epiphany - lydia martin [book 1]

chapter twenty-six. things still left to say

I watched as Allison sped off, leaving me standing on the sidewalk in front of Lydia's house.

I admired the exterior of her house as I glanced around, shoving my hands in the pockets of my cargo pants. Part of me always wondered if Jackson and Lydia only dated because they were two of the richest kids at Beacon Hills High. Her parents must've been pretty loaded for her to have so much designer bags and shoes. Her dog was named Prada for Christ's sake.

That stuff was nothing my mom could afford.

When her and my Dad were still together, it was fine. But now that she was responsible for making the payments herself, it was almost impossible without working double shifts at the hospital. It seemed like she was struggling a little more than usual these days. And God forbid my father use one of his two brain cells to cough up an ounce of the child support he owes with his FBI salary.

I was gonna have to get a job.

I sighed as I started to walk up to the steps leading to Lydia's doorway. I knocked three times before I waited.

"Are you expecting someone?" I heard Ms. Martin say from inside.

"No..." I heard my girlfriend reply suspiciously before she opened the door, allowing my eyes to land on her. She was clad in the hoodie that I gave her the other night, and her hair was styled in a ponytail.

"Hey..." I said as I gave her a short wave, suddenly feeling nervous as I realized Ms. Martin was watching from afar.

"Devin? What are you doing here?" Lydia asked.

"I'm here to hang out with you." I told her, causing the girl to furrow her brows in confusion. "Can I come in? It's freezing out here." The girl nodded before she stepped aside, allowing me to enter. I locked eyes with her mother, sending her a small smile, "Hi, Ms. Martin. Sorry for dropping by so late."

She smiled brightly at me, waving her hand, "No worries. I'll leave you two kids alone." She said, leaving to walk up the stairs but not before she sent a wink at Lydia.

My girlfriend's eyes widened, "Mom!" She exclaimed. I chuckled as her mother disappeared up the staircase. She then turned back to me, "I thought you had a thing with Scott and Stiles." She reminded me of the excuse that I used earlier as she locked the door.

"Yeah, It - turns out they didn't need me so I came here instead." I said. The girl nodded, her arms crossed over her chest. She had a blank expression on her face but her eyebrows were furrowed. "You're mad at me." I realized, my lips forming a frown.

"I'm not mad at you, I can just recognize a bad liar when I see one." She called me out, her eyebrows rising as she shrugged before sitting down on her couch.

I refrained from laughing awkwardly as I followed her, "Wait - okay, I was not lying, Scott and Stiles really did need me for something."

"Really? Because it seems like you just didn't wanna hang out with me. So why not just say that?"

I furrowed my brows, "Wh - if I didn't wanna hang out with you, why would I be here right now? Look, I'm sorry that I just blew you off. You're my girlfriend, of course I want to hang out with you. There's nothing I wanna do more." I said softly, scooting closer to her. I could see something was still bothering her but I didn't know what. "What's wrong?"

Lydia shook her head, her eyes staring at the coffee table in front of us. "I don't know. I just - kind of felt like you blew me off because you weren't that into me anymore. I mean, you're always kind of awkward but I feel like you've been more awkward ever since you saw me... you know."