I was following some stupid rule me and my sisters made up before we even were allowed to shave our legs. What the hell was I thinking?
I watch her eyes fill with realization then her lips thin. “You thought I wanted him, so that’s why you ignored him.”
“Worse,” I whisper.
“How could it be worse than you ignoring him because of me?”
“I spent the night with him, and then snuck out of his bed this morning and caught an Uber home.”
“You didn’t,” she cries, sitting toward me. “I can’t believe you slept with him.”
“I didn’t. I mean, we slept together, but we didn’t sleep together.”
“You really are always a good girl,” she sighs like she’s disappointed.
“You said....” I close my eyes. It doesn’t matter what she said; she’s always saying things like that. I should have known. “You saw him first.” The words sound stupid, even to my own ears. God, I screwed up, seriously screwed up, and I have no one to blame but myself. I left Gareth without an explanation, without even a note. If I were him, I’d be pissed.
“Hey.” April’s gentle tone and hand touching mine brings my attention back to her, and I open my eyes. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“I’m not sure. If he.... If the roles were reversed, I would be mad. I’m not sure if I’d ever talk to him again.”
“Blame it on me,” she says immediately. “Tell him that I called you and needed your help, so you didn’t have time to explain things before you took off on him.”
“The only issue with that is I don’t know his number. I can’t exactly send him an ‘I’m sorry I snuck away’ text.”
“Shit.” She looks away, her mind obviously working to try to find a solution. “Sage probably has his number. We can ask him for it.”
I don’t want to ask Sage for his number. No way do I want to answer any questions, but what choice do I have?
“Okay,” I agree.
She pulls her phone out then quickly types a message. I wait then hear her phone ping. When her face lights with a smile, I don’t know if I should be nervous or excited.
“I got his number. Get your phone.”
I pick up my cell and type in the number she shoots off. When he’s added to my list of contacts, a small sense of relief fills me.
“Now text him.”
“Right.” I nibble the inside of my cheek as I type out a text to him. I read the words three times to make sure everything is spelled correctly and sounds believable before I press Send.
I hope you don’t mind I got your number from Sage. I’m sorry I left without a word, but I got a message from my sister this morning and had to take off. Thank you for being so sweet and taking care of me last night.
December
A moment later, a bubble appears and I look at April. “He’s typing.”
“He’s not making you wait a year for a return text. That’s a good sign.” She smiles.
“Hopefully,” I agree with a small smile of my own.
I drop my eyes back to my phone when it dings. My smile slides away and chest gets heavy as I read his reply.
Funny, was awake when you got up and know you didn’t even look at your cell. Glad you’re good, but don’t message again. I don’t have time for high school bullshit and games.
“What?” April questions, probably reading the look on my face. I don’t answer, so she slides my phone out of my hand and reads the message herself. “Oh shit.” She stands, still holding my phone, then she starts to pace. “I can’t.... I cannot believe he said that to you.” She pauses, looking pissed at the phone then me. “I’m going to message him back.”
“What? No!” I shout as I shoot off the couch and launch myself at her over my coffee table. I land against her, and we end up getting into a wrestling match that ends with us both on the floor and me straddling her. When I finally get ahold of my phone and have it above my head, we’re both breathing heavily. “He obviously wants nothing to do with me. And I understand why.”
“But—” April starts, but I shake my head, my hair flying as I do.
“I should have... I should have….” Really, I don’t know what I should have done differently. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over.”
“I’m sorry.” She sits up, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I should