Chapter 20: CHAPTER 20

The next day Amy was in dampened spirits. The ride to school was silent, with her checking her phone every other minute like she was expecting a reply.

Eventually, she threw the phone toward the dash board, her dissatisfaction so steep she forgot to lock her screen.

Curiosity now piqued, I surreptitiously peaked at the texts while maintaining my body angled toward the window. Based on the color of the text bubbles, Amy might as well have been texting a ghost. The person ignored all of her textswell over five scattered at different timestamps. Only her most recent text was visible, sent early this morning: One last time, please.

Still no response.

Yesterday James was all over her like a remnorseful lover. It's unlikely he was the one ignoring her now. Wanting to rule it out completely, I causally brought him up. "Are you and James doing okay?"

"I broke up with him yesterday" she said softly. Her eyes, though focused on the road, were muted. It was hard to grasp the state of her emotions.

"Does it have anything to do with Jennifer?"

She snorted. "Yesterday he waited for me outside the locker room, making a big deal of apologizing and then getting angry when I told him I didn't care. I don't have time for him anymore."

More like she didn't have use for him anymore. She'd gotten together with James for the wrong reasons, a scheme for drawing Cross in that failed miserably.

While James did entertain her for a time, the sand of the hourglass had reached its end. With his purpose run out, so did her affection. Amy tossed him away as she did with her used boy toys. If there was a male version of Cross, it would be her.

Amy's phone dinged. Like a thirsty wanderer, she hastily grabbed it. Her whole demeanor ebbed with anticipation, angling the phone away from me as she greedily scanned the notification.

"Ugh! This idiot! I'm just going to block him!" Whatever she hoped for, the notification did not deliver.

"Who is it?"

"Who else? James. Matter fact--here." She thrust the phone onto my lap. "Do it before I get another headache."

The glittery wrapped smartphone matched her buttoned top. She woke up early enough to blow-dry her hair to perfection, the waves reminiscent of Victoria Secret models. With a flowery perfume and her nails done, Amy looked every bit the unbothered beauty. She wasn't lying when she said she didn't care about James. Nothing of her screamed heartbroken. Instead, she looked ready to find her next victim.

I lifted her phone and went about blocking James, allowing my eyes to flicker on their texts before navigating to his contact. That boy had it, and very bad. It was the inverse of Amy with the other individual, only James sent her paragraphs. With so much written I only grasped parts of a sentence.

I felt so down when you stopped caring... I made a

mistake with Jennifer.

While I didn't support his actions, I could see how his slip with Jennifer was birthed from a place of low self-esteem than actually wanting her. Jennifer herself had been crudely disregarded by Cross that day. Their shared pain probably drove them together, and with liquid recklessness in their veins they made rash decisions that did not uncover what they were truly seeking: validation.

Empty sex never gave that. Jennifer still asked about Cross the next day, and James spammed Amy with apologies, even when she didn't care and they had an open relationship. All of it was doomed from the start.

I placed Amy's phone in the cupholder and stared out the window. It was hard to grasp. Could you actually have sex with someone while having another person in your heart?

With the boys it was easy-they were playboys, never pretending to be otherwise and very vocal about not wanting a serious relationship. But with James and Jennifer, even Amy..why do intimate things with someone when you truly wanted someone else? I had always associated sex with love.

To do so outside of it felt hollow, painful even. Amy's car rolled into the parking lot. I stepped out and adjusted my mid-thigh dress. It was a beautiful warm beige with white blossoms scattered across the soft fabric. It clung softly to my figure in a way that made me self-conscious, but that was eased by the oversized cardigan that muted my curves.

Thanks to Amy's concealer I entered the crowd comfortably. Not that we made it far. Three steps in and James appeared. He looked haggard, with circles under his eyes and his hair a mess. Amy's nostrils flared. There wasn't an ounce of pity in her expression. I winced at the train wreck ready to unfold in front of me.

Well, time to escape.

I deftly swerved right, my eyes searching for the boys before faltering, Or...maybe the cheerleaders. After yesterday the thought of them was suffocating.

The decision, however, was taken away from me when two large hands settled over my shoulders from behind, they guided me forward with their touch. The smell of pine and wintergreen gum was unmistakable.

I tilted my neck back to face him, my hair pressing against his chest. "Good morning," I greeted.

"I thought you only wanted to hide it from your mom." He blinked calmly, but the way the pad of his thumb traced my neck felt like a threat.

The crowd parted to accommodate his frame. When we reached our usual spot, I pulled away from him and assessed the damage with my compact mirror.

Swirls of purple peaked from the spot closest to my neck. He ruined it again! Cross smiled softly at my vicious glare.

"She's the first person I see in the morning, of course it's still covered," I said. I ducked when he reached for me again.

"Then stop freaking out over me touching it. Why do you care if it shows?"

"Why do you care if I hide it?" I snapped back.

Cross blew his bubblegum, a smooth blue circle as he bent to meet my height. Wearing a white shirt, his eyes looked paler than usual. Unreadable and a little off track, like he's been running circles with something and had yet to reach a conclusion.

I flinched as his face darted forward. I expected the same as yesterday, only this time he used my lips as the surface to burst his gum. It was a fleeting pop, the movement so quick the gum stayed attached to him and our lips an inch apart.

"...I'm not sure," he finally answered.

He drew back. The hand once on my shoulder ran through his hair, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he looked away from me with an air of agitation.

I didn't have much time to think of it as a jovial voice called my name and lifted me off the ground into a hug. I giggled and returned Theodore's affection.

David was right behind him, yawning with a packet in hand containing notes that were clearly not his handwriting.

"You stayed up late playing video games again, didn't you?" I guessed.

David smiled sheepishly. He pretended to hide behind the study sheet. From the contents I could tell the topic was history.

"Who gave that to you?" I asked. Knowing him, it was probably one of the girls crushing on him.

"Kelly," he said simply.

Of course. At this point with all the flirting, she was probably getting invested. Hopefully she was smart enough to not get attached. I'd have to talk to her about that girl-to-girl.

David's gaze flickered across my neck. "Your bruises don't look as covered today."

"Cross messed it up again," I whined.

Theodore gave him a dirty look and David groaned like he was dealing with a toddler.

Cross narrowed his eyes and decided to engage with his phone, giving me the cold shoulder like I was his enemy. "Go cover it then," he clipped.

My jaw dropped. Was that an attitude? I’m the one who should be annoyed, not him! As he blew his gum I smashed it over his lips with my palm.

"I’m not talking to you for the rest of today!" I cried. His body tensed in fury. "Isn't that what you wanted?" He hissed, yanking my cardigan up to my neck. "Go fix it then!"

Theodore shoved him, igniting their usual jostling. David sighed, steering me away from them and nodding toward the school. "Go, I saw your cheer friends head to the bathroom."

I heard Theodore behind me as I walked away. A cutting 'what the hell is wrong with you?' To which Cross grunted, insisting he was fine, but Theodore ignored him and gave hima scalding warning 'you can't have it both ways.'

I forced my gaze forward. Hopefully the boys could knock some sense into him. My fingers absentmindedly rose to my lips, hovering over the exact spot I felt his gum pop. So close.

He's been pushing boundaries recently, even when no one is watching. My body warmed at the thought, an old, buried emotion peeking from the ground of yearnings I'd never dared to water.

You're not my type.

I pull my cardigan tighter, as if the fabric would restrain my heart from wandering sentiments.

Cross didn't like me. At most, this was fleeting interest, destined to fade like sunlight at dusk.

Inside the bathroom I was surprised to find the cheerleaders huddled around Kelly like she was a bride-to-be. Makeup was everywhere-brushes, compacts, powderas they faced her away from the mirror and prepped her face with primer. Rubi was at the forefront, sifting through the pile of products and deciding which would suit Kelly.

"Wow," I breathed. It felt as though I had stepped into a slumber party.

"We're giving Kelly a makeover," Amy said. She held two foundations beside Kelly's cheek to compare shades. "Do you have mascara? That's the only thing we're missing."

I dug through my tote and tossed it to her. "You're going to look great," I told Kelly, offering her a reassuring smile.

The scene reminded me of the makeover day with my mom, only Kelly had a cuter sense of style to start with.

Kelly smiled gratefully, cheeks flushed. It must've been nerve-racking to be the center of attention, but also exhilarating to have so many girls cheering you.

She'd told me before how she tried out for the squad every year with no success. Looking at her now, surrounded by teammates and laughter, she looked like it was a wish come true.

Even Rubi, who'd festered with envy at the party, now tended to Kelly like an older sister. She must've gotten over her petty jealousy.

I turned to tend to the bruises on my neck. This time was easier since Cross only ruined one spot.

I've accidentally touched my neck on occasion and it never smudged, which meant Crosd was very rough when he rubbed it. I glanced back to see how Kelly's makeup was moving along, but the girls circled her so closely it obscured her face. I guess I'd have to wait until health class to see the final look.

Stepping out, I made my way to technology class. Yesterday Mr. Griffin informed us we'd be creating mock-ups for the egg drop challenge, where we'd use tiny wood sticks to create a landing that'd catch an egg dropped four feet.

Even arriving early, Cross managed to beat me. Surprising, considering he usually spent it socializing or flirting. Come to think of it, he'd been coming early all week.

True to my word, I hardened my expression and headed to an empty table, taking my time to gather supplies so I'd be busy from the get-go. Cross observed me silently. Calm, at first, until the twitch in his jaw and the restless bounce of his knee betrayed his unraveling patience.

He hated when I ignored him, but I determined to show him his behavior wasn't okay. Removing every chair but one from my table was what set him off. I heard the chair legs screech against the floor, followed by a heavy tread of footsteps closing in. I refused to look up.

My hands stayed busy spreading popsicle sticks, cotton balls, and hot glue across the table, my own little fortress from his poor behavior.

A grave mistake.

Before I could react, he sat in my chair and pulled me off balance, toppling me across his lap. My thighs draped over his, my side pressed to his chest, our faces suspended only inches apart. His arms caged me in, firm and unyielding, like a prisoner under high watch.

His voice, still husky from the morning, carried a low, restrained edge. "We need to talk."