Every Bright and Broken Thing

Chapter Nineteen - Liam

"Dude, what happened with you and Stacy," Theo asks, leaning on his shoulder against the locker beside mine. Stacy's locker.

I saw Stacy before first period and tried to say something, but she ignored me. She's been avoiding me all day and I'm somewhere on the verge of panic and delirium. I've never known her to be so cold.

"I don't know, man," I say, slamming my locker. We weave through the traffic, toward the men's locker rooms for PE. Thanks to Theo's wealthy parents, he managed to get off with a warning and court-ordered community service. I guess I should be grateful that small towns tend to look the other way when it comes to one of their own – especially when they happen to be the rising star of the town's football team. I've experienced it first-hand thanks to Dad's influence with the sheriff.

"How can you not know? She's your girlfriend." He stops for a second to fist-bump a group of football players as they pass. Turning back to me, he whispers, "Is it her time of the month or somethin'?"

"What? No," I scoff. Then, "Well, I don't know. Maybe."

"Well, then, what is it? Maybe you should talk to her."

"Dude, I've tried. Clearly I don't fit into her perfect little future. Just leave it alone," I snap.

A few steps further and I realize Theo isn't beside me anymore. I turn around to see him stopped in his tracks, arms crossed, scowl on his face.

"What?" I say, throwing my arms out with an exasperated sigh.

"I'm not your enemy, Liam," he says. "You've been getting real short lately and it ain't right."

I shrug. "I don't know what you want from me, man."

"I'm gonna ask you one time and, whatever your answer, I'll believe you. Because we're tight like that. Alright?"

"Oookay?"

"Is there something going on with you that I should know about?"

"No," I say a little too quickly.

He narrows his eyes at me for a second, then relaxes and catches up to me. We continue toward the locker room.

Arm around my shoulder, practically dragging me through the hall. "You should talk to her, man. Keep trying until she's ready. A girl like Stacy only comes around once in a while. And with that ugly mug, you can't afford to lose her."

"I know. I think she just needs some space right now." In my mind, though, I question everything that I thought was so great about Stacy. She left me. So, how is it I'm the one who should be scrambling to win her back? It isn't right and the unfairness of this fills me with the familiar pulse of anger.

Theo lets out a laugh. "Oh, man. Liam, you know that when a girl says she needs space what she really means is 'keep fighting for me and prove to me that you love me.'" He mimics a feminine voice, laughs.

"Yeah... I don't think that's right."

He shrugs, chuckles. "Hey, between the two of us, who's had the most girlfriends, hmm?"

I laugh. "You. But that's not a good thing. That just means you couldn't get any of 'em to stick around."

He rolls his eyes. "Say what you will about my ability to keep a lady, but no one wins 'em like Theodore Johnson."

"You're six-foot-one and 225 pounds of solid muscle. You've got half the girls in this school practically hanging on you."

He makes a face. "Hmm... only half? I think I can do better."