Page 42 of Woke Up Like This
“Well, in the end, you’re the one who broke the window,” he notes.
He has a point. But I can’t let him have it. “You’re the one who—who—”
“What? What else are you gonna blame on me now?”
I contemplate rattling off my list, which I have committed to memory for moments like this. But I don’t have the energy.
A couple silent moments pass before he peeks through the greenery again. “I think they’re gone.”
I scramble to follow Renner out of the bush, looking both ways to ensure the police cruiser is gone before trotting back to our car.
We drive in silence for a few minutes before Renner finally clears his throat. “Want me to drop you off somewhere for the night?”
The coldness of his question catches me off guard. “I like how you assume I’ll go somewhere else while you get the house. Besides, where am I gonna go?”
“Your mom’s?”
“No.” I’d contemplated staying with Mom, but from the looks of her texts (Are you sick? Do you need anything? It’s normal to have cold feet! I’m sorry if mention of Dad upset you. Let’s talk!), she’s already worried about me after Ollie’s. The last thing I need is her trying to counsel me out of what she thinks is some sort of quarter-life crisis.
“Nori’s? Kassie’s?”
Mention of Kassie’s name feels like a knife twist to the heart. “Kassie and I aren’t friends anymore,” I say, turning my gaze to the passenger window. Renner is heading toward our house.
“Not shocked.”
“Excuse me?”
He scoffs. “You really have no idea why you wouldn’t be friends with Kassie anymore?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He rolls his eyes. “Never mind.”
“Is it really that big a stretch to think Kassie would be friends with someone like me?”
No response, which somehow angers me even more.
I growl, unfastening my seat belt the moment we pull into the driveway, desperate to get Renner out of my sight. “You’re unbelievable. Can you ever just keep your judgments to yourself?”
He juts his chin out, exiting the car. “That’s rich, coming from you. All you ever do is judge people.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is. And you’ll never admit it. You refuse to listen to anyone else and see things from different points of view.”
I steel my spine as I follow him into the house, slamming the front door behind us. “And you do? You fight me on everything. Every. Single. Thing. You’ve made student council a living hell.”
He pinches his brow. “And you haven’t made it hell for me too? I hoped it could be something we did together, and instead, you’ve made it World War III.”
“Because you don’t deserve to be president!” I bellow, shocking both of us, before stomping into the kitchen. It doesn’t feel right to yell at him, but it’s like the dam has finally burst from four years of pent-up anger toward him. I can’t hold it in, as much as I want to. “You just breeze through life on your personality alone. King of Maplewood High. You even found a job that allows you to never grow up. Some of us don’t get the luxury of playing with condoms all day, Renner!” My voice cracks with regret as soon as it all comes out.
I’m about to utter an apology when he says, “See? You just proved my point. Judgy. Do you even hear yourself?”
Sensing it’s too late to put the genie back in the bottle, I revert to defense mode, my default around Renner. “I’m not in a good headspace. My life just imploded. I’ve involuntarily traveled through time. We’re somehow getting married.”
“I’m in the same situation as you, Char. You’re not the only one stuck in this nightmare. Why would I ever choose to get engaged to you, of all people?” he practically hisses, though the softness of his brow doesn’t match the anger in his voice.
“Believe me, the feeling is mutual.”
