AllFreeNovel
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“This?” I laughed, pointing to her car’s old CD player. “No way.” It was a slow ballad.
“Yes, it is! Just wait for it, trust me,” she implored with her bright blue eyes.
I tried to listen for what she meant but I still wasn’t getting it. I reached to turn the volume down, but she swatted my hand away.
I thought she was crazy, until the last forty seconds of the song.
Fiona started pounding on the wheel of her car, singing along with so much passion, and damn, the girl could really sing. She even had a growl to her voice. She was amazing.
We sat in silence after the song finished.
“Okay, wow. Thatwashype,” I said, feeling kinda shocked. “Glad I didn’t change it.”
“Right! It’s called ‘Silver Springs’, it’s my favorite of all time,” she said excitedly. “I knew I liked you, Tyler,” she said confidently.
I swallowed. Wow. Those words made me feel seen. Special. It was rare, and it was nice. Because I was never viewed that way. It was hard to grow up watching everyone around me have someone special to love the shit out of them, but no one for me. Like Duke and his girl, Claire– the two of them battled it out every fucking day, vying for each other’s attention. Claire didn’t even see anyone else in a room when Duke walked in, and the same was true vice versa. On top of that, I had a front row seat to Casey and Addie’s epic love story… But no one ever loved me like that.
“I like you too,” I said quickly back, wondering if maybe she was my person.
“No.” She looked demure now as she shook her head. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said, patting my thigh.
My eyebrows drew down in confusion. Had I said something wrong? “What do you mean? Like what?”
She held my gaze for a beat, and it’s like she could see straight down to my soul. “Like you’re gonna fall for me.”
The car was suddenly way too quiet. I needed the next song to start. “Why? Is… Is that a bad thing?”
“Yes,” she said simply. “Because I’ve already fallen.”
“What?” Now I was even more confused. I knew she was way smarter than me, but what did that mean?
“I was perfect until he said he loved me,” she muttered more to herself than me.
“Don’t say that. You’re perfect now,” I pushed.
She gave me a half smile. “No. My heart isn’t whole anymore. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same. A guy can really wreck a girl, ya know?” Her lips twisted and her eyes started to get a bit glassy.
Shit. I shouldn’t have stepped into that territory with her. “Hey, it’s okay.” I said, awkwardly reaching my hand out but not quite sure if I was allowed to touch her.
A tear dripped down her pretty face and she quickly swiped it away. “Ohmygod. Ugh,” she grunted, then flipped down her cracked car mirror and looked at herself crying.
“Why… Why are you doing that?”
She sighed and pushed her dyed hair behind her ears, a gesture that made her look younger and reminded me of her elementary school self. “Because it’s comforting. I can share my tears and feelings with myself. That way I don’t need anyone else.”
I swallowed hard. “But you can share with me.” Building up some courage, I gently reached out and smoothed a tear away, and my finger came away with a layer of makeup. My eyes darted back to see that I’d revealed dark yellowish skin– a color I knew well from hockey; a color that came after a bad bruise started to heal. My entire body froze.
“Fi, what the fuck?” My heart pounded. I touched her gently as I inspected the bruise at the side of her eye. “How did that happen?”
She swatted my hands away. “Don’t look so freaked. I obviously left the situation,” she said, rolling her teary eyes. “That’s why I’m so heartbroken right now, duh.”
My heart pounded with adrenaline I had no clue what to even do with. “You’re sure you’re okay? You can tell me. Me and my brother, we’ll fix it for you, I promise.” I said it with as much conviction as I could, because I really did mean that. I’d throw someone’s ass down for her. I didn’t know much about her these days, but I knew she was a good person, and anyone willing to hurt her deserved a beat down.
“Fix it?” she asked dubiously.
“Yes. I’m serious.”
“I was right about you,” she said, patting my thigh again.
