Page 80 of Blitz

“Tuck.”

It’s Micah. I hunch my shoulders as I chew, intent on getting the fuck out of there. He can’t see me: I’m invisible. If I will it into being, it’ll happen, right?

“Tucker.” He’s jogging now, trying to keep pace with me. “Tucker Kingsley.”

“Fuck off.”

“Come on, man.” A hand lands on my arm. I throw it off. The fucker does it again.

“I suggest you don’t touch me unless you want to lose that hand. I’m pretty sure you’re going to need it if you’re going to be drafted.”

“Tucker. Don’t be like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like a dick,” he yells. “You’re being a dick.”

“Leave me the fuck alone.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

I whirl to face him. “And why the fuck not?”

“Because my sister is in love with you, asshole. That means we’re stuck together, whether we want to be or not.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Jesus fuck, it’s cold. How the fuck do you people deal with this every day?”

We’re stuck together. He doesn’t want to be my friend. He doesn’t want anything to do with me. He’s putting up with me for Mason’s sake.

“How long?”

Micah blinks. “What?”

“How long have you been simply tolerating my presence? For how long have you only put up with me because of her? Were we ever really friends?”

“That’s not what I meant,” he backtracks.

“You were my best friend,” I tell him. “It was the three of us, one cohesive unit. And then she dumped me, and you dumped me, and I was all alone. The two of you had each other. I had nobody.”

“Tuck…”

“You chose her, and you dumped me just like she did.”

“I couldn’t pick sides!” he yells. “She’s my sister! What the fuck was I supposed to say? It was a high school relationship. We were all moving to separate colleges. Of course we lost touch. Of course you guys broke up.”

“We’re together again. How fortuitous that you come crawling back into my life now.” I cross my arms over my chest and stare him down. “Fuck you. Go back to South Carolina.”

“Are you serious right now?” He’s laughing, the asshole. “Get over yourself. I’m not here for you.”

“Yeah, you’ve made that pretty fucking clear.”

“Mason wouldn’t want us to fight.”

“Don’t talk to me about what she wants.” My voice is low and hoarse, a warning. “Don’t you talk about her.”

“Who the fuck do you think she talked to about it? She couldn’t talk to you,” he snaps. “I’m the one whose shoulder she cried on for weeks. She didn’t want to break up with you, asshole.”

“And yet she did it anyway.”

He throws his hands up in the air. “And now you guys are back together, so what the fuck does it matter?”