Because of Him

36

Chapter Thirty-Six

I broke away from the kiss suddenly, pushing myself away from Logan's chest with the palms of my hands. I dropped my head down and squeezed my eyes shut.

"I don't think I can do this." I whispered, shaking my head as apologetic tears filled my eyes. I slowly stepped away from him, and he tried looking into my eyes to see what was wrong. However, I didn't allow myself to look at him because I knew it would make my decision a thousand times harder.

"What do you mean?" He asked, grabbing onto my hand to keep me from walking any further.

"I'm sorry." I said, taking one last step backward before turning and running off.

"Lauren," he called. "Wait!"

Three days later.

I walked down the hallway quickly, weaving through everyone carefully but swiftly to find a good hiding spot. Glancing back, I spotted him a few feet behind me. I turned around quickly and ducked my head down to blend in with everyone and looked over to my left. My eyes locked onto the entrance of the girls' restroom, and I hurried inside, hoping he didn't see me. Placing my bag on the edge of the sink, I dug through it and slid my phone out from the bottom. I typed in Faith's number and waited.

"Hello?" She answered on the third ring.

"Come to the girls' restroom, quick." I commanded, refusing to leave until she came over.

She let out a loud sigh on the other end of the line. "Why?"

"Because I think he saw me," I whispered, just in case he was close by.

I could almost hear the roll of her eyes.

"You're still ignoring him?" She asked. I could hear shuffling in the background, letting me know she was on her way.

"No," I responded defensively. "I am simply.. dodging his texts and phone calls?" I said, cringing at myself internally. I was a horrible liar.

Someone walked into the restroom then and looking through the mirror, I saw it was Faith. Sighing in relief, I ended the call and walked over to her, throwing my arms around her.

"You are truly a life saver." I told her.

"Why? Because I'm helping you avoid Logan?" She shot at me.

"I'm not avoiding him." I repeated, letting her go and throwing my phone into my bag.

"Sure you aren't." She mumbled before grabbing my hand and pulling me to the door. "Come on, let's get out of here."

I poked my head out of the restroom with caution, double checking both ends of the hallway to make sure Logan wasn't lingering around. Once the coast was clear, I hurried over to Faith and walked beside her out to the parking lot. I made a straight beeline to her car and jumped in as soon as she unlocked the door.

"I just don't get it." She said, shaking her head as she sat down and strapped her seatbelt on. "I don't understand why you're avoiding him."

"I told you why." I reminded her, tilting my head to look at her pointedly.

She started the car and drove out of the parking space and onto the street. Looking out of the window, I thought I saw Logan and quickly bowed my head to cover my face with my hair.

"Okay, maybe I do understand." She admitted. "But does Logan know? The poor guy probably thinks you hate him."

I sighed, puffing my cheeks out and slumped down my seat in frustration. It wasn't like I wanted to avoid him. I wasn't doing it on purpose.