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With me.
Ezra Jackson was my Achilles’ heel. I’d spent months, years even, trying to be his friend. Trying to be his someone. But every time I thought I was getting close, he would pull away, and I would be left heartbroken all over again.
It sucked wanting someone who didn’t want you back. But it sucked even more that in the rare moments where he acted like he did want me, I was too weak to deny him.
“Ashleigh,” Lily and Kaiden approached me. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” I smiled. “Peyton and Xander are here. Can you believe he came?”
“I wonder how she managed to persuade him,” Lily said, and Kaiden snorted.
“You probably don’t want to know.” He smirked.
“Ew, gross.”
“You know, one day she’ll be my aunt, that’s gross.”
“Are you okay?” Lily frowned.
“I’m fine. Better than fine.” I mustered the best smile I could. “We did it, Lil. We graduated. And now the world is our oyster.”
But I wasn’t really looking at her, I was looking past her. Still searching for Ezra.
Silently wishing that just this once, he would surprise me.
* * *
We partiedinto the late hours of the night, but Ezra never showed. Not that I really expected him to.
Bryan’s house was a mess, empty cups and bottles were littered across the yard. But Kaiden and Gav had promised to help him clean up tomorrow. My head already hurt from all the liquor, but the pizza we’d eaten earlier had soaked it up enough that I no longer felt drunk.
“I’m going to take these bags out to the trash,” I said to no one in particular. Gav was half-asleep on the couch, and Kaiden and Lily were too wrapped up in each other to notice me. Bryan had disappeared earlier and never resurfaced, and Peyton and Xander had left hours ago after he’d declared it too inappropriate to watch his niece and her friends get shit-faced.
His words, not mine.
I grabbed the bags and slipped out the back door, heading for the side of the house. After dumping them in the trash can, I was about to return to the house when the faint rumble of a car caught my attention. Before I knew what I was doing, I went around the front of the house, grinding to a halt when I spotted the familiar car in the shadows.
Ezra.
Even in the darkness, I could feel his eyes on me.
The first emotion I felt whenever Ezra was around was always a trickle of excitement, but usually it was quickly followed by frustration or anger.
Tonight was no different.
I stormed over to the car and ripped the door open. “What are you doing here?”
“Good to see you too, buttercup.”
“Don’t call me that.” I seethed. “You’re too late, the party’s over.”
“I didn’t come for the party.” His amber eyes bore into mine. Intense and unwavering.
“I’m not doing this, not tonight.” I went to slam the door, but his voice stopped me.
“Come on, Leigh. Don’t be like that.” A beat passed and he released a long breath. “You know why I didn’t come.”
“No, I don’t.”
