Miguel, however … Miguel is pissed. And if he says a word to Amber about this conversation, she’s gonna be even more pissed than he is. For now, I have to focus on talking him down. After that, I’ll figure out how I wanna handle this for myself.

But when I open my eyes to pick our conversation back up, he’s already gone.

I’m so prepared for the sight of Miguel’s bike to beat me to Amber’s house that when I jog up her street and don’t see it, the only thing I can think is that he’s already come and gone. But it’s obvious when I ring the bell and get Amber’s sunny expression that she hasn’t just been face-to-face with her best friend ripping her to shreds.

“Hey!” She sounds a little out of breath, and I look past her and see I caught her mid-workout. Some lady is doing an impossible yoga move on the TV, and my lizard brain can’t help derailing for a sec to wonder if Cheer Girl is equally bendy. “What’s up?”

I wait for her to step aside to let me in, but she stays blocking the door, and I realize with a flash there’s someone inside who is neither Miguel nor her mom. A moment later I get my confirmation when Cara Whelan calls, “Did your mom forget her keys again?”

I know Cara is Amber’s best friend on the squad. I know. I know they go back to childhood and I know she lost the guy she was dating and I know she’s in pain. I know.

But Cara Whelan fucking sucks, and the fact that she’s the reason I’m being shoved in the closet sucks even harder.

“I talked to Miguel,” I say flatly, because clearly there’s no real sit-down conversation in the cards for us right now. “He told me he wanted to take Malcolm to the dance. He told me he told you he wants to take Malcolm.”

“Keep your voice down,” she whispers fiercely, stepping outside in her bare feet and closing the door nearly all the way behind her.

“Why?” I challenge her, even though my instincts betray me and I lower my voice. “To protect you from your ‘best friend’?” I use air quotes, because I’m pissed and she deserves me being an asshole. “Because it’s clearly not to protect Miguel, like you told me it was, and it’s not to protect me, like you told him it was. So, it looks like the only people you give a shit about are you, bitchy Minnie Mouse in there, and I guess the rest of your homophobic squad.”