr. Williams yelled.
But Jo continued to pound on Alec. The blood covered his face, the floor, and her hands. I pushed through the crowd and tackled Jo, falling with her to the ground. “Stop this!” I yelled into her ear.
Jo shook her head, dazed. She shoved me off her, pulling herself to her feet. Despite Mr. Williams’ insistent pleas she stayed where she was until an administrator could come for her, Jo turned from the hurt Alec, her shocked classmates, and me.
And ran out of the building.
I didn’t wait for an administrator either. I ran after her. By the time I caught up with her, she was walking several blocks from the school. Not bothering to get her car. She just ran. But she’d never be a long distance runner, and I knew I’d be able to catch up with her eventually.
She ignored me as she kept walking away from Shepherd High.
I yanked her by the arm, forcing her to look at me.
When she did, I noticed she was crying. She hurriedly brought a shaky hand to her eyes in an effort to wipe the tears away. My anger at her lessened but only a little. She’d really messed things up.
“What the hell was that?” I snapped at her.
“You tell me!” she yelled, yanking her arm from my grip.
I wondered if my face was as red as hers. I was shaking. I was so damn mad at her. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“What kind of friend are you? You just sat there and let him say those things!”
I threw my hands in the air. “Really? Really, Jo? That’s what this is about? Alec’s a dumbass. He says stupid shit all the time.”
“Don’t. If he said those things to Jenna, would you have sat there?”
“You’re not my girlfriend!” I screamed at her. “Stop acting like you are. Stop acting like it’s my damn job to take care of you and protect you from them!”