Phil nodded. “And that fucking hurts, but that won’t change how I deal with her. If anything, that’s all the more reason for me to need to treat her better or something. You gotta… you gotta fucking seize the day, man. You know? Plus, now I know more. I gotta save her.”
“Save her?” Megan’s eyes went wide. “From what?”
“Meggs, what’s your impression of Adam?”
Megan understood immediately, clever girl that she was. “Adam is… treating her badly?” she asked, not seeming to be able to believe it.
Phil couldn’t help but laugh. “Meggs, do you remember the controversy that happened between you and him not so long ago?”
Now Megan wasn’t turning white, she was turning pink. “Yeah.” she mumbled feebly.
“You do understand that that was a really uncool thing for Adam to do, right?”
“But… but it was my fault.” Megan continued, just as feebly.
“Your fault…?” Phil trailed off. He wanted to press her further, but information was one thing… comfort was another. Megan clearly did not enjoy what was happening here, so he chalked it up to a sweet girl blaming herself (which was most likely what a lot of the past victims of Adam Nicole mentioned did) and moved on. “Whatever. Point is, yeah, Adam has… a history.”
“Really?” Megan asked innocently. “I mean he’s cute but I feel like he barely has any experience with girls.”
Phil gave a hearty laugh. “Yeah, he gave me that impression too. I think he likes to give off that impression to people he wants to fool.” He leaned in closer. “Us, Megan. Nicole too. A trusted friend gave me some dirt on him, and yeah, he’s done this before.”
“Wow. You wouldn’t think, Adam of all people…” Megan trailed off.
“That’s why they’re manipulators, Meggs. It’s the people you’d never suspect. If you knew immediately, they’d never get their way.”
“Yeah.” Megan murmured, now eyeing the floor.
“Just… keep an eye on Adam. That’s all I’m saying. Maybe keep your distance from him for a bit. Maybe in time he’ll change.” Phil continued, glad he was able to get through to Megan, even if it was later than he should have.
“Okay. I will. Thank you for telling me, Phil.” Megan replied obediently.
That girl is not done getting thrown around by anyone that wants to use her, Phil realized in that moment. “And hey, Megan.” Phil called out to her, who was beginning to leave the room.
“Yes?” Megan asked, coming back inside.
“You’re a real shining star. You need more confidence.” he let her know. “Don’t let people push you around. You’re a real special girl with a lot to offer the world. Don’t be afraid to, y’know, grab life by the horns. You know that thing you’ve been wanting to do lately? That one thing in the back of your mind you wanna do because you want it to happen? I say you should do it, as soon as you can.”
Megan smiled a big smile, a genuine smile, at Phil. “Okay, thanks, Phil. I will. I hope things with you and Nicole get better.”
“You and me both, chief.” Phil replied dryly. “Go on, git. I’ll see you soon enough.” With that, Megan left the room, and Phil buried his head in his hands again.
So, Adam and Nicole. They were a thing. Knowing Nicole, her spontaneous nature, and her sex drive, he could guess they were a thing since before he kissed her. Phil was reasonably sure that while he and her were together, she didn’t cheat on him with Adam – they were pretty clear about the rules of their relationship, and even Nicole wasn’t that cold-hearted – but he could guess that was why the pair clicked so quickly. The school slut and the budding manipulator. Maybe that was why Nicole broke up with Phil, maybe it truly was nothing he did. Maybe she just fell for the male succubus – was there such thing as a male succubus? – and no connection with anyone else was as addicting as the toxic drug she was taking when with Adam.
And Adam… he knew how to play his fucking cards at fourteen. Securing an older girl? Shit, that was borderline taboo, it was so bold, even if they weren’t together (and if Phil could help it, never together). Phil was thinking so hard he didn’t even realize he was pacing the room until he caught himself nearly walking into a wall.
Phil didn’t really know what to do, so when he was out of his depth, he went with what felt natural – asking for help. He went through his phone. Jeff Swanson. That fucker never approved of Nicole and him in the first place, and Phil would never hear the end of it if he told Jeff that Nicole and Adam were a thing, possibly before and after they were even together. Hard pass.
Matt Schneider. He didn’t want to give him any additional fuel to throw on the Adam Watson fire – Matt seemed to have some kind of anger issues bubbling below the surface, and he had his suspicions that if Matt was pushed far enough and knew enough about his sister’s abuser, he’d actually be violent with Adam. Phil could never stand violence, and he knew that he could never forgive Matt if something like that happened. Too risky.
Jeff Love. His older brother. He’d gone to his older bro for advice before, but… it’s not like his brother knew Nicole well enough to comment on anything. At all. Truth be told, he sided with Nicole completely against his brother, but couldn’t actually go through with looking his brother in the eye and telling him he fucked up. The guilt and shame felt too much to accuse his own brother of something so heinous.
Nicole Baker. Phil smiled to himself. He almost wanted to call her and be the bigger man, to apologize for not being even more considerate, even if he knew he did nothing wrong. He was almost there, almost ready to call her up and see if his own words could patch things up, but… not quite yet.
Olivia Wilde. Phil’s smile didn’t wane. Olivia had… a weird take, on just about everything, but sometimes he needed to live in a world other than his own. Maybe she’d know what he should do, and even if she didn’t, she’d certainly know another way to take his mind off of things. He called her up, putting the phone to his ear and waiting patiently, until he heard the standard ‘leave a message’ line coming from the phone. Phil hung up and stared at his phone for a few seconds, before opening up his messages and deciding to be bold.
Youre home, right? Im coming over. Got a lot on my mind and need to talk
Phil turned off his phone, gathered his stuff, locked the room and made a beeline for his car. Olivia of all people appreciated guys that made the first move so today, that’s what he was going to do. The cool air felt good on his face as he left the school out of the back entrance, towards the carpark.
Phil heard snickering behind him. “Got some boots to lick, Mr. President?”
Phil didn’t even need to turn around to know who that was. “Go to hell, Pierce.” he replied, not bothering to stop.
He heard Pierce approach him from behind. Pierce was one of those types – the bad boys, the edgy ones, the ones that thought smoking cigarettes and getting expelled from several middle schools was a badge of honor. “Wanna know what happened today? You missed something big. There w-”
Phil stopped to put a hand on Pierce’s chest. “No offense, Pierce, but I’m really busy, and I don’t give a shit.”