He Says He's Just A Friend

Chapter 48 - You've Got a Friend

- Clay -

The cafeteria workers had sympathetic expressions as I passed with my tray, collecting my food. The woman handing out fries gave me a second carton. I was reminded of Emmett's grudge against his lunch lady for shorting his tater tots. It made me smile for the first time in hours.

As I walked through the tables, I wondered if there was anyone left in school who didn't know about the accident.

I joined my friends at our usual table by the windows that overlooked the courtyard. They immediately bombarded me with questions about the crash. Jackson banged his palm against the table twice. "Yo, assholes. Give him some breathing room."

I rolled my eyes. "I figure this is what y'all are most curious about." I lifted my shirt to show off the bruises. They had turned black and purple over the weekend.

Brandon reached out like he was going to touch it, but he pulled back at the last second.

"Does it hurt?" Tyler asked, chomping down half his hamburger with one bite. I couldn't help but think of him by Emmett's nickname for him—Camo Boy. It was more apt than Emmett knew. He really wore a lot of the stuff. Especially that stupid hat that he wore every day.

"Like hell." I let my shirt fall down when I noticed people at other tables staring.

"I saw your dad drop you off," Brandon said, sweeping a hand through his luscious blond hair that he was enamored with. "Is your car totaled?"

"No. Just banged up pretty bad." I exhaled, bringing a sharp pain that made me wince. "Not that it matters. My parents are taking it away for skipping yesterday."

Brandon raised a curious brow. "Why did you skip?"

I shrugged. "I just needed to get out of here."

"Alone?" Brandon seemed unconvinced. "Usually we all do that kind of thing together."

I shook my head. I didn't have a suitable answer. I couldn't tell them I was with Emmett. They knew Emmett was my friend, and he'd even hung out with them a few times whenever me and Emmett would run into one of them out and about. But if I told them I picked Emmett up from school to go to a park for lunch, what would they think? Would they believe it was an innocent friend thing? Or would they see through the story to the truth?

"Maybe he didn't want to have to deal with y'all idiots," Jackson said. "Sometimes a guy just needs peace and quiet."

I glanced over at my best friend, giving him a grateful smile.

"Hey," Tyler said. "How come Duke and Mark are sitting way over there?"

I looked to where Tyler pointed. Duke and Mark sat at the end of the football team's table. That wasn't completely unusual. They were both on the team and occasionally sat with them, but they always stopped by our table first for a few minutes. I wondered if Duke was telling Mark about me and Emmett. I also wondered if Mark knew about Duke. They were best friends, and had been since long before we met them in middle school. Unlike Heron Prep, that went from preschool to twelfth grade, the public schools in town comprised four elementary schools that fed into two middle schools, then everyone ended up at Huntington High.

I didn't have much time to think about Duke and what he may or may not tell Mark because Summer sat down in the empty chair next to me—the seat Duke would normally occupy.

"Hey." She took my hand and squeezed it. "I heard about what happened. Are you okay?"

Brandon and Tyler shared a look across the table. Jackson pretended to be too distracted by eating to look at them. The others probably wondered if a reconciliation was on the horizon. They all said I was crazy for breaking up with her. I wondered if they thought I was angling to steal her away from Shawn. Although, I didn't actually believe anyone could be stolen, unless they wanted to be.