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I’m nothing but screwed up—both in my actions and in my way of thinking.
I hate the glare she sends my way. I’m more interested in making her smile, and I feel extra shitty that I’m the reason behind her anger.
If only you had confessed sooner…
“Zahra, I shouldn’t have lied about Scott. I used him as a way to—”
My voice is cut off by her packing up her backpack and shutting off her computer. “Where are you going?”
She doesn’t bother to look at me. “I’m going home. Maybe you should do the same.”
I want to tell her that home is just another empty place that makes me miserable. But I don’t have a chance to say a single word as she exits the cubicle, leaving me standing there with a bag filled with untouched takeout food and this void feeling in my chest.
* * *
“So let’s say someone hypothetically hurt your sister.”
“Oh no.” Ani presses a hand against her head.
I readjust my position on the bench so I can get a good look at her. “What?”
“You’rethe one who hurt my sister?”
“No.”Yes. But how does she know that?
“I knew she was upset!” Ani jumps up from the bench and starts pacing.
I bristle. “What do you mean?”
“Because she canceled on us for dinner. She only misses family time when she’s sad or sick.”
Fuck.That’s the last thing I want. “I messed up.”
Ani rolls her eyes. “I see.”
“How can I fix it?”
“Depends on what you did.”
Am I really going to confess my issues to Ani to understand her sister better?
Yeah, I guess I am.“Well, it started with a bad idea.” I go off, explaining every decision I made up until this point about Zahra. The more I rehash, the worse I feel about it. Ani’s facial expressions don’t help.
“What? Say something.”
She shrugs. “She really liked Scott. I heard her talk about him to Claire.”
I wince. “Help me come up with an idea on how to get her back and I’ll owe you anything.”
“Anything?”
I nod.
Ani tucks her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know. If she thinks you’re like Lance, she might never give you another chance.”
I’m not going to even entertain that option. “Okay. That’s fair. But if you were me, what would you do?”
“Easy. Give her a reason to trust you. A really good reason.” Ani answers me like it’s the simplest idea in the world.
