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Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Ideas One Has An Idea.
Roman was back at school on Monday.
I passed him getting out of his car as I came in from the bus stop and gave him a smile as he looked up. I watched as he turned to Rio and threw his arm around the shoulder of the girl Rio was with. I’d expected the curt nod brush-off, but I still had to breathe through the impressive kick it gave my stomach. The intense look Rio confused me with helped.
“For him,” I reminded myself as I headed for my locker.
“I’ll castrate him if you want?” Hadley fell onto the locker next to mine.
I gave her a semi-decent smile. “He’s just being him.”
“You forgive him too much, babes.”
I shook my head. “No. I just know him. And, I don’t expect him to be anything other than he is.”
“He’s still hurting you…”
I huffed a small laugh because I was pretty sure I wasn’t the only one he was hurting. “Is that emotion I hear in Hadley Reynolds’ voice? Sympathy perhaps?”
She crossed her arms. “Don’t get used to it.” She paused. “I still say we castrate the arsehole.”
I sighed. “Thanks, Hads. I appreciate it. But, let’s forego the mutilation for now, yeah?”
“Good morning, lovely ladies!” Mason crowed and I looked up to give him a smile.
“Good morning!” I answered, my enthusiasm completely sincere.
He put his arm around me and kissed my temple. “How was our weekend?”
“Fine, thank you.”
“We missed you out,” Mason said, hugging me closer. “Well, some of us did. Hadley was a little busy.”
I looked up at her to see her roll her eyes. “If Tucker wasn’t going to kiss me, I had to kiss him.”
I snorted. “Sure. That makes sense. What did you get up to in the end?”
They chattered aboutLacey’sand ice cream while I listened avidly; I might not have felt like going out – and it was amazing that everyone was okay with that – but I still wanted to hear about it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roman walking towards us. He scowled bloody murder at Mason, but there was very little I could do about that. I gave him a half-hearted smile and a nod before turning back to the others.
“…and, Craig got cracked in the nuts,” Mason finished.
“Yeah, I can imagine,” I laughed.
And, I could. The boys leapfrogging over the poles outside the ice cream place never went well, so I don’t know why they always thought it was going to “be fine this time”.
I closed my locker and the three of us headed for class.
And, my week continued much the same.
Roman and I basically avoided each other. I gave up trying to spare him smiles in the hopes it would make him feel better. I gave up hoping he’d even look at me. Although – according to Hadley – he did look at me plenty, especially when I wasn’t looking. I caught the bus every morning and afternoon, and he drove. I didn’t try to get a ride from him. I didn’t force my company on him. I gave him the space he quite clearly desired.
But, something niggled at me like it was the wrong choice.
Something that tried to tell me that what Roman needed was confrontation; he needed me to talk to him, to try harder to make him smile. But, I couldn’t. My early attempts had been met with the contemptable Roman, the bristly Roman, the dark Roman. He was obviously decided and there was nothing I could do to change his mind. So, I didn’t trust what felt weirdly like instincts. And, I treated him the same way I had months ago.
Hadley, Celeste and I hung out with Mason, Craig and Tucker, and sometimes Simon and the others. I could walk away whenever I needed and they all just understood. The girls flirted and the boys flirted, but it was easy and free and fun and open. Although, there was something sizzling under the surface between Tucker and Hadley that she wouldn’t hear about.
