Jessie's mouth popped open in the shape of a big O. “Faith, whatever I tell you is not going to change your mind, but you need to forgive yourself for staying with Jason. Give him his share of the blame you're carrying. You don’t need to carry all of it by yourself. In fact, let it go completely. It's slowly eating at you. You're strong, and I don’t ever want to hear you call yourself weak again. We’ve both been through things that have shaped the way we live our lives. Who we let in. How we deal with things. I'm making mistakes based on my past, and you are too, but that’s okay. We're human. Hot humans, but humans nonetheless.”
Laughter bubbled up from me, making room for the acidic burn expanding in my stomach. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder, grasping at the bottle of Tums through the material. The simple act of holding them gave me relief. All I needed to do was get to my car so the soothing medicine could work its magic.
“Jessie, I love you, but I have to go. I don’t want to be late.”
Her mouth tightened as if she were holding back more words. One of her legendary lectures whizzed around inside her head ready to spill out. With visible effort, she reined it in and allowed me to walk out. “Do you want to get coffee before work on Wednesday?”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I really have to go so I won’t be late.” I ran downstairs and straight to my car. The boys were playing in the garage, their music floating out from under the door in a perfect melody. I took this as a sign they may have worked out their differences. I refused to come between them.
Class moved by in a blur, but annoyance tightened my lips when I noticed Trent, leaning on my car. My sunglasses were, once again, my saving grace. They covered up the thoughts exuding out of my eyes, keeping Trent in the dark. He smiled brightly as he watched me approach.
“Hey, Trent. How are you?” I asked, weariness evident in my voice.
He tilted his head to study me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I'm just tired. So, where's today’s note?” I grouched, wanting to get back to Kill. It had been hours since I’d seen him, and my skin felt itchy being away from him.
“No note today.”
My eyebrow arched over my glasses, revealing my suspicion. “I thought we were past the hiding letters from poor little Faith.” Anger heated my voice.
“Whoa. I promise there wasn’t a letter today. I told you I wasn’t going to hide them from you anymore. What’s going on? Do you want to go get something to eat and talk about it?”
I shook my head before he finished his sentence. My phone vibrated in my bag, and I pulled it out, grateful for the distraction.
Hey, Slick. Where are you?
I miss your sexy lips, and I
still need to pay you back
for your stunt this morning.
A smile broke through my irritation, intensifying my need to get back to Kill. “Sorry, Trent, not today. I didn't mean to yell at you. I just have a lot going on.”
He leaned on my car, blocking my door. “What’s going on, Faith? You can tell me.” He crossed his arms over his chest, his stance implying he wasn't going to move until I’d answered him. The show of dominance made me furious.
“I decided to give Kill a chance.” My insides cringed. The words felt thick coming out. It wasn't my intention, but I sounded mean and petty.
His face turned to stone, jaw clenching while his eyes narrowed. For a second, I was actually scared of him. He pushed off my car and started toward me, his steps clipped by tension. “I'm disappointed in you, Faith. I thought you were smarter than that. I'll be here for you when he fucks up and you need someone. But I'm not going to pretend like it doesn’t piss me the fuck off.”
He stormed off before I could respond. My mouth hung open at the pure malice radiating off him.
My phone vibrated again, bringing me out of my stupor.
Slick?
I texted back:
You started it.
Be home in ten.
In my car, I tried to forget about my encounter with Trent. I refused to dwell on it.
The house was quiet when I got home.
“Hello?” No response.