Page 35 of Trouble
10
Lyla
After I’d stormed out of the garage, I didn’t know where to go. I wasfuming.
How dare Maddox say I was bullshit?
I wasn’t sure who I was angrier with at this moment, Maddox or Andre.
How had this happened? Not three days ago, I had plans to get everything I ever wanted: Maddox, a classic car and hopes for the future.
And now, I had nothing.
Not only had I wanted Maddox, I wanted to work on the car with him. Even though my interest had stemmed from my obsession with him, I actually enjoyed browsing the car websites, checking out parts, working out what was a good deal, seeing the before and after restoration pictures. I’d dreamed of the time we’d be able to post the final version of the Midget. It looked like it wasn’t going to be any time soon. If ever.
I didn’t really want to go home for fear of bumping into Andre. After our argument last night, I had nothing to say to him. In fact, he and Maddox were probably as stubborn as each other. There were still a couple of hours to fill before I met Ianthe at CC’s. So I ended up at the diner with a strawberry milkshake and my phone for company.
There were a bunch of high school kids in one of the booths and I watched them enviously. It was all so simple back then. I observed the group, four boys and two girls, laughing and showing each other things of their phones. The blonde girl was trying to sit closer to one of the guys and he tried hard to ignore her, even though it looked as if he were interested. It reminded me of the days when me and Ianthe used to hang out with Maddox, Andre, Wes and Jack after school. I wished with all my heart that the girl wasn’t pining after her brother’s best friend.
I’d be able to give her all the advice on that particular situation.
“Lyla? I thought it was you.” Scarlett Winters, Wes’s girlfriend, tapped me on the shoulder breaking into my thoughts. “What are you doing here on a Monday afternoon?”
I gestured for her to join me. “I could say the same about you.”
Scarlett blushed and averted her eyes as she slid into the booth opposite me, blocking my view of the high school group. “Doctor’s appointment,” she admitted.
“Oh, is everything okay?”
She nodded. “A routine checkup.”
“Hey, ladies, can I get you anything?” Adriana, a waitress I knew Maddox had dated a few times, came over to our table her pen poised to take our order.
I wondered if she knew what had gone on between Maddox and me. Whether she was primed to make a move on him again.Get over yourself, Lyla,I told myself,Don’t be ridiculous.
“Waffles,” said Scarlett.
“What?” Adriana and I spoke at the same time.
She grinned. “Waffles with banana and cream. Oh, and some maple syrup and a decaf skinny cappuccino.”
The irony of her drink wasn’t lost on me.
“You got it.” Adriana looked over at me. “Another milkshake.”
“Yeah, thank you.”
She walked towards the kitchen and I turned my attention back to Scarlett.
“Did you miss lunch or something?”
“Can’t stop craving bananas. And I’m hungryallthe time.”
A doctor’s appointment? Cravings? Was it possible Scarlett was pregnant?
Just as I was about to ask her, she jumped in. “How are you, Lyla? Wes told me what happened with you and Maddox.”
Turning my attention back to my own dramas, I let out a heavy sigh. “I know, crazy isn’t it?”
