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He was and he wasn’t. TJ wasn’t sure if she meant she was through with Steel and so everyone should be too, or if she meant for him and her to break off from Steel, together.
“Linsey, what are you saying?”
“God, typical, you know. Typ-ic-cal.” She was getting upset.
He hadn’t meant to do that.
“Just like a guy,” she said. “Do you even speak English? What I’m saying is we should just leave him. Come on, TJ. He doesn’t run our lives, you know. We’re our own people. We can do whatever we want.”
“Linsey, wait,” he stopped her. “You keep saying ‘we.’ Like we, who? I don’t understand.”
“Like all of us,” she made a face. “But yeah, you know. You, especially. I know if I quit Tanya’ll back me a hundred percent, but you’re the one I’m worried about. You feel like you owe him your life or something. You’d do anythin’ for him wouldn’t you? You’d just stand there and let him get away with whatever he wants.”
He knew what she was getting at. It was too soon and he didn’t want them to do it here. But it was too late. She was raising her voice.
“You let him do it once, shouldda known you’d let him do it again.”
She was animated now, in a bad way.
TJ couldn’t make out her words anymore, and he wasn’t even trying. He knew she was cursing but he wasn’t concentrating.
Kids were staring at them, he could tell. Kids getting to school with their friends, were getting quiet and listening.
“Okay, Lins,” he held onto her arms. “I’m sorry, all right? But I can’t change the past.”
She dropped the cigarette.
“People are lookin’ at us now,” he said.
Linsey looked around them, and TJ saw a quick wave of caution go down her face. In an instant it was gone, swiftly replaced by her fury.
“Well get off me before they get ideas about us.” She shook herself from him and stormed away.
TJ sighed and leaned against the car.
He watched her walk away in a shirt that was probably Steel’s, or Tanya’s brothers. But the jeans were his.
