Hot as Puck(58)
“Fine.” He circles around where I’m grappling with Laura, doing my best to keep her from scratching Justin’s eyes out as he passes by and snatches his bag and keys from the floor by the door. “But this isn’t what you think it is, Laura. And honestly, it’s none of your damned business. Libby and I are both grownups.”
“I’m going to show you how grown up you are,” Laura shouts after him as he heads for the front door, her face flushing a deep, angry, only-possible-for-the-Irish shade of red. “The next time I see you I’m going to kick your ass, Justin! The same way I kicked your ass in tenth grade when you slept with Miranda!”
I blink up at her, my grip on her wrists loosening as the front door slams shut, signaling Justin’s successful escape. “He slept with Miranda? Your best friend Miranda?”
“Yes. He did.” Laura pulls out of my grasp and points an accusing finger toward the front of the apartment. “And he did it after I begged him not to mess with my friends. But he went ahead and did it anyway. It was at a Halloween party, when they both ended up sleeping over in Tim Holler’s basement. For Justin, it was just another one-night stand, no big deal, but Miranda had feelings for him. She was so embarrassed to see his stupid face that she refused to set foot in our neighborhood, let alone the house right next door to his.”
“I remember she stopped coming over,” I say, a knot forming in my stomach. “But I didn’t know why.”
“That fucking jerk is why.” Laura paces out of my bedroom and into the living room, crossing to the windows overlooking the street. “Losing friends was one of the major downsides of living next door to a boy-whore who cared more about getting his dick serviced than who he was hurting in the process.” She pauses, wrenching up the window with a sharp jerk before shouting through the screen, “That’s right! Keep walking, asshole! And don’t you fucking look back. Because I swear to God, Justin, I am going to kill you for this.”
“Shut the window.” I hurry around her, pulling the pane down and blocking her attempt to pull it back up again. “Seriously, Laura, stop! Two other teachers from my school live in the building. On the off chance that they haven’t heard all the cussing and shouting coming from this apartment when I’m supposed to be home sick, please put a lid on it!”
Laura’s breath rushes out and a moment later she sinks to the floor beside the window, leaning back against the wall as she looks up at me with a pained expression. “Shit. I’m sorry, Libby.”
“It’s okay,” I say, grateful that the anger storm seems to be abating. “I know you have a temper, La. It’s nothing new.”
“No, I’m not sorry about that,” she says, scowling darkly. “I’m sorry that I let this happen. I knew Justin would be on the rebound, but I never imagined that he would go after you. I thought he had more respect for our family and our friendship than that.” She shakes her head sadly. “But that’s no excuse. I should have paid attention. I should have seen what was happening and protected you.”
I run a hand through my hair. “That’s sweet, Laura, but I don’t need you to protect me. Especially not from Justin.”
“You say that because you don’t know how he is.” She lays her palm flat on her chest. “But I’ve had a front row seat to every single one of his relationships for the past four years. He does the same thing every time, Libby. He breaks up with a girl he’s been serious with for a few months and immediately jumps into bed with the next woman who will hold still long enough for him to get his dick out of his pants.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s not what—”
“All while vehemently protesting that it isn’t a rebound and that he has real feelings for this woman,” Laura barrels on, jabbing her finger into the carpet beneath her for emphasis. “And then, like clockwork, a few weeks later, he breaks it off with the rebound girl, says he’s sick of the drama and is never going to date again, and starts one of those crazy giant afghan projects that takes hundreds of hours to finish. All of this, of course, is to avoid feeling shitty about the end of the relationship he actually did care about, which is never the relationship with the rebound girl. The rebound girl is just Kleenex, Libs, tissue to mop up some of the emotional mess before being thrown away.”
I sink to the floor beside her, sitting cross-legged on the carpet, not enjoying the ugly, stomach-twisting, you’ve-been-played feeling rising inside me. It’s a ridiculous way to feel. I haven’t been played. It isn’t Justin’s fault that I let my heart get involved in what we agreed would be a no-strings relationship. I knew what I was getting into from the start.