Iâm hanging out with the guys, checking the time every five seconds. I shouldnât be here. Florences is probably already at my place but the guys wonât let me leave.
âRelax, Loverboy. Your girl wonât die if youâre a few minutes late,â Jamie teases me. I flip him off.
Itâs not like Iâm a vital part of this group right now so I just donât get why Iâm forced to stay. Jamieâs mooning over Orion whoâs lying in his lap, looking like a content puppy. Liam has Sarah to talk to. They seem to be getting pretty serious pretty fast but itâs actually- and I hate myself for thinking it but- cute. I can almost stand Liam right now, seeing as heâs no longer after my girl. Benji actually invited Miley over, the girl from the camping trip, who in return brought Joe with her. Thatâs awkward. Even Marcus is busy cuddling with Jamieâs flipping cat, leaving me to do absolutely nothing.
âSo sheâs your girl now?â Joe asks snarkily. I canât believe I started liking her that one evening. Really, all the fresh air mustâve been getting to me.
âYeah,â I reply. At the beginning of tonight, she was actually trying to get close to me, touching me and then using some lame excuse like âYour hands are so bigâ or âI like that chainâ. Ugh. I was simply rude to her until she got the message and started acting like a bitch instead.
âHeck yes, she is. Finally, I might add. Took them a while but you should see them. Adorable,â Jamie says to which Joe makes a face.
âI donât know. Iâm not going to pretend to know her but she gave off a weird vibe. Besides, I think she was looking a bit sickly, you know?â she says, making my blood boil to the point where itâs all I can do not to snap at her. I refrain from hurting people, especially weak ones like Joe, so I grit my teeth and ball my hands into fists.
âJoe,â Miley hisses. Iâm glad I was right about that girl at least, she seems genuinely nice.
âNo, Iâm not trying to offend anyone. All Iâm saying is that she could use a couple of pounds more, you know? Get some meat on those skinny little arms and legs. Provide Elija with something to grip. Donât look at me like that, Miley. Weâre all cool here, they understand Iâm not being a bitch.â The blond girl laughs. Alone, might I add.
âActually, we donât,â Sarah tells her, showing her claws. Glad Iâm not the only one about to snap. When I look at my friends, I notice all of them seem to be.
âAnd weâre not cool,â Marcus adds through gritted teeth.
âYeah, I think itâs time for you to leave,â Orion says, sitting now and looking as mean as ever. Joe swallows but doesnât make a move to leave.
âYou heard him. Leave,â Benji snaps. The girl gets to her feet, her face red.
âYouâre all weird anyways. Come on, Miley, letâs go.â Miley bites down on the inside of her cheeks looking at all our angry faces before staring at the ground, not meeting her friendâs gaze.
âI think Iâll stay for a bit,â she finally whispers.
âWhat? No, youâre not,â Joe snaps but Miley doesnât move, still staring at her hands. âDidnât you hear me through that thick hair of yours? I said get your fat ass off that couch and follow me.â Nope, thatâs it.
I get to my feet and walk up to Joe, glaring down at her. âIâd make you apologize if I thought your words were important enough. That you were important enough. But youâre not so Iâm telling you to get the fuck out of this house and never show your face to any of us ever again,â I seethe. Joe huffs, trying to meet my gaze defiantly but failing miserably. I can tell sheâs uncomfortable but for once I donât care that Iâm the reason.
âDonât act like you donât know Iâm right. Youâre so pathetic, bringing down the people around you as an attempt to feel better about yourself. Well, guess what, youâre not better. Youâre just a racist, body-shaming, unimportant little imbecile with no personality and no real friends. Now leave!â
The room is deadly silent and I keep all my attention on the shaking, red-faced girl in front of me. Then she screams, a broken, pathetic sound. She pushes me and I stumble back since I anything but expected that. The girl is not done with me though, coming at me again with her hand pulled back to slap me.
I barely feel the sting of her hit, the blood rushing in my head too distracting. Sheâs a woman, I repeat to myself. I donât hit people, no matter their gender, but I donât think I could live with myself if I physically hurt a woman. Even if itâs self-defense. So I just back away from her blindly.
Iâm faintly aware of my friends yelling things and movement around me but I canât place anything. I simply keep backing up.
âElija!â someone yells and suddenly, the ground vanishes beneath my feet. The stairs, I realize when the first hard edge digs in my back. The wind is knocked out of me and I lose track of whatâs above and beyond. I keep falling but then stars explode in my vision and a blinding pain shoots through my head.
Everything goes dark.