It Will All Work Out (Intersex gxg)

Chapter 31

Valentine's Day had been on a Wednesday, and I was able to struggle through the next few days without incident. After the bathroom, Shay had walked me to Mrs. Caufield's room and whispered something to her that got me out of being tardy. Even better, Mrs. Caufield gave Shay a pass to cover her being late too, so there was no trouble.

When the class was over, I talked to Mrs. Caufield, who acted as though she had been waiting for me. "Hi, Mrs. Caufield, is it okay if I eat lunch in here for a while?"

"Of course, dear. Your friend suggested that very thing. It shouldn't be a problem at all."

I gave her a grateful smile, and then nodded. "Thanks. I'll try not to be noisy or anything."

"I'm usually doing class prep with my headphones playing music anyway, so whatever you need is fine."

And that is what I'd started doing. I didn't need Maddie or the others to come find me in the library, so I avoided it. It sucked, because I always loved the library, but I didn't want to make things worse for my heart.

The best part of the week was seeing Nicky show up with a shiner the next day, a big one, and knowing that Shay had kept her word. It was petty, because I doubted very much that it would matter. Nicky would keep up with her schemes, and I'd just have to tune everything else out.

But first, I needed to see Maddie. On Saturday, I rode my bike in the cold over to her apartment complex, and then walked up to her door. I took a deep breath, and then knocked on her door. I steeled myself for her to answer, and I was taken aback when it was her mom who answered the door instead.

"Oh, hi Amber. I wasn't expecting to see you today." She was smiling happily, so I had a feeling that Maddie hadn't told her that our fledgling relationship was over. Over her shoulder, I saw Maddie appear, and her eyes widened as she realized it was me. "Come on in." She led me into the living room, where Maddie stood nervously.

"Yeah, I just wanted to return something to Maddie." I pulled out a plastic bag with the pajamas. "You can keep them, I don't want them."

"Okay," Maddie mumbled softly.

"Do they not fit?" Karen asked in confusion. "I thought we got a good size."

I'd worn them many times after she gave them to me, but I never would again. "They fit fine. I just don't want any reminders of this," I told Karen, before turning back to Maddie. I didn't mind airing dirty laundry in front of her mom, she'd done it in the school hallway after all, I was still too upset about everything. "Was any of it real? Or was it a setup from the beginning?"

Maddie didn't answer, she just started crying, and I had my answer.

"Maddie, what is going on here?" Karen asked. "Did you two break up? I thought you made a great pair!"

She sobbed harder and started nodding. "I'm so sorry! They said they'd get me on the cheerleading team next year, and that you were a horrible bitch, and had stolen Nicky's last girlfriend. They wanted you to have your heart broken too."

"What did you do?" Karen asked sternly. "Who was it?"

"I'm betting it was Nicky, or one of her friends," I answered for Maddie. "Which is why you were making out with Nicky in the hallway. You do realize that she's dated at least three or four of the girls in that group, and I've never even had a girlfriend. Well, before you. But I guess that never really counted."

She nodded in reply, and sat down, her face in her hands.

"Am I understanding that you hurt Amber on purpose? That you did it to be popular or something? Is that what happens at this school? If I'd known that we would have never moved here!" Karen's voice was louder than I'd ever heard it, and I was sure Maddie would be in trouble, for which I was quite happy with.