Chapter 8
James looked at me, waiting for my reaction. I thought about my two options and decided to go in between both of them. I didn't want my parents to find out about the calls and I wanted the boys to leave me alone.
"If I don't say anything about my lip will you leave me alone?" I queried.
Campbell smiled and replied, "Sure."
That wasn't very reassuring, but it was all I had to go with. I eyed them all and nodded warily. They all nodded their agreement and that was that.
For the rest of the day they actually left me alone, but I had a bad feeling. I somehow managed to hide my split lip from Bradley on the way home from school. Dane was coming with us because he and Bradley had to work on their Chemistry assignment again. So Dane got shotgun and James and I were in the back. The whole ride home I kept glancing sideways at James, but the never said a thing.
When we got home I thought I might actually be in the clear. My bad feeling must have been nothing other than paranoia. Or so I thought. Once Bradley and Dane had gone upstairs James pulled me into the kitchen. So much for being in the clear.
"Why did you do it? Huh? Why did you have to go and take those numbers?" James asked furiously.
He didn't even give time to answer, but I didn't really have much of an answer anyway. The anger in his voice startled me.
"Do you know how embarrassing it is to find out that my sister is prank calling my friends and that she got their numbers off my phone? You made me look so stupid in front of my friends," James whispered furiously.
"James, it was only a joke," I said a little breathlessly.
"You're making such a big deal out of nothing. It was a prank nothing more. I wasn't out to embarrass you if that's what you think," I retorted getting a little annoyed myself.
I tried to walk away from James and do the right thing. But as I reached the kitchen doorway he caught my arm and pulled me back. By then I'd had enough of being pushed around my brother and yanked my arm out of his grip. We both paused for a second. Then at the exact same moment we both lost it.
We stood there in the kitchen doorway yelling and shouting at each other.