The In Between

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Tara

“Do I need to speak slower?”

Amanda stands on the opposite side of the Dorrie’s Doughnut counter, Sally and Lauren behind her.

“No, I got it. You’d like a latte half café half decaf with soy milk and whipped cream and caramel syrup and a dozen doughnuts—two glazed, three German chocolate, one chocolate glazed, one red velvet, one dulce de leche, one coffee cream with chocolate glaze, one vanilla with sprinkles, one chocolate with sprinkles, and one orange creamsicle. Is that it?” I say with a smile.

What is she doing here? Is she actually going to try and get me fired?

Amanda narrows her eyes and leans over the counter. “You’ll never be able to keep a boy like Justin,” Amanda hisses. “He’ll be bored with you within weeks. And I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”

I bite my lip to keep myself from screaming. Dorrie’s just in the back room—within earshot, really—and I have no other choice but to take the high road. I hand them their coffees and doughnuts and ring them up.

They sit at a nearby table, talking loudly for my benefit.

“I think he’s just scared,” Amanda says.

“Of what?” Sally asks.

“I remember when I was at our ranch for the summer. And I fell off one of our horses,” she starts, twirling her hair contemplatively. “I didn’t get back on for the rest of the summer. Instead I spent the summer inside with my grandmother knitting. It was pathetic.”

I’m sure your grandmother thought so, too, I counter, in my head.

“Anyway, at the end of the summer I couldn’t stand it anymore. I got back on the horse and now I have like a hundred ribbons.”

I’m the grandmother in this story. She is not subtle.

“I was scared, but snapped out of it and I got back to who I really was, a winner. And Justin will, too.”

Sally and Lauren agree as Amanda pointedly dumps the box of unopened doughnuts into the trash and sails out with the other girls on her heels. I watch them go, totally stunned, my heart pounding.

I send Gabby an emergency text and, thank god, she does the one thing she swore she’d never do his summer: step foot into my highly caloric workplace. We sit at a table and I tell her everything.

“They didn’t even eat anything. But they ordered enough to feed a wrestling team.”

“What did Justin say?” Gabby demands.

“Nothing. Because I didn’t tell him. He doesn’t need to know that his ex is psycho. Plus,” I say, lowering my voice. “It’s embarrassing. I don’t exactly want to draw attention to the fact that the female Awesome-Nots think he totally downgraded.”

“But what if she’s just getting started?” Gabby asks. “Remember the time she left a gift bag of Proactive for Jamie Riley? Or when she—”

“Okay!” I cut her off. “I get it. No need to shuffle through all the hellish pranks she could potentially pull to mess with me. I already feel paranoid enough!”

“Please tell me you did something nasty to her doughnuts. I mean, doesn’t she know not to mess with the people who prepare her food?”

I cross my arms over my chest, shaking my head. “Well, I did give her whole milk instead of skim.”

“Way to fight back, Tare.”

“I don’t need to fight back. I’m the one that has him. She’s the one who lost him. I’ve already won.” I take a big bite of doughnut to punctuate the statement—but it tastes stale.