Chapter 27 Errand

Chapter 27 Errand
Tate

I had no idea what to think. If they were lying to me again.

Mum never reached out after Julie told me the whole kidney thing was a lie.

It was silly. But then again, I’d lost my phone so I wouldn’t exactly know.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, clicking the phone shut. I couldn’t deal with that right now.

I raised my eyes, meeting Mike’s concerned ones. I twisted my lips, and scratched the side of my neck.

“What happened?” He asked quietly and I raised a brow, chuckling awkwardly.

“What?” My tone shot up a notch higher than I intended. I cleared my throat.

Oh, how I hate being in situations like this.

Mike leaned back into his seat, his eyes not leaving me. His slicked back hair kinda makes him look like a parent at the moment.

It was a little funny considering, he was blushing seriously a few minutes ago.

“Tate, I’m not stupid. Something happened,” he sighed, tugging at the top buttons of his shirt. “Your expression changed when you stared down at that phone.” He continued and I sagged into my seat in defeat.

I honestly wasn’t trying to dump all my problems on him. This was supposed to be a rewinding moment and a sort of catchup, not burden sharing.

“My mum texted.” I lowered my eyes a little, staring at the floral decorations on the table. They were lovely drawn petals.

“My sister’s missing.” I mumbled and deep concern etched on his face. He leaned forward slightly.

“They’d file a missing person report, yet?” He asked and I exhaled, ruffling my hair with my hands.

“I don’t know.” I breathed and met his gaze. “I don’t want to talk about it.” I added quietly and a muscle jumped in his jaw before he nodded, slowly retreating.

I was being honest when I said I did not want to talk about it. It could be a false alarm… or true. Julie had said something about running away from home.

What I hadn’t really given  thought to was the fact that she could actually follow it up.

James returned with my iced tea and I thanked him before he went his way.

I stared at the drink on the table, while the air thickened with tension. It was uncomfortable…awkward too.

We just stared at each other.

I cleared my throat when it was obvious he wasn’t going to say anything.

“I’m sorry, I…”

He shook his head. “No, it’s fine.”

I pressed my lips together and he gave a small chuckle.

“Honestly, it’s fine. I wouldn’t want to talk about family issues with a stranger either,” 

I fell silent. He wasn’t exactly a stranger, but still didn’t count as a friend.

We were just…acquaintances?

“How’s your studies?” I blurted out, squaring my shoulders. He looked surprised by the abrupt change in topic. But what can a girl do?

He clasped his hands together on the table.

“Well, it’s getting easier.” His expression brightened. “It’s not as difficult to understand lecturers anymore and yeah, the library kind of helped too…”

I listened with rapt attention as he ratted on. I grabbed my drink, stabbing in the straw before bringing it to my lips.

I almost moaned in relief when the savory taste scouted down my throat. It was…indescribable.

If Mike had noticed the expression on my face, he didn’t say anything. He kept speaking and I tried to add to the conversation as much as I could.

Just when I began to enjoy his company, my phone rang. I froze almost immediately.

I knew it’d definitely be mum calling me, since I hadn’t replied to her text and it’d shown ‘read’. My reminder to turn that shit off.

I gave Mike a tight smile.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, before muting the call without staring at the screen. 

“Why? You should take that. It’s probably important,” he pointed out and I opened my mouth ready to oppose when it began ringing again.

I mumbled a curse underneath my breath.

“See, I told you,” he muttered. I swiped the phone screen bringing it to my ear.

“Can I call you back in a couple minutes?” I asked before whoever was on the other end said anything.

There was a brief silence.

“Where are you?” 

The voice that filled my eardrums wasn't my mother’s. It was far from hers as a matter of fact.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, pulling the phone back to stare at the screen. It was an unknown number.

Kade’s.

“Hi.” My tone was clipped. I’m just going to ignore the fact that he ignored my question.

I felt slightly comfortable when Mike got on his phone, though I felt bad too. 

“Where are you, Tatum?” His voice sent shivers crawling up my spine. I dug my teeth into my bottom lip.

It was definitely because of the way he called my name. I was barely called that and on the rare occasions where I was addressed by my complete name, it sure as fuck doesn’t sound like that.

“I’m in the middle of something right now. What do you want?” God, I was already regretting taking a loan from him.

Not after how he treated me last night.

“I need you to grab me an energy drink and a few towels.” His tone mirrored mine. Dry.

I pinched my brows.

“I’m in the middle of something,” I dropped my voice. “I would grab them once I’m done,” 

“I need them right away. You can go back to doing what you’re doing after.” He countered and I pressed my lips together.

Really?

“Meet me at the ice rink,” he said before hanging up. I stared down at my phone wishing it was kind of possible to strangle someone through a phone.

“Work?” Mike’s voice cut through the thoughts in my head. I gave a sorry smile.

“Yeah, kind of. I have to run some errands.”

Even though he tried to hide it, I could see the disappointment cross his face.

“Hey.” I called out. “I really enjoyed doing this with you. I hope we can again some other time,” I muttered, hoping I sounded genuine enough, because I really was saying the truth.

Some light returned to his eyes.

“Yeah, definitely. I’m glad you liked it.” 

I stood up, grabbing the remnant of my drink.

“Thank you for the drink.” I mumbled, flashing him a smile. “And you did great with this place,” I gestured with my hands and he gave a returning warm smile, his dimples making a grand appearance.

“Thank you,” he mumbled. I grabbed my bag.

“Well, I gotta go now. See you around,” 

He nodded and then I turned around, walking out. Immediately I got outside, my expression soured.

He was definitely going to get his energy drink—poisoned.

Asshole.