Diamond
This is bad.
Really bad.
Did I say bad? I meant horrible.
To think that barely five minutes ago, I was considering hearing him out. Five minutes ago, I was willing to listen to him, but now that we’re alone together? I want nothing more than to put a million miles between us.
It’s one thing to talk to your ex by choice. It’s another to be trapped in a closet with him while your school is crawling with cops. I assess the barely lit closet that is now my cage. Cleaning products are stacked on steel shelves, a handful of brooms and mops dumped into a large bucket in the corner.
I can hear the sheriff’s deputies bolting down the hall, their footsteps partnered with voices and radio static. Finn’s palm might quiet my breathing, but it’s not enough to quiet the nagging voice in my head. If we get caught, I can forget about earning back my dads’ trust. I don’t even want to think of what they would do if they knew I’d snuck out through my window to come here.
We wait over five minutes for the voices to die down, and I keep my eyes closed the entire time. I don’t have it in me to look at Finn. To stare into his stunning hazel eyes and remember the good parts of loving him. I need to hold on to the bad parts.
The ugly, the heartbreaking, the devastating parts.
It’s the only way my heart will make it through the night.
“I think they’re gone,” Finn says under his breath, withdrawing his hand from my mouth, and I open my eyes.
That’s my cue to run.
“Great. See you.” I’ve barely taken a step toward the door before Finn’s hand closes around my wrist.
“Are you out of your mind? You can’t leave.” Finn yanks me back to his chest in one move, and our bodies collide with a thud. I swallow a gasp at the proximity, his warmth making me want to lose myself in his arms.
God, I miss his hugs.
He gives the best hugs.
Okay, I need to get out of here.
The chemicals are clearly getting to my brain.
“You said it yourself. They’re gone.” I retreat to my initial spot.
“So? Just because this hallway is clear doesn’t mean they’re not right around the fucking corner.”
I shrug. “I’ll take that risk.”
He steps into my way before I can reach the door.
“Fucking hell, Dia, are you that desperate to avoid me that you’d risk getting caught by the cops?”
“Yes!” I whisper-shout.
His mouth dips open, as though he didn’t expect my brutal honesty. I take advantage of his shock and sneak past him.
Finn scoffs. “You want to get your ass arrested? Fine.Have fun calling your dads from jail.”
I stop dead.
The cheater has a point.
Nothing waiting for me on the other side of that door is fun. Sure, my heart might be in danger if I stay, but my freedom is also at risk if I leave. That and my relationship with my parents. It’s already on shaky ground, and I’m afraid one more lie would cause irreversible damage.
I’m about to cave when Aveena pops into my head. I lost her in the crowd earlier. What if she got caught? I should text her.