But from the look in Joel's eyes, he didn't want to hear any of these things, and heaven help me, I couldn’t bring myself to say them – not here, not in front of an audience, and especially not to the snickers of Bustier, who looked to the other girl and said, "See? Sheishigh."
The other girl nodded. "Oh yeah. For sure. I mean, she can afford the good stuff, you know?"
I couldn’t help it. I gave a bitter laugh, or at least, that was my intention. But it came out as a choked sob, devoid of any humor, bitter or otherwise.
Desperate now to end this already, I looked to Joel and said, "Fine. I wanted to tell you that you shouldn't be fighting."
At this, both girls burst out laughing. Bustier said, "Oh sure. And suckers shouldn’t be sucking."
I gave her an annoyed look.Who sounded high now?
I turned back to Joel, who gazed at me with cold, dark eyes. Well, at least,hewasn't laughing. That was something, right?
Ignoring the snickers of his companions, I bumbled on. "You know, because of the suspended sentence. Derek knows about it, and I'm pretty sure he means to cause trouble." I winced. "He knows the prosecutor or something. And anyway, I don't think it's safe."
Bustier gave another bark of laughter. "Safe? You're shitting him, right?" She looked to Joel and said in a tone of mock-concern, "Ooh, I bet you're really scared, huh?"
Joel had no reaction – not to me, and not to her. Desperately, I searched his face. When he said nothing, I said in a voice that sounded way too small, "You heard me, right?"
As an answer, he lifted his wrist and looked at his watch. "Time's up." And with that, he turned away, guiding the two girls toward the passenger's side of his vehicle.
I watched in silent dismay as he opened the passenger's side door and held it open while Bustier and the other girl jostled against each other, trying to claim the front seat.
In the end, Bustier won by elbowing the other girl out of the way and launching herself, sideways, into the car. After a few choice words, the other girl gave it up and climbed awkwardly into the back.
Joel closed the car door behind them and circled around to the driver's side. A moment later, he slid into the driver's seat and slammed the door behind him.
Standing alone, I watched in stunned misery as he fired up the engine and peeled out of the lot, leaving me staring after him.
