Thanks to Kogasha, Alanna99, and Enchanted Night for their reviews on the last chapter.
Chapter 31
Leigh had just settled down to watch an episode of Gilmore Girls when Jamie stepped back into the room. It was a rerun…but nothing else seemed to be on. Leigh didn't really care all that much. She was feeling pretty content at the moment. She didn't think that anything could affect her mood—except maybe bad news about Doug.
"Hey, sorry about that," Jamie apologized, hopping onto the bed beside Leigh. "I didn't really know what to do. I tried to tell her that you didn't want company, but she wouldn't listen to me. You know, that's probably one of the first times I ever really talked to your mother. I didn't know she was so domineering."
Leigh shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It went okay."
Jamie cringed. "But maybe I should have said something. I don't usually back down like that."
Leigh snorted, sending Jamie a sidelong glance. "I still remember that time you got all up in Amber's face…when you were still new."
Jamie smiled guiltily. "You saw that?"
Leigh laughed. "No, but I heard about it. It's a big event whenever anyone stands up to Amber. Honestly, a lot of people were really happy you did."
Jamie's smile dropped and she shrugged. "She's like a sister to me now."
Leigh bit her lip…knowing that she had been gossiping. She began to flip through the channels, pretending that she hadn't been affected by Jamie's covert reprove. She loved Amber like a sister too, but sometimes she really wanted to throttle her. Amber rarely saw things beyond her own point in the universe.
And right now Leigh was particularly mad at her, but she was trying not to be. She had never disliked Amber for sneaking around with half of the male population at Lampton Hill High School. It was only when the offence struck close to home that she found herself bristling. Leigh knew it was completely hypocritical of her.
"So what are we going to do," Jamie asked to change the topic, "about the situation with Rollson? We've lost our army now."
Leigh sighed, shutting her eyes briefly. "I don't know. I've been trying not to think about it. I keep hoping that Doug will come up with the answer—he always does. I know it's bad to leave the problem on Doug's shoulders. It's just…it seems so overwhelming."
"Speaking of Doug," Jamie said with an inquisitive glance. "What were you two fighting about earlier today? You sounded pretty mad. I take that back—furious."
Leigh cringed. "I know," she said, being truthful and open. She was starting to get used to being forthcoming with her feelings. "I was a complete jerk. I told him that I never wanted to see him again. What am I going to do? It'll be totally mortifying to go up and apologize to him. I don't know if I have the courage."
Leigh felt her cheeks reddening just thinking about it. "Besides," she added. "I don't know if my pride will let me. Not after what happened."
Jamie frowned, pulling her hair back into a ponytail as she listened to what Leigh was saying. "Wait a minute. What happened?"
Leigh shrugged sheepishly. She didn't really want to tell Jamie. For some reason it would bug her if Jamie knew that Doug was anything but interested in her—especially if Jamie knew that Doug had kissed another girl. She opened her mouth to speak anyway, pushing her pride aside.
But before she could speak the door burst open and Amber stepped inside, looking miffed. She was carrying several Burger King bags. She tossed one to both Jamie and Leigh and kicked her foot out behind her in a fluid motion. The door slammed shut. She flopped onto the double bed adjacent from the one Jamie and Leigh were sitting on.
"These pants are killing me," she said to Leigh, her voice a little too sharp. She slumped onto the bed with almost a harassed expression. "Don't you own any hip-huggers?"
Leigh snorted, not feeling at all sympathetic. She was still a little mad at Amber. It was hard not to be. "What? So that I can show half my butt every time I sit down?"
"That's the whole point. But you need to buy cute thongs to go with it," Amber glowered back at her.
Jamie laughed lightly. She didn't seem to have been taken down a notch by Amber's mood. "What happened?" She asked. "Did you have an argument with the receptionist downstairs?"
"No," Amber muttered sulkily. "The customer service was fine. I was having an argument with your brother. He's being a moody jerk again."
Jamie winced. She seemed to be wrestling between defending Doug and asking what the fight was about. In the end, she just said with a sympathetic look. "It seems everyone's mad at him lately."
At this comment, Amber sent Leigh a long and appraising look. Leigh bunched her shoulders up and changed another channel, feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny. She wondered for a moment whether Amber knew what had happened between Doug and her. She hoped not. That would only make the situation that much more embarrassing. And now that Amber had sunk her claws into Doug, she would probably be very possessive and jealous—even if Doug wasn't even technically her boyfriend. Jealous to the point that she would turn sour toward Leigh for a while.
Leigh could feel her stomach grumbling, but she didn't know if she could eat right at the moment. At least Amber wasn't looking at her anymore. Leigh could see the other girl out of the corner of her eye. Amber was tracing her finger along the bedspread pattern with a pained expression. It looked as though she were fighting some personal battle in her mind.
Jamie was the only one who didn't seem to notice the tension in the air. Or if she did notice it, she wasn't mentioning it. Leigh didn't blame her. Amber looked like a tightly stretched rubber band ready to snap.
Leigh bit her lip and channel-surfed back to Gilmore Girls. The commercial had ended. She tried to get caught up in the storyline, but was failing miserably. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on in Amber's mind.
There was a stirring noise as Amber got to her feet and dumped her uneaten food onto the bed. Leigh expected her to leave the room, but she turned instead to look at Jamie and Leigh. She spoke finally, looking slightly murderous. "Leigh? Do you think that I could talk to you outside?"
Leigh's stomach flopped queasily. She sent Amber a sidelong glance. "Depends," she said slowly. Her reply was only half-joking "Are you going to try to knock me through a wall?"
Amber snorted, a slight smile twinging in the corner of her lips. Despite this, she still looked ticked off. "No," she said. "It's not you that I'm mad at."
Here we go again; Leigh thought and let out the breath that she'd been holding, clambering to her feet. Her movements weren't at all graceful or refined as normal. Her muscles were too fatigued to work properly.
She wasn't at all in the mood for all these tête-à-têtes. But they seemed to be occurring anyway. She followed Amber out the door.
Jamie looked after them briefly with a curious glance. She seemed to decide that it was none of her business. She just shrugged when Leigh looked back at her and turned back to the show.
Leigh shut the door softly behind her and leaned against it. She folded her arms across her chest, feeling suddenly vulnerable and discontented. The hall air seemed cold and unfriendly. She could feel the hairs rising on her arms.
Amber flopped up against the wall next to her, using her arms to catch the wall and slow the impact. She leaned into it with a sigh. "I really didn't want to tell you this—" Amber started but Leigh cut her off.
"It's okay," Leigh replied, swallowing the bile in her throat. "I think I know what you're going to say. Don't worry about it. I'd rather not talk about this."
She reached for the knob at her side. She really didn't want to hear about the kiss between Doug and Amber. It was already burned into her memory. Amber could have Doug if she wanted. Leigh wasn't going to put up a fight—because that's probably what Amber was doing: asserting her territory. She didn't want to be in the middle of the mess, especially when she would only end up getting hurt even more.
"Wait," Amber grumbled. "Will you just listen to me for one second?"
Leigh exhaled, letting her hand drop from the handle to hang limply at her side. She closed her eyes briefly to gather up some energy to remain calm. All she really wanted to do right now was to snap out in any way she could.
The happy mood that she'd been experiencing earlier was completely gone. And she'd thought it would have taken a lot more than this to make it vanish.
"Okay," she said finally. "What do you want, Amber?"
"I'm trying to do you a favor!" Amber replied. "I don't really want to because that means helping Doug and he's being a real pain in the rear right now. But this isn't just about Doug."
Her eyes snapped open and she looked over at the blond girl who was giving her an irritated look. "Amber," she said. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the fact that Doug never kissed me," Amber said. "I kissed him. It was all me."
Leigh was too speechless to respond.
"I can't believe I'm actually saying this," Amber added miserably, "but he's not even slightly interested in me. I mean, how is that possible? This has never happened to me!"
Leigh almost snorted with laughter and not only because Amber's comment was so vain. It was as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She took in a long shuddering and relieved breath.
"He's in love with you," Amber added finally, looking a little reluctant. "It would have been fun to pursue him…to see how long he would hold out. I like a little challenge. But you're my friend," she looked at Leigh now, totally serious. "And I could never do that to you. So I'm going to wash my hands of him."
Leigh had never seen Amber act so selfless before. The knowledge warmed her heart. She spoke finally, her voice coming out soft, almost a whisper. "Thank you."
Amber just shrugged. "Good riddance. He's moody, you know—and totally anti-social sometimes."
Leigh raised her eyebrows. "And I'm not?"
Amber smirked openly, all in fun. She teased. "You've got a point there."
Leigh didn't take offence.
Then another thought occurred to her and she buried her face into her hands and felt her cheeks turn a bright and humiliating red. She swore vocally.
"What's wrong now?" Amber asked, not the least bit sympathetic.
Leigh wouldn't have expected her to be. It just wasn't in her nature to coddle over other's emotional issues. Leigh wanted to cry out to release some of the pent up embarrassment and guilt. But the hotel hallway was definitely not the best place for her to be so vocal. Besides, Amber probably thought she was already half insane, this would clinch the assumption.
"And after all of the horrible things I said to him!" She still had the heels of her hands jammed over her eyes. "How am I going to apologize? How am I going to make it better? Ugh! I feel so embarrassed."
She
lowered her hands just in time to see Amber shrug her shoulders
calmly and unsympathetically. "You'll think of something."
"And
that makes me feel so much better," Leigh muttered under her
breath. She took a deep breath. In a way, Amber was right. She would
think of something—because she had to.
