Chapter 184 SUNDOWN I

Chapter 184 SUNDOWN I
Maverick’s Pov

Bodhi and I still texted almost every day, but the conversations felt thinner now— no, were thinner. Most of the messages were stilted, and revolved around exams and study time, safe topics.

But as the days passed and our exams came to an end, the distance widened.

The day he traveled back home, the morning after his last exam, I sat across his building just watching students drag luggage toward waiting rides and celebrating their few weeks of freedom loudly all across campus. I was there because I hoped I’d see him, even though I didn’t admit it to myself.

Then Bohdi appeared.

My breath caught instantly. He looked good, but he looked exhausted. His hair, still shiny and bouncy, looked messy, and his backpack hung loosely over one shoulder, as he leaned to one side at the weight of the other bag.

For one stupid hopeful second, I thought maybe he’d look around for me.

Which was stupid, yes. We hadn't talked in two days, and he couldn't have known I was here trying to catch a glimpse of him. So I really should have felt this way when he didn’t.

I probably looked exhausted too. I still wasn't sleeping well, because my mind was obsessed with going back to the night Rocky’s father died. And sometimes, I thought I saw him walking in between students as I hurried to write my exams.

The first time it happened I dropped my phone because my entire body seized up and someone nearly stepped on it. I thought I was having a stroke with how rigid I was. The next few times came with an encompassing chill that permeated all around inside me and usually I had to stop and breathe for a moment.

I understood why the bastard was haunting me but I couldn't tell anyone about it. All I could do was live with it, and keep the lights on at all times.

On the other hand, I didn't see my father anywhere, not even once. That other bastard wouldn't dare show his face to me, even in death. I’d find a way to break his fucking nose.

A cab pulled up beside his car. He locked up, checking the door handles before he tossed his bag into the cab. He probably didn’t take it because he wouldn't need it where he was going, his father's house where I was sure they had cars complimentary to every room.

He was going home, to his parents… and a fianceé. I still hadn't been able to wrap my head around a fianceé.

I stayed there long after the cab disappeared from sight. The campus noise blurred around me as the sun began to get hotter.

The feeling in my chest got hotter and hotter too. I rested my head in my hands for a while before I pushed myself up and went back inside.

I missed him already.

___
Bohdi’s Pov

It felt like I hadn't texted Maverick in weeks even though it was just three days. But I knew that even when I did, I would still leave the interaction feeling like I needed to text him. But every time I even thought about steering the conversation to something else, it felt like my father would appear over my shoulders and slap the phone out of my hands.

So I… didn't. Not yet.

I would finish school, get situated in a good job and then tell my father that the marriage to Belinda wouldn't work. Getting a job wouldn't be hard with the family name and my final results. And once I had my foot firmly on the ground, best believe I would do it!

But for now…

I told myself that once I got on the plane I would delete all our messages out of my phone. Then once on the plane I gave myself another hour. But by the time the plane landed, I was still holding on to those choppy messages like they were Grandma’s diamonds.

I was in the car with a different driver, Dera, when I finally did. When I wiped everything, a fresh new stab of pain slammed into my chest. Lovely.

I swallowed, looking at the blank chat screen for a long moment. Then I opened the car door and went out, walking into the house like a man sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mom met me in the living room, fussing around me, telling me how much she had missed me and how we were going to have so much fun together.

Did she know? Was she aware that father had reacted exactly how I thought he would when he found out?

I didn’t confirm. Because I didn’t ask her. Couldn’t.

I couldn't tell her, just in case she didn't. I didn't want her to look at me like I was a moral failure.

We walked up the stairs to my room, with her telling me all the events I had missed in the past few weeks, both important and not. I was content to let her talk, because she really didn't really require answers from me.

When she left, after giving me a kiss on my cheek, I looked around my room. It was the same as it had always been because I saw no need to change the decor once I liked it all those years ago, but right now… I didn't know. Something wasn't right. It felt like everything was off center.

I sighed, lowering myself down to my bed and felt the urge to just scream! Why was this all so hard?

All I wanted was to have my family and the man I loved. All I wanted was to not go back to the streets where everything was fucking dirty and I had no control over if I would remain dry that day or where I would sleep! Those first fourteen years of my life were fucking horrible and I wanted to be sure nothing like that could ever happen to me again.

Was that really too much to ask?