On the way over, I saw Trey walking toward me from the other end of the block. Before I could cross the street to avoid him, he raised a hand and called out. What now? I thought as he came closer, stopping when he reached me.
“Hey, Brooke.”
“Hey, Trey. How’s your knee?”
“Better. You going to see Austin?”
I nodded.
“Hey ya know, I just wanted to apologize for how I acted at that mall that day. I was a total ass. I was just embarrassed I guess. I need to relax sometimes.”
This was a change. “It’s not a big deal, we all have our moments.”
“Cool. I’m on my way to class, but Austin’s hanging out with Teddy and Brian. I’ll see you later maybe.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
After a wave, I continued on my way, before walking up to the porch, I stopped on the sidewalk and looked in the living room window. The only thing I saw was the flickering of a television screen.
I would just go back home and tell Jocelyn he denied it. She could take care of her own problems. I didn’t need all this craziness, especially after my midterm grades.
No matter how hard I tried to justify walking away and saying goodbye to Austin once and for all, I was not able to resist his magnetic pull.
He had power over me, a fact that excited and terrified me at the same time. Previous to meeting him, I’d had the next six years of my life planned out.
Now, I wasn’t sure where I stood one day to the next. He had given me plenty of wonderful moments, but not everything had been a walk in the park. I had to know the truth, decide once and for all what we were doing.
I sighed then stepped toward the porch. The door opened before I reached it. Austin walked out laughing with his two other roommates behind him.
“Hey, Austin.”
He stopped laughing and turned his attention to me. Those brown eyes so deep and dark stared at me as I stood there feeling awkward as hell.
“Hey, Brooke. What’s up?”
“We need to talk,” I said.
He frowned.
“What now?”
Oh boy. Here we go…
TWENTY-SIX
Austin
When I saw her standing at the bottom of the steps, something inside me said it wasn’t going to be good. She shuffled from one foot to the other.
“Can I come in? It’s getting chilly.”
“We were on our way to Marticello's, but sure…”
“It’s important,” I said. “At least I think it is. I’m not sure anymore.”
“Go ahead fellas, I’ll catch up with you.”
“We’ll wait inside, take your time,” Teddy said.