Warmth (Cheer Legacy Trilogy #1)

10.

I sniffle and blow my nose. And...that is the last of my tissues. I'm still in my car, and I think the bell for changing classes has rung twice. I've missed two classes, but right now I can't bring myself to care. I kick my shoes off and pull my legs up on the seat, hugging my knees. 

My phone has been ringing with calls and texts for a while, so I turned it off since... I don't even remember. It's been a while since I'd been this popular. Now I'm going down in history as the girl who got dumped the day after agreeing to be her boyfriend's date for homecoming. 

What the actual fuck just happened, is what I would like to know.

Is she his friend? Sister? Cousin? Best friend?

No, not possible. I'd never seen her before, and he's shown me pictures of his sisters. He has four, and says they're a nightmare. Not best friend either, I mean, come on. We've dated for what, five months! I think I would know if he has a girl best friend. 

There's a tapping at my window, and I look up. It's Luke, his expression worried. I watch him try to peer inside, cupping his hands around the tinted glass, contemplating whether or not I should pretend I'm not here. Then I sigh and buzz down the window. "Luke, how can I help you?"

Luke gasps in shock, and I think he didn't fully expect me to be here. Then he takes in my red eyes and nose, the mountain of tissues beside me and my sitting position and he sighs. "You saw her."

A stale, bitter taste enters my mouth and all I wanna do is throw up. I don't respond in any way because I feel like if I move, I will fall apart. And I can't because I've run out of tissues. 

"You've misunderstood, Pippy," he groans. He walks over to the other side and opens the door. He shoves all the tissues out of the car and gets in, closing the door gently. "She's just a friend. They used to be neighbors, but her family moved. She's like a sister to him. Like another sister to him," he emphasizes. "They just moved back, and today's her first day back in school. Really, Pip, you have nothing to worry about." Then Luke cracks this really wide grin. "Jesse is totally whipped for you. I think he even has a ten year plan to marry you or something."

"Why did you find me?" I ask curiously. His words have lessened the ache in my heart, but the ringing in my ears still hasn't subsided.

Luke looks at the ceiling of the car. "When she appeared and attached herself to him, I just knew you were gonna get it wrong. And you've got baggage. You'll run rather than confront him. He's a good guy, and innocent. He doesn't know that hanging with his old best pal is gonna hurt you."

I'm hurting again, because it should be Jesse here with me, not Luke. It should be Jesse pleading his case, not Luke. It should be Jesse who knows me, not Luke. I sigh from the ridiculousness of the situation. When I put myself in Jesse's shoes...I mean, if Luke moves away for a long time, and suddenly moves back, I would throw myself at him in delight, too. 

"Okay," I sigh. "I guess my meltdown is over. I should have talked to him instead of jumping to conclusions."

Luke grins at me. "Atta' girl. That's my Pippy. So are you going back to class or are you going to skip? If you're skipping, take me with you, I'm starving."

I laugh at him, rolling my eyes. "I missed so much I might as well skip. So, where to?"

I hung out with Luke the whole day, and when I get home, I shower and change into pajamas, ready to sleep with a smile on my face, but then a loud banging sounds. I sit up in fear, my heart pounding. 

"PIPPY!" 

It's Jesse. I jump out of bed and run downstairs to the front door, where Oma is scowling viciously at Jesse who reeks of alcohol.