Tell Me About Her–2
Zaid takes a breath. “She was everything.”
The pain in his voice is palpable, and I feel a pang of guilt for bringing it up.
His hands clench into fists on the table. “She was funny. She had this way of making everything better, no matter how bad things got. Always smiling, always laughing.”
He pauses his eyes distant as if he was seeing her in his mind. “When she died, everything fell apart. My dad, my- we couldn’t hold it together without her.”
His voice drops to a whisper, so soft I almost don’t hear it.
“It was all my fault.”
The words hang in the air, so heavy that they make it hard for me to breathe. “What do
you mean?”
He shakes his head, the pain in his eyes too much for me. “Forget it.”
“Zaid-”
He cuts me off. “How’s school? You know, now that I’m not there.”
I grimace, hugging myself tighter. “About that. I’m sorry I got you expelled.”
He shrugs. “It wasn’t your fault. Besides, I’m sure everyone was expecting it to happen
one way or another.”
“You could have told the principal that you did it to save me.”
He frowns, his eyes narrowing as they take me in. “I’m 19, love.”
“Okay?” I shrug, reaching for a french fry.
“Will’s parents were threatening to press charges if the school didn’t get rid of me. I didn’t want you to be in the middle of that. Testifying and shit.”
“You were…protecting me?” I chew slowly, trying to distract myself from the way my heart flutters in my chest.
1/3
Tell Me About Her–2
He looks away to the window, his jaw clenching. “Yeah. Listen, I’m sorry I left you here that day. And for…for the way I was at Parker’s party. I was drunk.”
I bury my fingers into my arms, trying to stop the heat that inevitably bleeds into my cheeks. “I guess, we can call it even, then.”
He nods, taking a sip of his drink.
Something else is gnawing at the back of my head and I breathe in. “Can I ask you
something?”
He lifts an eyebrow. “I can’t promise I’ll answer it.”
I roll my eyes, suddenly that meaningful moment between us gone. I take a sip of my soda, looking down at my lap as I ask.“Why are you and Aiden not friends anymore?”
He recoils, frowning. “Friends?”
“Yeah.”
He looks skeptical and leans back in the booth. “What has Aiden told you?”
I pop my lips, exhaling. “Nothing, someone else asked me and-”
“Who?”
I blink. “Evan.”
He snorts. “Evan was always a loudmouth, can’t keep anything to himself. Especially when he’s drinking.”
Yeah, Evan had been drinking when he asked me all those questions. “So, what happened?”
He shake his head, “Nah, love. That’s a question for your boyfriend. Not me.”
He says the word with such disgust that I find myself flinching. Still, I pry. “Why?”
“Trust me. You need to hear it from him.” He takes a handful of fries, popping them into
his mouth.
2/3
Tell Me About Her–2
I twist my lips together, feeling my heartbeat in my ears. I came here to get answers from him and I am not going to back out now. “Evan also told me that you went to juvie.”
Of course Nikki did too, but I am not going to bring her into this.
He stills. “Oh?”
“He doesn’t know much about that either, but he did mention that it had something to do with street racing, like a car accident.”
He twirls his tongue around his mouth, pressing it against his cheeks. “That’s not
something I want to talk about, Alina.”
“Is that how you got your scar?”
He slams his hand on the table and I flinch. “No. It’s not. And we’re not talking about
this.”
I know I’m pushing, but I can’t stop. “But-”
“Fuck, Alina. Leave it alone.”
I blink at him, my nerves rattling through me.
He scoff, shaking his head. “Let’s go, I’ll take
you home.”
He drops money on the table and walk away without waiting for me. I follow behind him, somehow feeling worse than I did that say he abandoned me here.
