Page 18 of Fueled Hate

“So, it’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not,” Willow says as she stands beside me. “Why are you in my seat, Kyle?”

“I switched into the class. Maybe you can join our study group. Andrew and Parker too, one big happy family.”

Is he seriously delusional? Looking over at his smiling face, I get confirmation. “We aren’t in a study group. You shouldn’t have switched into this class. You always said we shouldn’t take the same classes so we could make our own friends and meet new people. Now you’ve signed up for my class and are wanting to study together?” Taking a deep breath, I look over to him. I wanted to do this in a more private setting but Kyle never allows me to do anything as planned. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“What, school? We can take a day off if you want to get out of here.”

“No. This,” I say, motioning between the two of us as I hear Willow mumble an encouragement to finally do what I should’ve done long ago.

“Sadie, I said I was sorry. When you did that last night, it just made me worry I was losing you. I can’t lose you. We’ve been together forever.”

“It’s not only about last night. It’s about everything. You said it yourself: I’ve changed, and I think you have too.”

“No. I don’t agree with this.”

“It’s not up to you.”

He glances around the room, and his jaw muscle clenches as he looks back to me. “Don’t do this to us.”

“There is no us. At least that’s how it feels.”

“All these years have to count for something. Even if you don’t believe it know, we’re meant to be together. Let’s just talk about it later.”

“No. I think we both know this has been a long time coming.” I hope he will just get up and leave. I’m not sure what he thought switching into this class would accomplish, but it’s had the opposite effect than he intended.

The seats are filling up around us, and I’m worried Kyle will make a scene. He’s actually taking it better than I expected. Usually, his temper gets the best of him, and he blurts out his problems for the world to hear.

“No, I didn’t see this coming,” he says with a pained voice. I almost feel sorry for him, but I know this is better for both of us, and to my surprise and relief, he says, “Can we at least be friends? You’re not planning to completely just cut me out of your life, right?”

Yeah, that was kind of the plan. How, I’m not sure. How do you cut off someone who has been such a major part of your life for so many years? Friends? I doubt he can do friends. I doubt I can do friends after dating for so long, but it’s a better response than I figured I’d get, so I’ll take it for now. “Yes, we can be friends.”

He places his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into a hug as he whispers, “I’ll take anything I can get because I’ll always love you, Sadie.”

Yeah. No. Friends isn’t going to work. “Kyle, I—”

“What the fuck is this about?” Kyle asks, eyeing the coffee that Dylan places on my notebook. When I look up and lock eyes with Dylan, he’s not paying any attention to Kyle—it’s as if he’s not there at all; he’s totally focused on me. Silently, Dylan takes his seat in the row across from me while Kyle glares at him.

That’s why. He knew Dylan was in this class. Kyle isn’t here for any other reason. Friends definitely isn’t gonna work. Nothing about this situation will. “It’s only coffee.”

But it’s not only coffee. I can lie to myself all I want but Dylan is slowly chiseling away at my wall. I want to believe there is something more to him. The small gestures say he’s more than just his attractive face and charming demeanor. He puts thought into something other than himself, unlike Kyle, who still hasn’t given up.

Leaning over, keeping his voice low, he says, “Is that why you’re trying to dump me?”

“No, it’s really not.” And it isn’t. Even if Dylan hadn’t popped into the picture with his mystifying presence, Kyle and I have been on a miserable, dead-end path for a long time.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he says, leaning over and kissing me on the cheek. I blanch at the unwanted affection, and it takes everything I have not to deck him in the nose, especially when I turn to face him. Kyle is shifted forward, his attention on someone past me, not that it takes a genius to figure out who.

Confirmation. There’s absolutely nothing to talk about, but I’ll save that detail for after class—not that he’d hear me anyways since he isn’t paying me any attention. I’ve seen Kyle respond not so well to people, but this seems more like an unhealthy obsession.

Fortunately, the professor steps up to the podium and starts to lecture, forcing Kyle to lean back in his seat. There’s no way I’ll make it through the semester with him sitting next to me three days a week.

Against my will, I glance over to the left, expecting to see Dylan’s arrogant expression or even his mischievous grin. Instead, I’m met with a brutal stare, sending a sinking feeling to the pit of my stomach. Do all guys have some idiot switch that flips at the drop of a hat?

Facing the front of the classroom, I halfway focus on the professor as the class painfully drags on. If this is a preview of the semester, it’s going to feel like forever. The class finally ends, and I grab my things and head out, not waiting a moment longer to escape the suffocating room.

“I’m proud of you,” Willow says, falling into step beside me as we hurry to Coyote Café.