Page 91 of The Devastation You Reap
“Why?”
She shrugs. “No idea. It’s just the way he is. But when he spoke about you the other night, I saw something different in him. He seemed… happy. Relaxed. At peace. I didn’t realize just how bad he was before I saw that shift.”
“I did that?”
“I believe so, yeah.”
“Wow,” I breathe, not really knowing how to deal with all this.
“He’s going to fuck this up, Macie. I mean, he already is if the look on your face when you saw me instead of him in the hall is anything to go by. He’s going to need you to let him do this at his own pace.”
“I get that. It’s just so weird going from one-hundred miles an hour to nothing all of a sudden. I can’t help wondering if I did something wrong. I don’t exactly have experience with guys, and Leon… Well… we all know his reputation.”
“He’s got some shit going on with family right now. He—“
“His new brother?”
She smiles again. “He told you that?”
“Yeah. He told me they were all going for breakfast yesterday morning. That’s why I wasn’t too concerned when I woke up and he was gone. But it’s been radio silent since then.”
“Have you reached out to him?” She quirks a brow at me.
“Err…”
“Maybe you should message him. He might be sitting at home thinking that he’s done something wrong,” she suggests.
“Yeah, maybe,” I whisper, wondering if me and all my insecurities will be the thing to screw this up, not Leon.
I’m still lost in my own thoughts when she asks me the dreaded question.
“So… Tell me about you. Leon was pretty tight-lipped.”
“Oh, not much to tell really. I went to an all-girls school in Tallahassee then I came here. My mom studied here and I wanted to follow in her footsteps.”
“Fair enough. I’m from Harrow Creek originally but I moved to Rosewood where Leon and Luca lived and Luca and I became close friends. Leon kinda got stuck with me because of that,” she jokes.
“Harrow Creek?” I ask, thinking the name of the place sounds familiar.
“Yeah, you’ve probably heard it mentioned on the news. The place is the pits of hell.”
“Oh. So you were lucky to get out then?”
“You have no idea. Sounds like our previous lives couldn't be more different if you were at a prep school. We were just lucky no one burned down our school,” she deadpans.
“It wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.”
“Oh, I’m sure places like that have their own issues.”
I think of the girls, the drugs that were snuck in and all the things rumored to have gone on inside the expensive walls.
“So what classes are you taking this semester?”
We fall into easy conversation about school and other nonsense and I realize that my first impressions earlier were right, she really is my kind of person.
“Can I ask you something?” I ask when our previous conversation trails off.
“Sure. Hit me with it.”
