goes to my head, and the soft strokes make me remember the time when we were five and I fell from my bike and scraped my knee. Blake did the same thing then too.
“Unbelievable.” Troy’s tight voice sounds in the room, making my blood run cold.
I jump back and turn toward the door. Blake makes an annoyed sound in the back of his throat; I make no sound at all.
Troy is standing there, eyes blazing with fury as he holds a tray with two cups of coffee and a brown bag. He came to surprise me with goodies and found me in an intimate embrace with my ex. No wonder he’s glowering, his jaw locked tight.
“Troy, what are you doing here? I thought you had class.” I take a step forward, wiping away the remnants of my tears.
He doesn’t miss the gesture, which makes his angry expression soften a little. “Class was canceled. The teacher got the flu. I thought I’d surprise you. Funny how things worked out.”
His quip feels like a dagger piercing my chest. Even though his expression is no longer murderous, he’s still angry.
“Don’t get your panties twisted in a bunch, buddy. I was just consoling a friend in need,” Blake pipes up.
Troy narrows his eyes. “Right. And I was born yesterday.”
Shit. He’s not going to let this one go. It’s all Blake’s fault. If he hadn’t shown up at the house to have a talk with Troy, he probably wouldn’t be as furious as he is now.
“Oh, what’s in the bag?” I ask to change the subject.
He glances at it with a frown, almost as if he forgot he was holding it. “Uh, chocolate-filled croissants.”
My favorite. I only mentioned it once in passing, and he remembered. I feel guilty and moved at the same time.
Blake returns to his desk without saying another word to Troy.
Since Troy doesn’t seem inclined to move, I walk over and kiss him on the lips. It’s like kissing a wooden door. Damn it. I feel horrible even though I didn’t do anything wrong.
“Thank you,” I say.
“Why were you crying?”
“Because her parents are probably getting a divorce,” Blake replies bluntly.
“I was updating Blake on the drama, and I kind of lost it. He was just being supportive,” I explain.
“Hmm.” That’s all he says while he glowers at Blake.
What is he thinking?
“Come sit with me.” I tug his arm.
“I think I’ll go. Don’t want to take up more of your time.” He heads for the door, and then he’s gone. He didn’t even kiss me goodbye.
My heavy heart constricts further. In my current weakened state, the tears return to my eyes easily. It’s an effort to keep them from falling. I go back to my desk without glancing at Blake.
After a minute, he says, “I knew your boyfriend was an ass.”
“Shut up, Blake. Just shut up.”
40
CHARLIE
Troy doesn’t come home for dinner. I begin to worry and call him. It goes to voice mail. I don’t trust my voice at the moment, so I text him instead. My stomach is tied in knots as I wait for his reply. I get that he’s angry, but why can’t he just talk to me instead of giving me the silent treatment? That’s fucking mean.
The pasta Bolognese I cooked is now cold and unappealing. If I ate a couple bites, that was a lot. This situation with Troy has taken away my appetite. My heart is too heavy, and my head is too full.
While I wait for Troy to come home, I put on The Big Bang Theory in the background and work on his character sheet. He told me he wanted to be a fun troll like Shrek. To me that translates as sarcasm and dark humor. I base the character off Fred, hoping he doesn’t notice that Troy will be pretty much acting like him—that is, if Troy still wants to come with me to LARP.
A pang flares in my chest, followed by insecurity. Did I ruin things between Troy and me already? I hate feeling like this, caught in a whirlpool in the middle of the ocean and not knowing which way is up or down.
I have to force the words out, glad it’s just a character sheet and not an entire story line. Another five hundred words and I’m done. It’s getting late. I check my phone again for the thousandth time. Still no word from him. Maybe he’s out with his friends, but he told me he might be playing tomorrow. He