Page 34 of The Boy I Loved
Was it too late to switch classes?
Blowing out a breath, I wrenched open the door. Silenceenveloped me as soon as I crossed the threshold, but I refused to meet anyone’s eye.
My head was spinning with a multitude of thoughts—none of them favorable. Lowering myself into the seat beside Rodney, I released a loaded breath.
To my relief, everyone went right back to talking, and I heard Stacy’s name mentioned a few times. People were throwing out conspiracy theories, trying to guess what happened to her, while others were either making a mockery of it, or sobbing.
Mr. Cullen remained at his desk; his attention focused on an assortment of papers sprawled out before him. He didn’t seem to mind the loud chatter filling the room, unlike my last teacher.
“Hey.” Rodney grinned, revealing a set of pretty, white teeth. “Have you?—”
“It’s all over the school,” I stated, already knowing exactly what he was about to ask.
Rodney was a pretty boy—the kind popular girls would typically pine after. For some reason, our school had more of a thing forbadboys. But I could see Rodney being a good match if given a chance. I just wasn’t sure if I could let go of my feelings for Dominic to make that happen.
“Yeah.” He frowned, casting a glance around the classroom. “People seem really torn up over it.”
I nodded my agreement. “It’s a scary situation.”
A moment later, Rodney cleared his throat. “I-I was wondering…” he began with a nervous tilt to his words.
Oh no. Please don’t ask what I think you’re going to ask.
I wasn’t sure I could handle that on top of everything else. My stomach twisted uncomfortably as a multitude of thoughts clouded my mind. For the last two years, Dominic had been the only one I wanted—the only one I could see myself wanting. But when he came back …
My teeth sank into my lower lip. I didn’t want to rehash all ofthat all over again. Especially not right after he called me desperate. His words had hurt more than I wanted to admit—probably because they came fromhimof all people.
Tory’s words trickled through my brain. She’d encouraged me to move on, to show him that I didn’t need him and that Icouldmove on. Maybe she was onto something. I didn’t want to fully admit that before, not when my heart was still so set on him, and it still was to an extent. But I also didn’t want to look pathetic, pining after a guy who made it abundantly clear he didn’t want me.
“—Hazel?” Rodney’s voice tugged me out of my thoughts, my gaze connecting with his. “Did you hear me?”
My skin warmed with embarrassment. “Oh…” I trailed off. “No. My mind has been a little all over the place today.”
His lips twitched in amusement. “Fuck,” he muttered. “You’re really going to make me ask again, aren’t you?” There was a nervous edge to his tone, and I couldn’t help but find it a little endearing.
I was the last person he needed to be nervous around, but it was nice that he seemed interested enough to react in such a way. It wasn’t something I was used to.
“Sorry.” I forced a small smile. “The whole thing with Stacy is?—”
“Insane, right?” he rushed to add, taking the opportunity to change the subject. “I just saw her a couple of weeks ago at the grocery store. She seemed normal then.”
I didn’t even want to think about the last time I’d seen her. She was at Dom’s welcome-home party. Dominic and his friends had been all over her. It didn’t matter that they had friends and family there. The thought had the nausea churning in my gut more prominently than before. He’d never seemed that interested in her before, so why all of a sudden?
“Yeah,” I agreed, attempting to keep my tone neutral despite the warring emotions pummeling through me.
The chatter amplified around us, but our teacher still made no move to quiet anyone down. He seemed to be in a world of his own, not even noticing us around him.
“I was wondering if you wanted to go out Friday night,” Rodney forced out, drawing my attention back to him. “There’s a party after school. I was thinking we could go there. Tory’s coming.”
I wasn’t much of a ‘party’ person, but it could be nice to let loose. Especially with everything happening lately. It was also in a public area, so that offered me a little bit of comfort.
“Sure,” I agreed. “That sounds nice. Just text me the details.”
Exhaustion weighed heavily on me,pushing my shoulders down as I slumped toward the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but it had to be the middle of the night by now. My body was tired, but my mind was wide awake.
Used to, when I got like this, I’d go for a run to clear my head. We lived in a small, quiet town where nothing bad ever happened. Except for Stacy’s sudden disappearance. But there hadn’t been any updates about her on the news, and as of right now, the police didn’t suspect foul play.
Crossing the kitchen, I wrenched open one of the cupboard doors and grabbed the box of protein bars resting on the lower shelf. I snatched one from the container before returning it to the cabinet. My dad was obsessed with these, but I never understood the appeal. Sure, they were convenient when you needed something quick and filling, but that was it. They didn’t taste the greatest.
