Chapter Sixteen ~ College Bands-1

Felix winked at me as he waltzed into class on Friday morning. He was late, of course, and flanked by Cole and the girls. He slid into the seat beside me, his hand automatically landing on my knee and squeezing it in greeting. I had to admit, the thought of being greeted by him made me excited to get to class each morning. Beneath the table, Poppy slipped me her phone. On the screen was a Facebook event, a gig tonight for one of the local college bands. I raised my eyebrows as she mouthed come. Of course, I had to go. Penelope had already given me instructions. Not to mention, I didn't exactly want to return to my room tonight, to sit there alone and ignore Sebastian's calls and my mother's pleas for me to contact her. Or, contemplate the idea that Felix and the others might find out about my so-called marriage I never felt whole calling myself a Crawford. Preston, my Grandmother's maiden name, had felt like the best to choose when I left Connecticut, my best chance at a fresh start. But my last name didn't matter, no matter how many times I changed it. My past would never stop burdening me. "Want to ride together tonight?" Felix asked as we followed the others to Beanz. "Sure," I said, sliding into the chair next to Poppy. It was becoming routine now, that we came to Beanz after class, where our free periods aligned. "Ella's coming too," Poppy said. "And Jada, you should totally ask that guy from Chinese class. This is your chance." Jada nearly choked on the mouthful of water she'd just taken from her bottle. "Guy from Chinese class, huh?" Felix asked, cocking a brow. "His name's Arjun, he asked Jada to coffee the other day," Poppy said smugly, taking a menu to hide her gleeful grin as Jada's cheeks heated. "Really," Cole said slowly. "I mean, Felix and Josie are coming together, Ella will be there, and you're busy pining over Penelope. Jada should take him up on it!" Jada was looking like she'd rather do anything but. "Do you actually like him, though, Jada?" I asked. She shot me a grateful look. "He's some frat guy with borderline ego issues." "Oh, come on, he's sweet! He helped me with translations last week and he seemed really into you." "You can't match-make everyone, Pops," Felix said, rolling his eyes. "Oh, but I can try." I found a denim skirt and shirt combo that said I-go-to-gigs-by-undercover-bands but didn't totally expose my unhealthy attraction to corduroy. With a jacket and boots, I felt like myself. I eyed the knitted sweater I'd taken from Felix's that was still folded in the corner. I'd definitely be lying if I said I hadn't worn it a few nights, falling asleep entrapped by his scent and the memories it brought. Of course, I had to go to Penelope's apartment block first. Of all the lies, this was definitely the most inconvenient. Pretending I lived somewhere I didn't was becoming impossible. I'd even considered coming clean a few times, but I knew that telling him the truth about that would mean telling him the truth about Penelope. Even if I didn't, there was a high chance he might put the pieces together. I couldn't risk it. I didn't bother entering her apartment this time, instead sitting on the wall framing the garden, crossing my legs and waiting for Felix to pull up with his loud music and revving engine. My phone buzzed, but when I checked the caller ID it wasn't Felix or Penelope. It was Sebastian. He'd gotten the message that I was ignoring him a few days ago, and I'd reveled in the radio silence. But, taking a deep breath, I decided it might be finally time to tell him I was going to block his number for good. At least with Penelope's blackmail, my bills would be paid. "Hello?" "Thank god. Jeez, Josie." "You have five-seconds." "Fine. I know what Mom and Dad did. I know what happened with Nic." I took a sharp intake of breath. I looked over my shoulder, as if somehow his voice could carry through the speaker. "Like you didn't already know." "I didn't. I swear. I only found out when I pushed further. I knew you had loads of reasons to leave, but I didn't know how bad it really was. Fuck, Josie. This is messed up." "No shit." My throat was thick. Like there were hands wrapped around it, pinning my esophagus closed. "I'm going to fix this." "What can you do?" I asked. I laughed sardonically. "The last thing you—and Remy—can handle is you losing your trust fund too." "You really underestimate me, Josie." "Then prove it," I muttered. Again, my heart lurched in pain. "You've really hurt me, Seb. I'm serious when I say I'm done. After tricking me..." "I know." "I have to go." Felix was pulling onto the street. Some of the weight in my chest lifted. "From now on I call you. I need space." "Whatever you want," Seb said. I detected relief lifting his tone as I hung up and stood, dusting off my skirt and stepping towards Felix's car with a skip in my step. "You look good," Felix said as I sat down in the passenger seat. "Thanks," I looked him up and down. Dark jeans, black denim jacket. He was chewing gum, his jaw popping. I felt a blush creeping, the stupid, giddy rush that Felix was Felix consuming me.