Page 35 of Breaking Rules
I lifted a shoulder. “We’ll see. My mom’s marketing job will dictate what happens next. But I do plan on graduating.” Unless I didn’t make the grades or got expelled for some reason. I made a mental note to see the guidance counselor next week. My mom had been on me to see if the school could recommend a good tutor. I needed help with Algebra II, and I might need help in computer class if Train and I didn’t come to some form of platonic friendship, if that was even possible. The pull he had on me was powerful, and maybe he was right that I would cave and jump his bones.
Elvira and I settled on a bench that overlooked the rippling water. “Are you going to college?” I asked.
“Absolutely. I want to be a doctor. I’ve applied to Duke University and other schools. But Duke is my top choice. I have the grades, and my dad went to Duke. But I’ll be home during the summers.”
“A doctor. Wow, girl. That’s awesome. I want to be an artist.”
“Hence why you like graffiti,” she said.
Oh my God. I hadn’t thought about tagging since the first day of school. Then again, my mom hadn’t given me a reason to, and no one had hurt me enough for me to lash out. But graffiti wasn’t about lashing out. I could succumb to peer pressure if my friends were into it. “Art isn’t just about graffiti, but the cool paints and the large murals make graffiti fun. So I noticed on the beach that first day that you and Lou looked chummy. Do you like him?”
The water rippled in the distance as a small boat floated by.
“He’s cute,” she said. “And he is the sweetest boy I know.”
I didn’t know him well, but he had saved me from being crushed by his massive body. “Do you think Train still likes Nina?” I couldn’t read Train well. One minute, he was growling at me, then he was nice, then he was coming on to me. Case in point: I firmly believed he’d cocooned me up against my bannister because he knew about my mom. Over the last two days, I’d wanted to ask him again what he knew, but I decided that the more I pushed him to answer, the more he would use my fear of him knowing about my mom to his advantage.
“You like him, don’t you?”
“He gets on my nerves.”
She bumped my shoulder with hers. “That means you like him.”
A couple with a large-lens camera strolled by, the middle-aged lady pointing to something out over the water.
“Physically, he’s got the looks down. He oozes sexiness. But emotionally, I don’t know. His ex is back. That scares me. I’m protecting my own heart, anyway. The last breakup I had ruined me. Since then, I’ve been a little shy of anything steady.”
She patted my leg. “So sorry, girl. You two might be right for each other after all. You can heal together.”
I giggled. “Are you a psychiatrist?”
“Not yet,” she said. “Anyway, Train is a little rough around the edges right now. He assumed he wouldn’t be seeing Nina this year. Yet she’s back at school. And she’s a troublemaker. Last year, she had the nerve to show up at a party with the guy she was cheating on Train with. Train went haywire, beating the guy into the ER. Then Train was thrown into the back of a police cruiser.”
“Yikes.” I might’ve done the same if I’d found out Nikko had been cheating on me. I couldn’t say for sure if he had. Nevertheless, the reason we had broken up was because he’d wanted to date other girls.
“Exactly. And if she’s touting that her and Train are getting back together, then she’s got something up her sleeve.”
“Hence why I’m staying away. Not only because Nina is trouble, but what if he took Nina back?”
“He wouldn’t. I’ve known Train a long time, and once you break his trust, you’re history.”
Maybe he was rough around the edges with me because he too was afraid of what could happen between us. But I wasn’t a cheater.He doesn’t know that.
“Give Train some time,” she said. “We should go. It’s getting late.”
I fiddled around in my bag for my keys as I got up.
Elvira rose gracefully, smoothing her hands down her tan shorts before hiking her bag over her shoulder. “Since we’re talking about Train, I want to be honest with you.”
My stomach twisted at the curtness in her tone.
Her pretty features hardened. “I like you a lot. And Train is one of my dear friends. Don’t toy with his head. If you want Train to notice you in a good way, then don’t pull crap like Nina would. That display on the football field wasn’t a way to get a guy to like you.”
Whoa!I wasn’t sure how to respond, although I didn’t disagree with her. But my ego and my anger had gotten the best of me. Nevertheless, hearing her words kind of stung. “I get how you protect your friends. I’m not here to cause trouble. And I kind of suck at making friends.”
“I get that. You’re cautious.”
She had me pegged. I half-smiled, but I was throwing up inside. Normally, others didn’t see the true me, except my mom, and it felt weird.
