Looking At Us

65. darrin

I didn’t want to ride to school with Cris, but Dad had already left and so had everyone else, so I didn’t really have a choice. I just didn’t want to stop at Megan’s house and watch her and my brother kiss. It’s kind of awkward when you see your kindergarten classmate get cozy with your brother. 

     On the way there, Cris sang loudly to Duran Duran’s A View To A Kill and turned corners a bit too sharply. After he’d gotten out and made his way to Megan’s doorstep, I put on Never Shout Never and watched them reunite. 

     Cris knocked on the door. 

     Megan opened it, looking fresh and carefree. 

     Cris got down on one knee (for a second I thought he was actually proposing) and poured out his heart, begging for forgiveness. He took Megan hand as she pulled him up, and they kissed and hugged, and I thought about Sasha but I remembered that we were done. I’d even deleted her number from my phone. 

     My phone . . . shit. Had I remembered to put it in my backpack?

     I got out of the truck and opened the back to check, and it was there, and I wasn’t sure why I was stressing about it, but as I was turning away, someone said, ‘‘Hey.’’

     I turned around. Walking towards me was a guy about fifteen, maybe sixteen; he had curly brown hair and blue eyes, and he was tall and well-built. I’d seen him a few times around town, but I couldn’t remember his name. I was pretty sure he was in tenth grade. 

     I said, ‘‘Hey.’’

     ‘‘You’re Darrin Domnall, right?’’ he said, and I nodded. ‘‘Cool. I’m Luke Winters. Heard you broke up with Sasha.’’

     I frowned. ‘‘Has she told the whole school or something?’’

     Luke shrugged. ‘‘Possibly. I dunno. Just heard it from a friend. My point is: you guys are done now? Like, done?’’

     ‘‘That’s a screwy clarification. Yeah, we are.’’

     Luke rustled the curls by his left ear. ‘‘Okay. Thanks. Do you have her number?’’

     I gave it to him. I wondered if I’d ever see the two of them making out in the school hallways, a shadow of my times with her, but I just looked at Luke and smiled, sort of, because I was letting another guy get screwed up by her. It was someone else’s turn to feel the pain.