Splinters: Part One

Part One | 32

...

After lunch, I went to my locker to get my Lit stuff. I was surprised when I closed my locker and came face to face with the ultimate betrayer himself. Andrew.

I narrowed my eyes as I took in his guilty facial expression. He was nothing but a liar. He didn't feel bad. He couldn't. He was incapable.

"What do you want?" I seethed, coming out harsher than I expected. He followed me when I turned around and began walking away.

"Collie told you I was the one who..." he trailed off.

I didn't even glance back. "Yeah. What do you want?" I repeated.

"I want to apologize."

"What a perfect way to waste both of our time."

Suddenly, his hand was on my shoulder and he turned me around. We were eye to eye now. There was nothing I wanted to do more than punch him in the face. I wouldn't ever do that though. No matter what, I wouldn't hurt Andrew. I probably couldn't anyway.

"C'mon, Brayden, I'm serious. I didn't think Zech would tell everyone at Sweethearts."

"Just like you didn't think he'd embarrass me at his party?"

Andrew bowed his head in what I assumed to be shame. "I know I've made mistakes. I just want another chance-"

"No, Andrew." I knew that the bell would ring any second, but I didn't care honestly. I bit my lip before telling him the truth. "You were my best friend. I trusted you with that information. I don't just go around and tell people 'Hey, I'm adopted and my parents suck and I was an orphan for seven years.' I told you because I thought I could confide in you." I turned back around, but he quickly came to my front.

"You can."

"Really? Because when I did, you told Zech every bit of information." I waited for a moment and finally made eye contact with him. I was no longer angry. I was upset. "Why'd you do it, Drew?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Brayden, it wasn't like I was trying to humiliate you. I was at his house and it slipped and he forced me to tell him..."

"He forced you..." I repeated, nodding my head as I turned around.

He put a hand on my chest. "I'm sorry, Bray."

"I forgive you," I said, and I did, but I had already made my decision. "We're just not friends anymore."

I watched him as his face fell and the bell rang. I slipped passed him and went to my class.

...

The good thing about the week was the fact that we didn't have school on Friday so when the morning came, I was very relieved to know that I could sleep in. My happiness lasted for maybe ten minutes because around eight-thirty, Greg opened my bedroom door.

"Hey, son. Wanna hit the courts?"

An hour later, Greg and I were at the Barrington Rec Center, shooting hoops. I knew why he offered this "Father-Son" date. I'm sure he also wanted to willingly, but he wanted to know how I felt about Marie. A while into it though, I was surprised that he hadn't once brought it up. Instead, he focused the conversation on Collie.

"Yeah, she's good," I said in response to his question about how she was doing. I shot the ball, but only hit the rim.

Greg retrieved it and went half-court. I began doing my best at defense. Greg was good at defense, but he sucked at offense. He wasn't the best dribbler, that's for sure.

"Does she, uh-" He shot the ball and made it in. "Know about your mom?"

There it was. I grabbed the basketball and went for a three-pointer. "Yeah, she knows." It was in.