Find You in the Dark
Page 45

“What are you getting into this afternoon, Maggie? Feel like getting into something with me?” Jake wiggled his eyebrows at me and I smirked. He was a horrible flirt. He reached for my food again and I grabbed his hand. “One more bite and I will take your hand off.” I warned him, locking my fingers around his wrist.
Jake laughed and pretended to lunge for my lunch again. I shoved him back, still holding onto his arm. So, I guess it didn't look good when Clay finally reappeared. “Get the hell out of my seat.” I heard Clay say angrily from behind me. I saw Rachel's eyes get big as she looked over my shoulder.
I dropped Jake's hand like it was on fire. Jake's smile disappeared and he looked up at Clay with a frown. “Sorry, dude. I'm just saying hi. I was just leaving.” Jake sounded nervous. When I looked up at Clay's dark face, I knew why. He looked murderous.
“Get your hands off of my girl before I break your f**king fingers.” Clay growled, moving forward aggressively. Jake got to his feet and put his hands out in front of him. “Look, man. I'm not sure what your problem is, but I was just saying hey. No need to go postal.” Clay's face turned a scary shade of red and I thought he was going to reach over and grab Jake.
I got between them, facing Clay. “Chill out, Clay. He was just leaving.” I looked back at Jake and pointedly said, “Goodbye, Jake.” Jake looked between Clay and me with concern. “Are you sure everything's okay?” He asked me softly. Clay moved forward again and I wasn't sure I could stop him from escalating the situation if Jake didn't leave.
“I'm fine.” I said, my eyes pleading with Jake to just get the hell out of there. Jake's face clouded as he looked at Clay. “Okay. Well, see ya.” He waved at Rachel and Daniel and then hightailed it out of there.
“What is your problem?” Daniel asked, clearly pissed by Clay's behavior toward his friend. Clay ignored the question, turning his rage on me. “What the hell was that?” He hissed at me, his eyes full of anger and accusation.
“Nothing. He's just a friend. Calm down, alright. You're making a scene.” I glanced at the tables around us and realized everyone was watching our exchange like it was the god damn Jerry Springer Show.
I tried to put my hand on Clay's arm, hoping physical contact would break through this rage of his. He backed away from me as though I had a contagious disease. “You let him touch you! You f**king let him touch you!” He yelled in my face. My skin flushed with embarrassment. Jeesh, you'd think I'd been caught having sex with another guy or something! Clay's reaction was ridiculous!
“Enough, Clay! Back off!” Rachel had come around the table and pulled me away from my boyfriend. Clay looked down at Rachel, his dark eyes simmering. “Fine. I'm backing off. I'm backing the hell out of here.” He grabbed his bag and stormed off out of the cafeteria.
I was painfully aware of the silence around us. I wanted to curl into a tiny ball of mortification. “That was bullshit, Mags. I'm gonna kick his ass for treating you like that.” Daniel fumed. “No, Danny. He's just stressed. It'll be all right. Don't hold it against him. Please!” I begged. Daniel stared at me as though I were talking in another language.
Rachel looked at me with concern. “I don't like this, Maggie. The way Clay acted wasn't normal.” Normal. Ha! If Rachel even knew the half of it. I smiled weakly, hoping to placate them. “No, everything will be fine. Come on, you guys would be pissed if you saw someone flirting with your boyfriend or girlfriend. He was just surprised is all.” I reasoned unconvincingly.
Daniel looked unswayed. “No, I can't say I've ever had that sort of reaction before. I swear, if he ever puts a hand on you...” I cut him off. “That's enough, Danny. Clay would never hurt me.” I swore. “There are more ways to hurt someone than that, Mags.” Rachel said quietly as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. I felt sick to my stomach because I knew she was right.
I wasn't sure if Clay would wait for me after school to give me a ride home. I hadn't seen him the rest of the day and my heart hurt when I thought about how angry he had been. Rachel had tried talking to me about it a few more times but I shut her down, refusing to discuss it with her.
I knew she and Daniel only cared about me but their worry irritated me. They had no idea what Clay went through every day. How hard it was for him to hold it together. They didn't see how beautiful and perfect we were together.
They just didn't get it.
“You want me to give you a ride home?” Danny asked as he waited for me by my locker at the end of the day. I still hadn't seen Clay, but I didn't want to spend the next fifteen minutes rehashing the state of my relationship with either of my best friends.
“Nah. I'm sure Clay is just waiting by the car.” I told him, slamming the locker door closed. Daniel grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I'm not sure you should go anywhere with him. I knew I was right when I thought that guy was unstable. Maybe you need to just stay the hell away from him.”
I snatched my hand back. “Shut up, Danny. He is not unstable. He got a little jealous. It's not a big deal! Don't you dare stand there and judge him! I've seen you do some pretty stupid things over Kylie. So just give him a break!” I said coldly. Daniel looked as though I had slapped him. I had gone from never raising my voice at him, to snapping at him all the time.