Page 36 of Fervency Love

“Did he make you come here? Apologize?” I hiss, furious. What would the point be, though? Ralph says nothing. He’s disoriented. I go on, ignoring his expression: “Apology accepted. Now scram.” I slam the door in his face, releasing my emotions.

What was that supposed to be? Is Ve going to make all my exes apologize for stuff? I don’t get it. I need to calm down a bit, so I take a walk. I meet Stanley.

“What’s up, babe?” he asks.

“I’m so pissed! Do you know why Ralph came over today?” I ask. The two were classmates, after all.

“Not the faintest idea. I haven’t seen the guy for two years.”

We stop by a low wall. I take a seat. Stan stands in front of me and talks about his new girlfriend. They met when he went back to his hometown. Suddenly, he pins me with a stare.

“Connor’s coming,” he warns.

Coming but not stopping by me? What’s wrong? I turn his way. He must have seen us.

“Hey, Ve,” Stan calls out and waves for him to join us. Ve raises a hand but doesn’t stop or turn our way.

My stomach cramps. I jump to my feet, aghast. I don’t know what to think. What’s his problem? A couple of hours ago he was in my bed, hugging me. Did something happen? Thousands of question marks spin over my head.

“Ve!” I cry. “What’s wrong?”

I jog his way, but he doesn’t want to talk.

“How’s your ex?” he asks with a grimace.

Jesus, I can’t believe this is happening. First, he sends him to me, and then he’s pissed that I saw him? What is this game he’s playing? I’m immediately exhausted.

“What are you playing at, Connor? You sent him to me yourself, so what’s your deal? What did you want to achieve?”

As soon as I finish speaking, I sense this is about something more. I even have a startling idea that he did it because he’s afraid there’s something between me and Ralph. Only why would he think that? I told him about my ex because he asked, but I let him know it’s all in the past. That was when I was still a kid. I sense he needs confirmation so that he can feel safe. This isjust his defensive mechanism. That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like what he did.

“I’m not playing,” he says with a growl.

“Will you come by later?” I ask to reduce the tension between us.

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe we can go to the bar? You owe me something,” I offer with a smile, trying my best to overcome his dark mood.

“Can’t say if I’ll be in the mood.”

“Okay, I get it.” Or, at least I’m trying.

“If you want it so much, go yourself!” he calls angrily. Now I’m annoyed too.

I’m not going to babysit him! He’s not a toddler anymore. I spin on my heel and stomp away, returning to Stan.

“Wait!” he calls.

“What do you want me to wait for? I’m not waiting for you if that’s how you’re going to treat me.”

“I’m sorry. Stay, please.”

“Care to tell me what this is all about?”

He doesn’t respond. Instead, he wraps his arms around me and hugs me tightly. I don’t comment, though I’d like for him to tell me why he acted like that. I don’t want to argue, though, and the state he’s in could lead to that, whatever I told him. Spats like that unbalance me. I don’t like feeling this way, so I let it go. For now.

Together, we walk over to Stan, who’s been observing us the whole time.

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