Diamond
Ithought I was prepared to go back to school.
I’ve walked these halls many times before, so why does this feel like a first? Why does this feel so different? My lungs squeeze the air out of my body as I push through the crowd with Aveena. Thank God for breaks. I might need a minute to recover from first period.
I seriously considered turning around and driving back home when I stepped into English lit this morning.
There he was.
Sitting at the back of the class, Theo, Axel, and a few of his basketball buddies huddled up around his desk like groupies. I didn’t have the strength to look at his reaction when I came in. Mostly because my heart couldn’t have handled it if he’d had none. Nearly all desks were taken, leaving just two seats in the back right next to the guys.
Some might call it fate. I call it a sick prank from the universe.
Aveena, being painfully clueless as to what happened this summer, didn’t think twice, leading the way toward Finn and his fan club. I know I should’ve told her, but a part of me fears her judgment. Not because I’m afraid she would think less of me, but because I do.
Ithink less of me.
I can’t imagine how that conversation would go. Hey, Vee, remember the asshole basketball player I said I wouldn’t touch with a five-foot pole? Well, I let him screw me on the library floor. Oh, and I gave him all of my firsts.
Not exactly a flattering story.
I spent the whole class feeling this weight on my shoulders. Like someone was staring at me. I wanted it to be Finn. But I eventually convinced myself it was all in my head.
Why would he be looking at me now? He chose to let me go. Didn’t try to contact me for five days after I woke up naked in his bed—granted, I blocked his number, but if he really wanted to, he would’ve found a way.
His excuse would have to be airtight for me to even consider forgiving him. As far as I’m concerned, the guy better have been bleeding out in the hospital.
“You want to tell me what that was about?” Aveena’s voice lures me back to reality.
“What do you mean?” I arch an eyebrow, edging my way to the locker we share. We’ve shared a locker since freshman year.
“I get that Mrs. Callahan is evil incarnate and all, but you bolted out of there.” She cracks a nervous laugh to conceal her worry. “And that note…”
If she wasn’t sure something was going on before, she definitely is now.
She must’ve seen Theo, who was sitting behind me, tap my shoulder halfway through the homework assignment. I didn’t even turn around, but I heard him whisper, “From Finn.” Believe me when I say I’ve never been so scared of a piece of paper.
I reached over my shoulder and grabbed the crumpled note.
Finn’s familiar handwriting felt like a punch to the stomach.
Talk during break?
I don’t know what he has to say to me.
Probably “thanks for the sex, let’s pretend it never happened,” but I’m not ready to face him. So, when class ended, I leapt off my chair and practically raced to the door.
I caught feelings. No matter how much I wish I didn’t, and I’d rather never talk to him again than have him look me in the eyes and tell me the past two months meant nothing.
I glance at her. “It was just a stupid note. Didn’t mean anything.”
I’m aware I owe her an explanation, but Easton High’s crowded hallway isn’t the place to tell her about my summer fling with the school’s delinquent.
“Really?” Aveena slows down, eyes glued to something in the distance. “Then why is Finn Richards leaning against our locker?”
I flick my head to see Finn waiting for me, shoulder braced against the metal, his tousled brown hair a mess and his gorgeous hazel eyes stuck on me. He seems tense, holding pressure in his shoulders.
I only realize my mouth is open when Aveena nudges my jaw shut. “My house, tonight. I want to know everything.”