Page 51 of The Golden Boys
As if he’s furious because me nearly drowning has been an inconvenience.
I face forward again, still struggling for air.
“I watched for her to resurface, but … she never did,” he continues, telling a bold-faced lie. Either he’s just made a monumentally horrible guess, or … is he protecting them? Lying to cover for his cunt of a girlfriend?
“Good work, Golden,” Mrs. C. declares. “You likely just saved her life.”
Lexi settles in front of me and this is when I realize she’d been the one who pulled me out a moment ago.
“Shit, Blue. You okay?”
“Language, Rodriquez,” Mrs. C. reminds her.
“My bad, but … dude, you almost died,” Lexi says, stating the obvious.
Her very accurate depiction of what just took place has me scanning the small crowd. And right there, flanking Parker at either side, are Heidi and Ariana. All three are grinning, satisfied with having nearly killed me.
One word spoken as I was shoved into the pool comes back to my memory.
‘Payback’.The attacker said‘payback.’
Ariana flashes her middle finger at me, and their cackling grows louder, but apparently not loud enough to catch Mrs. C’s attention. Instead, she’s focused on dialing down to the office, asking the nurse to come check me out.
“I’m fine,” I assure her. “Really. You don’t need to do that.”
She casts an uncertain glance toward me, but after giving me a quick onceover, concedes.
“Are you lightheaded at all? Feeling out of sorts?”
I shake my head to that question. “No. None of that.”
That answer apparently satisfies her, because she dials the number back a moment later, letting the nurse know her assistance won’t be needed. Then she casts a look toward West.
“Golden, I think I have a special assignment for you this term,” she says with a grin. “Ms. Riley here has until the end of this unit to learn how to swim. And seeing as how you’ve just proven you’re capable of handling her, I believe you’d be just the man for the job. What do you say?”
“Wait. What?” I croak, still struggling to find my voice.
“You need to master this by the end of the marking period, and I trust West will look after you. He’s a good kid,” she adds, and I can’t fight the scowl that twists my mouth.
“So, what do you say West?” Mrs. C. asks.
My eyes shift to him again, staring as he searches for an answer.
“Sure,” he says begrudgingly, clearly unhappy with his new assignment.
“Good. It’s settled then,” Mrs. C. adds, standing to her feet again. “Can you look after Ms. Riley for a few minutes? Make sure she pulls it together?”
I listen as she asks, wondering just how much West hates me right now.
When he finally does answer with a polite, “Sure,” there’s a hint of frustration hidden within it.
Mrs. C. turns toward the onlookers and points to the pool. “Okay, show’s over. Hop back in and get to it.”
The next second, it’s just us. The crowd has thinned, and West and I are thrust into an awkward silence. Of course, because I’m tryingnotto think about that kiss, now it’sallI can think about
He draws his knees toward his chest and props both elbows there, staring out across the pool while I shift beside him to sit cross-legged. Not as close as a moment ago, but still close.
“You gonna thank me? Or are we gonna just sit here and pretend I didn’t save your life?”