40 ~ Sour as a Byronic Hero-1

Chapter 40: Sour as a Byronic Hero "What the hell are you doing?" Lottie blinked at me, perplexed. "What do you mean?" I raised my eyebrows. "You've been looking over your shoulder for the past hour. What's the problem?" She shrugged and looked at her feet. I sighed. You'd think that by now she'd know to tell me when she was bothered. "Tell me, Lottie," I pressed, nudging her shoulder. Lottie just smiled sweetly at me and patted my hand, but didn't respond. "Come on, what's wrong?" "Girl problems, Ben," she said quietly. I opened my mouth to speak then snapped it shut. Oh. After a minute of awkwardness, I spoke. "Do you...do you need anything?" She shook her head while grinning. "Not at all. Thank you." "You sure? Alright, then should we get back to your place?" I asked, steering her back to my car. I wanted to show her the cake I had made before the day was over. "Okay!" she exclaimed, grabbing my hand and skipping over. I rolled my eyes, but still smiled when she wasn't looking. By the time we got back, the sun was close to setting, but there was still enough light to look around. It had begun to sprinkle a while back, but was not much compared to a regular winter's day in England. It was almost like it was summer, and the Earth was smiling down on Lottie's birthday. How fuckin' cheesy am I? I was just about to herd her inside before she got soaked when something stopped me. "Charlie, babe, there you are!" a loud, obnoxious voice yelled. Lottie and I turned around and saw a man staggering down the sidewalk to Lottie's house. She squinted, and when the man got closer, she jumped and half hid behind me. "Who are you?" I asked rudely, moving my hand back to cover Lottie. "Go inside, sweetheart," I said to her. "I'm her boyfriend. My name is Rick, how are you?" I heard Lottie take in a sharp breath of air, and she stepped around my arms and stared at him. "Rick who?" she asked. "Rick Bienvenue, I'm hurt you don't remember. We have been together since we were sixteen, after all," he simpered, touching his chest. I hated the shifty way he looked at her, and I reached out to pull Lottie closer to me, and then I comprehended their words. I cocked my head, confused. Who the fuck was this guy? "Lottie?" I asked, expecting her to deny what that guy was saying. It was bogus, lies. I knew it was. She blinked those huge eyes at me, wide with shock and a hint of fear. She didn't respond. She just stared, as if she was realising something. "Come on, tell this guy he's insane," I said, not even recognising my own voice. It sounded separate from my body. "She can't say anything because she knows it's true." My head snapped to that guy, who wore a smirk that I itched to punch straight off his face. "Shut the fuck up, am I talking to you?" "Temper, temper," he cooed, wagging his finger at me. His condescending tone baffled me and infuriated me at the same time. Who the fuck did he think he was to talk to me like that? "Would you shut the fuck up?" "I'll see you at home, baby," Rick sneered, waving his hand. "I can see when I'm not wanted." I breathed in and out so that I wouldn't pounce on him and fucking clobber his face in. "At least you're not fucking blind," I hissed. His smirk widened, and I almost lost it when he reached out and patted Lottie's cheek, and then sauntered away. My eyes fixed themselves on his back, and I knew my face was becoming bright red. "Ben..." Lottie whispered finally. "What is going on?" I asked. My eyes widened worriedly, wondering why she hadn't interrupted him while he was speaking. Because he was obviously lying, there was no way they were dating. "He's lying, isn't he?" "I mean, I couldn't exactly say that-" "What?" I blinked, taken aback. "What do you mean?" My chest all of a sudden felt tight, and I had to blink rapidly to see straight. "By that I mean that I do know Rick and I have dated him, but that's not all, I need to tell you-" "Lottie, stop," I said, my jaw locked, my head in my hands. She stood her ground, staring at me defiantly. "No. You should trust me, not some idiot off the street!" "For what? For me to figure out you're dating somebody already?" "Ben, just listen to me!" "I've heard enough," I grunted, turning my back to her. "And anyway, what do I care?" That seemed to take her by surprise. "What?" I spun back around, trying hard to look more angry than hurt. Because, fuck, I hated how it felt more like I was getting stabbed in the heart, because that was how much I cared. I fucking cared about her, I loved her, and of course this would happen. "I don't care, Charlotte. I don't care, why would I care?"