Page 100 of Before We're More Than Friends
Still sobbing, I debated whether or not I should block or unfriend him. Were we really over? Would he change his mind and tell me how he felt? He couldn’t run around in circles and not explain it.
Like my dad.
I examined the bracelet Alex had made for me, the colors a little faded, before shoving it into the drawer under my desk.Even when he’d been ignoring me, I’d worn it every single day. But it was time for the bracelet to finally come off.
I’d have to update Dallas about this tomorrow. He knew I deserved better than someone who couldn’t be straightforward with me. Even Alex himself admitted I deserved better.
Wait a minute.
Wait a freaking minute.
A shockwave of terror coursed through my veins. Dallas had been interested in my bracelet from the moment we crashed into each other the night of Saturn Frenzy, which was also the last time Alex had talked to me. Dallas had always been jittery, but I thought it had been part of his personality.
But he still kept staring at that one bracelet.
Because he’d made that freaking bracelet.
Because he and Alex were the same freaking person.
I put my hands in my hair, biting back a scream. Mom and Arielle had been in a good mood today. I didn’t want to ruin their night. But at the same time, I wanted to let loose and scream my lungs out. For almost three weeks, I’d been too blinded by my own problems to see who was in front of me the whole time.
Dallas was Alex.
Dallas Friar was Alex.
Dallas Alexander Friar was my Alex.
It’d been freaking obvious! His family moved for the same reason Alex’s family had. His middle name was Alexander. His sister’s name was Kami. It all explained why he stared at my bracelet like he was trying to dissect it. The way his cheeks flushed and the way he stumbled over his words when he was around me. The way he looked straight into my soul with his warm eyes like he knew me.
He had the whole time.
And he’d never even asked me about it. Not during our talksin Chemistry, not while we did tasks at the shelter, not even in a letter taped to my freaking locker or something. He’d been in front of me the whole time, trying to hide the truth with his shyness and sweet words, and I hadn’t connected the dots.
Until it was way too late.
So what the heck did I do now? Shoot him a message and tell him to stop hiding? Write him a long-winded letter about my discovery and freak him out when he opened his locker? Barge into Chemistry or the shelter tomorrow afternoon and tell him off in front of everyone, exposing the coward he was?
Or did I play his game and act like I had no idea?
Penrose rubbed against my leg as if reminding me that I was above playing games. But if the roles had been reversed, I wouldn’t have dragged it out for this long.
You didn’t do that to people you loved.
But here I was in complete tears.
When Dallas walked into Chemistry with Hayden, looking slightly more anxious than normal but still able to smile at me, I knew I wanted to wait until we were alone to confront him. As hurt as I was, I didn’t want our private situation on display.
Unless other people had known about it and watched me be played like a fool. Gosh, I hoped not. My heart was already bruised enough.
“Afternoon,” Dallas said as he sat beside me.
“Afternoon,” I echoed, trying to keep my voice light.
It didn’t take long for his eyes to make their way to my wrists. He examined them for a few seconds before swallowing.
“I took it off,” I said as I shifted in my seat. The idea of being close to him after all the emotions I’d been through in the past how many hours made my stomach twist.
He didn’t even need me to clarify. “Oh.” He suddenly gained interest in his textbook. “I’m sorry.”
