Silence swallows us whole.
“I never apologized.” Xavier fills the void.
“For what?” I nestle my knees to my chest.
“Being a dick to you that first time at Theo’s.”
His admission of regret takes me back to the start. This seems like a million years ago. Dia had invited me to hang out at Theo’s, and I’d gotten there to find the lot of them in the pool. This was also the first time Xav and I had spoken since he’d stolen my first kiss at the park ten years prior.
He was such a scumbag to me that day. I remember Finn promising it wasn’t personal and Xav was just going through a rough patch. Now I know there’s a very good chance he’d just found out about his mom sleeping with his friend, hence his raining hell down on anybody within a five-mile radius.
And can you blame him?
“It’s fine,” I assure him.
“It’s not fucking fine, Vee.” Remorseful eyes lift to mine. “I was horrible to you. You didn’t deserve that shit.”
“I’m sure you had your reasons.”
He stifles a deep, irritated scoff. “Can you stop being so damn understanding for one second and just accept my apology?”
I chuckle quietly.
“Fine. Apology accepted. Happy now?”
“Ecstatic,” he says with a small grin.
There’s a beat of silence.
“Dig the new hair, by the way.” He lightly pokes me with his elbow. “Pink looks good on you, Harper.”
“Thanks, dork.”
It’s like a switch.
From the second the words trickle out of my mouth, Xavier pulls back, his smile slipping away. He stares at me as though I just slapped him across the face with a pan, the shock in his eyes indecipherable.
“What did you just call me?” he asks.
Realization crushes me like a pile of bricks.
I just called him a dork, didn’t I?
“Did you just call me a dork?” he urges when I don’t reply.
No, it can’t be.
It’s just one stupid nickname.
He can’t be thinking what I’m thinking.
He’s about to speak again when my loud ringtone slashes through the air. Saved by the phone, I check the caller ID in a haste. Mom.
“I’m sorry, I-I have to take this,” I babble, pushing to my feet and distancing myself from him before I guide the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“What the hell did you do to your sister?” Mom screeches as soon as I pick up.
“Hi, Mother. I’m great, thanks for asking. How are you?”