Page 51 of The Attack Zone
We pull apart and turn to the voice. King is standing there with Hazel at his side, his mouth agape, rage on his face.
“Shit,” I say under my breath.
“I ... uh ...” Mitch mumbles.
“How long has this been going on?” Thomas demands, motioning between the two of us violently as we stand there holding hands.
“Can we go somewhere else talk about this, please?” Mitch asks him.
“No way, you’re not getting out of this,” Thomas says.
“I’m not trying to—” Mitch starts.
“How long?” Thomas says.
Mitch’s eyes are wide, and I can tell he’s completely freaking out. He’s drunk and he probably can’t find the words he’s looking for right now, which is something I’ve rarely seen happen to him.
“Since Caleb’s gala,” I say, hoping to relieve some of the pressure off Mitch. “But it’s not a real thing. We’re just hooking up. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“That doesn’t exactly make me feel better, Stacey,” Thomas says. I’m not sure what he means by that, and theway he said my name didn’t feel great, so I drop Mitch’s hand and take a step away. I can feel Mitch’s eyes bouncing between the two of us, but he’s still silent. I can feel rage with Thomas sneaking up on me, but I manage to dampen it down and think somewhat logically. I’m going to have to handle this for the both of us, I think.
“What would make you feel better, Thomas?” I ask. “Why do you have a problem with me?”
“It’s not about you. It’s about him,” he turns to Mitch. “Is this why you’ve been having episodes?”
“Episodes?” Hazel asks. “Episodes of what?”
That seems to snap Mitch out of his silence. Now his eyes are filled with the fire I thought was reserved for when he hated me, and he steps towards King. “Fuck you, man. She has nothing to do with it.”
“That’s not true,” I say, placing my hand on Mitch’s back in an attempt to keep him from launching himself at King. Mitch turns to me, eyes ablaze still. I turn to Thomas and try to ignore how horrible it feels to have Mitch’s anger aimed at me once again. “But I didn’t know at first. Now that I do, we’re being really careful.”
“Can someone please explain to me what’s going on?” Hazel says.
Everyone ignores her. Mitch because he’s angry at Thomas, Thomas because he’s angry at me, and me because it’s Mitch’s diagnosis and he deserves to share it only when he wants to.
“He’s clearly drunk out of his mind, Stacey,” Thomas says. “Do you think that’s a good thing? It’s a major trigger.”
“Well, I ...” I pause. Of course it is. That makes complete sense. Why hadn’t I realized it? “I didn’t know.”
“Exactly,” Thomas says. “Because while you’ve been treating him like shit for years and walking all over him, I’ve been pulling him up off the ground, getting him into therapy, and actually caring about him.”
I can feel tears starting to sting my eyes. I rarely cry, and I certainly don’t cry in front of other people.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Mitch says, taking another step towards Thomas.
He’s not fine and everyone but him knows it. He’s about to try to fight his best friend, for god’s sake. I step between the two of them.
“Mitch, look at me,” I say. He doesn’t look right away so I place my hand on his chest. Finally, his eyes fall to mine. “It’s okay. He’s right.” I turn to Thomas and say, “I do care about him. I know I haven’t always been nice, but we’re friends now and I want what’s best for him, just like you do.”
“Whatever you say,” Thomas says, clearly not believing me. “I’m going to get him home. He needs sleep.”
Mitch’s head hangs low, whether it’s from the shame or the alcohol, I’m not sure, but he follows Thomas out of the bar. When he reaches the entrance, he turns back to where I’m standing with Hazel and mouthsSorry.
It’s okay, I mouth back, tears still stinging my eyes. When he’s out of sight, Hazel’s arms are suddenly around me.
“Can we leave?” I ask, trying to keep myself from crying in the middle of the dance floor. “I don’t even know what just happened.”
“Sure thing, sweetie. I’ll walk you home,” she says. “Let me just text Caleb and Cassie that we’re heading out.”