“Dude, will you calm down? Jesus!”
I take a few breaths, swallowing but my throat is all dry. I clench and unclench my fists, staring at the floor, wishing we could turn back time.
“Seth—”
“I don’t wanna talk about it anymore,” I cut him off, locking my gaze with his. Letting him know that I mean it. His eyes search mine, and there’s a small frown between his brows.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” I say, walking past him.
I’m only a few steps away from my bedroom door when I hear a quiet question.
“Were you bullied?” His voice is low, more like a mumble, and I freeze in my step. My breathing’s coming in short puffs.
“What?” I ask on an exhale.
“Is that why you hated high school?”
I pause for a second too long. “You can leave the door open when you leave. I’ll lock it later.”
I walk into the bathroom, turn on the shower and drop down on the toilet seat. Hands shaking, my breathing stutters as I exhale. Bouncing a leg up and down, I drag my hands back and forth over my pants. I draw a shaky breath, count to four, and exhale.
My front door clicks, and I close my eyes. Wringing my hands together, I turn my gaze to the ceiling.
“You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re okay.”
57
Kaden
It’sbeenanhourand a half, and I still haven’t left Seth’s street. I’ve been walking around in circles, trying to wrap my head around what the fuck just happened. I’ve never seen him like that. I’ve never even heard him yell before. He just lost it. He was fucking shaking.
My head’s going a mile a minute. I can’t just fucking drop this. What? Am I supposed to go home now? Pretend everything’s fine?
Well, fuck that!
I take the stairs two at a time, and stop outside his apartment door. It’s locked. Guess he really didn’t want me to come back.
I knock. And I think I hear footsteps approaching but the door stays locked. So, I knock again. And then again. The lock clicks and the door opens.
Seth stands in the doorway, arms crossed, staring at the floor. He’s wearing a hoodie, hood up, and sweats. And he smells like his body wash and almond.
“Can I come in?”
He turns around, letting me in and I close and lock the door behind me. I follow him into the living room, and he drops down on the couch, hands folded.
“I can’t drop it,” I say, leaning against the doorframe. “I know you said you don’t wanna talk about it, but I can’t drop it.”
“It’s none of your business, Kaden,” he mumbles, shaking his head with his arms resting against his knees, eyes to the floor.
“You’remy business, Seth. And you promised me honesty.”
He scoffs. “Yeah, in this. I didn’t promise to tell you my deepest, darkest secrets. That’s not what honesty means. I don’t go pry in your life, do I?” He shrugs one shoulder.
“You know everything there is to know about me.” I frown.
“That doesn’t give you the right to know everything about me,” he says, turning to look at me. “I don’t owe you anything.”
I bite my lip, arms crossed, and he turns back to stare at the floor.
