Page 80 of Sinful as They Come
I turned to my side to see Brodie staring at me curiously.
“You’ve been looking at the same tree for five minutes now.” Brodie smiled.
“Oh. Shit. Sorry. Yeah, let’s go.”
Exiting the car, I wondered for a second if I should have been looking over my shoulder. Was Carter gonna try and get revenge? Did I have to worry about him and his stupid football goons ganging up on me? Only time would tell. But if that asshole wanted to fight, then I was more than capable of bringing him some more pain.
Pulling out my precious box of cigarettes from my pocket, I told Brodie that I would meet him inside. I needed a smoke. My two days off weren’t enough, especially when I had to work on both Saturday and Sunday. Bothdays had been spent with my mind stuck on Holly. I hated how much I was thinking about her. I actually feltsorryfor her. That look on her face… Fuck, I couldn’t forget it.
I ducked behind a few corners for some privacy. My usual wall was busy during the mornings, but the garden that a few students had been working on over the year was a good place to smoke too. It was private, the tall plants offering up a green wall that kept me and my smokes away from nagging teachers.
And just as I placed the thin, white stick between my lips, I saw her. Holly. She sat there on the bench in front of some tall, purple flowers. I had no idea what they were called, but the softness of them reminded me of Holly. Turning around was the best option. Hell, it should have been the only option.
But Holly looked devastated. She sat there on the bench, a little hunched over with her chin in her hands. Her doe eyes looked even bigger than they normally did. Even from where I was standing, I could see how wet they were. She was crying.
“You want a smoke?” I asked lowly, already knowing what her answer would be.
My words startled her. She jumped in her spot a little, giving me a wide-eyed look. When she saw it was me, though, she seemed to settle down.
“Will it make me feel better?” she answered, her voice barely a whisper.
“Maybe for a few minutes.” I joined her on the surprisingly comfortable bench. The air was nice and cold, a cool breeze in the morning air. We were far enough away from the main building that we couldn’t hear any annoying voices. It was just me and Holly and her little sniffles that she wasn’t afraid to show in front of me.
“Oh,” was all she said.
I kept my mouth shut after that. Maybe it was a mistake sitting down next to her. We weren’t friends. But she was being so quiet. I wondered what was going on in her head. Her brain shouldn’t have intrigued me as much as it did.
“You were right.” She broke the few minutes of silence.
I looked at her and frowned. “About?”
“Carter.”
“Oh.” I copied her word from earlier. “… Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“Fuck.”
“Feel free to say something else. Like… I told you so.”
“I told you so.”
“You feel better?”
“No.”
She was quiet once again and I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. I didn’t want to see the hurt look on her face. But I was beyond relieved that she finally knew. Didn’t she know she could do better than Carter? If I was her I would have been ecstatic that I no longer had to be with Carter Henderson.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me until Friday night?” she asked with a choked sob. “And why was it you of all people telling me?”
Rubbing at the back of my neck, I made sure to keep my eyes straight ahead, focusing on some sunflowers. I didn’t want to see Holly crying and pouring her heart out.
“I don’t know,” I told her quietly. “I guess… I guess some people aren’t good with telling others the truth.”
“How long have you known?”
“I don’t know…” I said again, but I didn’t sound convincing in the slightest.
