𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑒

Chapter 8 ~ Shocked

Willow

I stand shocked in the parking lot of my complex. I also can't keep the smile that spreads to my face when I turn to see him walking away. No Willow.

I had completely forgotten that we shared a parking lot because if I'm being honest, I do put him in the back of my mind when I'm outside of school, well at least I try to.

"Was that him?!" Mayella's loud voice makes me shut my eyes and curse in my head. I open my eyes to see her in front of me. She gleams up at me and tries to get the answer out which isn't hard because after a few seconds she starts jumping up and down.

"It was!" She says she turns to the direction Maddox walked off too and goes to run over there but I grab the back of her shirt as she struggles to get out of my hold.

"Willow! Don't grab your sister like that!" Mom's voice calls to me. I look up to see her and dad watching the interaction and he keeps glancing towards Maddox's direction.

I let go of May and walk to the cooler and grab a soda. I chug down half of it and let the carbonation sting my throat. I sit on the sidewalk and think about how I could have missed that detail.

You would assume that I would know that he parks in the same parking lot as me because I notice that kind of detail but somehow, I didn't notice and it makes me feel sort of dumb.

"Willow." Mom's soft voice makes me come out of my trance as she sits down on the sidewalk next to me. I try to avoid eye contact with her but it's impossible because she grabs my hand between hers and rubs it.

I look her in the eyes and I can tell she gathered a lot of information. The information that tells her that that was the guy I had been ranting about on the phone to her for the past several months.

"He's cute." She jokes as she shoves my arm. I let out a snort. "Maybe, but he is kind of a jerk." I let out a laugh. "How so?"

"He helped me, I thought I would return the favor and bring him treats, he pushed me away. What else is there to say?"

"Were you guys alone?" I shake my head. "Then that's your answer, he obviously was put on the spot and maybe he felt like he was keeping his guard up. Remember, you guys aren't in a relationship so it's not like he denied you or was embarrassed to be seen with you, he was just acting all cool in front of his friends like every guy does. Your father did that one time, but I know he regrets it."

I take mom's words in a try to relate them to the situation. Maybe I overreacted, and maybe she is right, he isn't dating me, which means that he isn't obligated to show me off in front of his friends.

Maybe I'm just so lonely that I wanted that attention from him.

🌿

"That is the end of book club for a few weeks. I hope you all enjoyed this read and if you have any recommendations for our next read, you can go to our website and put it in and we will verify it." Mindy finishes for me.

Claps go around the room as people start to get up. Maddox didn't show up tonight which is sad since we won't hold one of these for a while.

I knew he enjoyed the book because all the other nights, he would openly say his opinions and what his thoughts were during the chapters.

I make sure to close up once I know everybody is out. I hate closing so late at night and normally, I have Mindy with me but she had to be at her son's baseball game so she left as soon as we closed.

I go around the store, make sure everything is in place, that all the coffee machines are off. Then finally, I turn off the lights and use my phone flashlight to guide me out. I jiggle the door handle making sure it's all locked up and then walk to my car that sits in an empty parking space.

I jump in my car and check my phone for any missed notifications when I see an Instagram one saying 'This user wants to send a message.'

I open it up and see Maddox wanting to send me a message.

"Can you meet me at the school at 30?"

That was an hour ago.

"Forgot you were in the book club."

He also said an hour ago.

I decide it's best to not text him back and to just drive home for the night. I go to back up when another car pulls into the parking lot and my first thought is that someone has been watching me and they are going to kidnap me and kill me.

I start to panic a bit since their car is blocking my way of backing up. I let out a quick prayer that It is not what I think it is.

The car behind me shuts off and I see a figure coming out but I can't see a face because it's so dark. My breathing picks up and I close my eyes. Maybe my windows are tinted.

I jump when the person knocks on my window, I peek through my eyes to see Maddox standing there in distress.

"Oh my gosh!" I roll down my window and slap him right in the face. I did it harder than I thought I did but at this point, he deserves it.

"What the hell is wrong with you! You scared me half to death!" I yell at him as he rubs his red cheek. "I'm sorry, I just needed to talk to you asap."

"Doesn't give you the right to jump scare me!"

"I need you to be my fake girlfriend for Thanksgiving break." He blurts out as I go silent.

What. The. Heck.