Capítulo 32: Chapter 32: A Friend and a Clue

Zariah

“No, James. I’m not okay,” I tell him. I wish I could say something else. I wish I could lie and tell him I’m fine, that he didn’t see what he thinks he did, that I wasn’t making out with Micah when he walked into the office a moment ago. But James isn’t an idiot, and he knows what he saw despite Micah and me trying to cover it up.

James looks at me for a moment, his eyes slightly wider than usual as he assesses the situation. “Do you… want to talk about it?” he asks me.

I shake my head, but then I find myself saying, “I don’t know. It… doesn’t matter. I really shouldn’t.”

“Okay,” he says with a nod, and I can see in his eyes that he feels bad for me. I don’t want him to feel bad for me. I don’t want that sort of sympathy.

But I am pretty pathetic at the moment.

“Well, if you change your mind, I’m here.”

“Thank you, James,” I say, managing a tight-lipped smile.

“I mean, I might not date or anything like that, but I can listen,” he continues.