The Hard Crush 1 (Feelings For You)

THIRTY-SEVEN

Winifred stood in front of Beatrice's door, thinking and questioning her decision as her fist hung in the air, preparing to knock.

She'd never imagined herself doing anything like this before, so obviously she was having second thoughts about it.

What if she got snubbed?

What if she got disrespected and rejected?

A lot of possibilities of this going wrong came flooding through her head. As much as she'd enjoyed her lonely days without the interference of the family, she kind of missed Beatrice's company and the bright air that hung around her. Most of all, Winifred was really craving a girl to girl talk about her problem with Jerry. It's not like she had other female friends she could seek advice from, and her mom most definitely wasn't in the option. Beatrice was her only hope.

She took a deep breath and went to knock just as the door swung open, leaving her surprised and embarrassed.

"What are you doing?" Beatrice asked suspiciously.

"Uh, you're ready," was what she could say. "I wanted to ride with you guys today."

"We haven't had breakfast yet," Beatrice replied and brushed past her, heading for the stairs.

Winifred was beside her in a second, walking quietly and casting nervous glances at her. Beatrice suddenly stopped abruptly and turned to look at her.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Huh?" Winifred asked, pretending to be confused.

"Don't try to act like everything's suddenly okay between us," Beatrice said with a cold expression.

"I -" Winifred began. "I'm sorry." There. She said it.

"For?"

Damn.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. Why was Beatrice making this extra hard for her? "For being mean to your dad and being a complete brat all this while."

"Did you apologize to my dad yet?"

"He drove me to school yesterday."

"I heard."

"You heard?"

Beatrice nodded. "He told me. You need to see how excited he was about finally bonding with you. I felt jealous for a bit but then I remembered I needed some peace in this house."

Winifred looked away in embarrassment. "You probably think I'm childish."

"You are."

"Okay, but put yourself in my shoes."

"They won't fit me."

"Sorry?"

"Your shoes. And they're not my style."

Winifred's brows furrowed in a deep frown.

Beatrice laughed. "I'm joking," she said.

"Look, I'm really trying here. It's not easy," Winifred told her truthfully. "It's been barely two years and with all the men my mom dated, I didn't expect her to get married so soon. It came as a surprise for me when I'm not really over my dad's death yet. And, yes, I know I overreacted, but sometimes I can't control myself with these things. I'm sorry."

Beatrice nodded sadly. "I wanna say I understand, but then I didn't lose any of my parents."

"Where's your mom?" Winifred asked. She'd never given any thought of the younger girl's mother and she felt bad for that.