Chapter 8: Rob

After talking to Trudy on Wednesday, I went to find Art. He was up in the alcove, by himself, which bothered me somehow.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked. He seemed distracted, and that wasn’t like him, either.

“I think you know,” I said. I crossed my arms and waited for him to pay full attention to me. I thought I deserved that.

“The rumors,” he said flatly. “About me and Trudy up here in the alcove. It was perfectly innocent, Rob. I swear it. Just friendly talk.”

“Really?”

He put up his hands. “Dude, she’s yours, not mine. And besides, she’s not my type. You know that. She’s too—”

“Be careful,” I said.

“Too nice,” said Art. “Too—” He didn’t seem to know what else to put in the space.

“So what were you talking about?” I wished very much I had Laura’s ability to tell if people were lying with one look. Or maybe she just pretended it and after a while, they stopped trying to lie to her. I didn’t have the right reputation yet, certainly not with Art. I was going to have to figure this out the hard way.

“Something private. I needed her opinion,” said Art, choosing each word carefully.

“And that’s why you took her down to your basement dorm room, too?” I asked.

“Uh.” He blinked. “Yes, actually it is.”

“For two hours you were talking about something private in your basement dorm room?”

He swallowed. Twice. “Rob, man, I swear to you I didn’t touch her. I don’t know who has been telling you any different, but you can’t believe them. They’re just trying to get into your head. Believe me.”

I stared at him for a long moment.

It must have unnerved him, which was my intention, because he said, “Are you going to hit me?”

“Should I hit you?” I asked him. If he was inviting me to do it, did that mean he really had done something with Trudy?

“If it makes you feel better, go ahead. I can take it.” He tapped his chin.

Yeah, if I was going to hit him, it wasn’t going to be on his chin where he expected it. It would be between the legs, where it really hurt. Although his luck would probably end up making me hurt more than he did.

“Well, go on,” said Art.

“I’m thinking about it,” I said.

“Trudy didn’t tell you anything else happened, did she?”

“What if she had?” I asked.

Art paled a bit. “I’d say she was teasing you,” he said.

I decided I believed him and I was going to have to figure out how to calm Trudy down, after what I’d accused her of. She had every right to be furious with me. I’d handled it all wrong. With Laura’s blackmail and everything else, I had not been in a good place. I had to fix things with her. Somehow.

“No. She said the same as you. Something important and private. You had to talk to her, that’s all.”

Art closed his eyes and let out a breath. I guess I was flattered that he cared so much about my opinion. “Trust Trudy then. Has she ever lied to you?” said Art.

“Next time don’t take my girlfriend into the alcove with you. If you need to talk to her, find another place, all right?” I was, my hands clenched into fists.

“Good point. I promise you, Rob. I won’t ever take Trudy into the alcove again. Not for any reason.”

I nodded. Now I believed him. “So are you going to tell me what you really talked about with Trudy?”

“Do you tell me all your secrets?” he asked me back.

I felt a pang of guilt. “My secrets have nothing to do with you,” I said. There, I’d just admitted I had secrets. Maybe everyone does, and it was no surprise to him, but I didn’t like saying it. What if he told Trudy what I’d said?

“And my secrets have nothing to do with you,” said Art.

“Or Trudy?” I asked.

“Not really,” he muttered. Then he shook his head and added softly, “This is what happens when your luck is low.”

I froze. “What did you say?” I asked. I felt sick, my stomach twisting, and my vision was speckled with spots of light. This was the worst possible thing that could happen to me. Had Laura told him, after all? Or had he finally guessed? What could I say to explain why I’d been lying for so long?

Art shook his head and came closer. He put his face right into mine. “I just meant that if I had more luck, you wouldn’t have believed anything happened between me and Trudy. You’d never have suspected. You’d have had too much confidence.”

Maybe, but it seemed to me it was my luck that made the difference there. I didn’t trust my own instincts because I never had. I had no luck to tell me I should. I’d survived all this time because I knew who I was and what my limits were.

“So what are you going to do to make it up to Trudy?” Art asked.

“That is a very good question,” I said. And I was going to have to find a very good answer, one that did not depend on luck at all