The Ache Between Us

Chapter Two - Iris

We walked side by side, and I was thankful that half the school was already on their way home, so they didn't see us and make it into such a big deal because it wasn't. We weren't friends. We weren't anything. We were barely classmates. There was a slight breeze, and I shivered as I gripped my jacket closer to my chest as we made our way to the student's parking lot that was located on the other side of campus by the daycare. I watched him dig into his pockets and pull out his car key as we approached his monster truck.

I didn't know much about pick-up trucks other than his black four-wheeler was huge and high. The type that needed a whole ladder to get inside. I swallowed nervously, knowing I would struggle to get inside of it right now and that he'd probably laugh at me. My hands shook at my sides as he unlocked the car with a press of a button, but instead of going to his side, he did the strangest thing. He opened my door, and then I felt his hands on my hips as he lifted me off the floor. I gasped, my mouth falling open, but no words coming out as he casually placed me in the passenger seat. His hands left my sides, and I saw him close the door before going round to the other side. He gracefully slipped into his seat, and I watched him start the car, his hand going to the side so that he could buckle himself in.

"Seatbelt, chiquita."

I buckled myself in without a snarky remark to his stupid nickname, and then the truck's engine roared, and he drove us out of the lot and onto the streets. His truck was scary and something I'd never consider riding if my life depended on it, but the ride was smooth. The pickup was heavy, and you could feel it with every turn he took and every time he took his leg off the brake. Rafael was a safe driver, his hand never touching his phone, which I was thankful for.

His music played in the background too low to hear anything, but it was still there as a reminder of where I was and who I was with. My hands fell into my lap, and I leaned my head against the window as I watched the gloomy clouds above. It was almost as if they were sad, as if knowing what a terrible day I've had, and they sympathized with me. I didn't want to steal a glance over at him because I could barely handle Rafael at school, and I don't think I could handle Rafael driving a pickup truck with one hand. It would be too much, and I didn't want to give anything away.

Finally, the car came to a stop, and I saw that we had reached the parking lot of Lava Java. I unbuckled my seatbelt as Rafael turned off the car.

"Wait, don't move, or else you're going to eat concrete." He warned once my hand went to the handle of the car door.

My ears went red at his words, and I huffed angrily. "I think I'm capable of getting out of a car by myself."

Opening the car door, my eyes quickly went down to the step that didn't seem so far from the outside, but from here, it seemed like it was miles long. I was short, my feet could barely reach, but I was fueled by a disgusting amount of anger and the desire to show him that I could do anything. So I slithered down, inch by inch until half my body was hanging out of his truck, while the other half was inside, gripping onto the seat.

With closed eyes, I let my feet dangle until the tips of my toes felt the metal bar that was the step, and I set my foot on it confidently.

See? Easy as pie.

Except that it wasn't easy and my foot wasn't on the step, but on something else, and then my footing gave away, and before I could eat shit like he predicted I would, I felt hands on my elbows. I was tugged out of the car, and then my feet met the floor.

"You're so fucking stubborn." He cursed, and my eyes flew open to see that he was standing there glaring at me, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at me.