Page 19 of Roman and the Hopeless Romantic
* * *
He didn’t seeJesse until lunch where he sat with Charlotte and Hadley. Both girls laughed when he walked up as if they’d been talking about him.
As he listened to their chatter, he flipped through his phone settling on a phone number he hadn’t texted in two years. Was it even still the same?
Only one way to find out.
Roman: I wish others guarded their words as much as you.
He hit send before thinking about it. It was the wrong thing to say, he knew that. She wasn’t shy or just quiet. She’d been through a trauma, and this was how she dealt with it. Still, he was starting to appreciate how sweet and rare the sound of Cassie’s voice was. The night before, he could have listened to her read Harry Potter for hours.
Three dots appeared, telling him someone was typing. He only hoped it was still her number. They disappeared before showing up again.
He watched his phone, ignoring everything else happening around him.
“Rome.” Jesse kicked him under the table. “We’re going to practice today, yeah?” He said it like they were a packaged deal. Roman had skipped every practice this week.
“My dad will have a fit if you aren’t there.” Charlotte’s dad was their coach. Most people thought that gave her an advantage, but instead it meant she had to fight harder to even be on the team.
Roman stared back at his phone.
“Rome,” Jesse snapped. “What’s so interesting?” He reached for his phone, but Roman shoved it into his pocket and stood. “Yeah, I’ll be at practice.” He carried his tray to the trashcan and dumped it before booking it from the lunchroom, ignoring the classmates trying to get his attention.
He got to his next class early and couldn’t bring himself to look at his phone. It sat like a weight in his pocket for the entire afternoon. After the final bell, he didn’t even bother going to his locker before heading to the student parking lot.
Once he reached the rink, he sat in his car, staring at the dark screen of his phone. Gathering the courage, he tapped the screen and held it eye-level so the retina scan unlocked it.
A single text sat in his inbox.
Cassie: My words aren’t guarded, Roman, they’re gone.
Gone. On some level, he’d known that. She wasn’t holding them back, choosing not to use them. Something inside her wouldn’t let her interact with the world, not anymore. And the thought made him angry. Not sad, he was pissed off.
Because the girl he’d known couldn’t have been kept in a cage. She’d always wanted to be free.
Was she really gone? Or just waiting to come back to them?
Roman: Not gone, Cass. Never gone.
She didn’t respond.
* * *
“I swear,Coach had it in for me today.” Roman pushed open the front door.
Charlotte laughed. “Maybe because you’ve been skipping practice.”
“It should only matter how I play in the game tomorrow night.”
Jesse shook his head. “No, it should matter how dedicated you are to the team.”
“Hey!” He dropped his bag near the stairs. “I’m the king of dedication.”
“More like the king of obfuscation.” Charlotte stuck out her tongue.
“Ooo someone remembers her SAT words.” Roman ruffled her hair, and she pushed him away. “But seriously, what does it mean?”
Her lips tipped up into a smile.
