The Heart That's Meant to Love You [COMPLETED]

Chapter 55: Departure

Naomi's smile fell as quickly as it had lit on her face. The squeal of tires had tipped her off, but her eyesight confirmed her suspicions. Out from the driver's side emerged Oliver, and judging by the look on his face he was none too happy.

Naomi refused to step back. If she moved away, she would show her weakness. Naomi cared too much what others thought, though she told herself she didn't. She cared more when they were her friends. A word she never thought she would use.

"Get in the car," Oliver demanded as he opened the passenger side door.

Naomi shook her head at him. "No, thanks."

"We have to talk, get in." Oliver jerked his head toward the open door.

Try as she might to tell herself that it would turn out okay if she got into Oliver's car, Naomi couldn't quite make herself believe it. Another shake of her head answered his second demand.

With a huff, Oliver stormed across the gravel. "Seriously, Naomi, listen to me." Oliver reached out for Naomi's arm.

Naomi turned away from his grasp, but he managed to snag a handful of her jacket. A tearing sound broke the silence between them. Naomi looked down to see the sleeve of her jacket torn at the shoulder, allowing cold air in. The exact opposite of its purpose.

"I didn't mean to rip it." Oliver released the sleeve as quickly as he had grabbed it. "Why'd you have to go and do that?"

As quickly as the cold air rushed under Naomi's sleeve, it suddenly stopped. The weight of someone's jacket landed on her shoulders firmly.

"Do I need to intervene in this?" Kieran asked softly, his voice floating from behind her like a knife thrown through the air.

"I'm fine," Naomi lied. She had never seen Oliver like this. He seemed... desperate.

However, Naomi also hated to make a scene. Eyes had already turned to see what was happening by the buses. If rumors started, Naomi would never hear the end of it from her mother. So, gathering Kieran's jacket around her shoulders to infuse herself with strength, Naomi made a decision.

"I'll get in your car, but take me straight home. No stopping."

Oliver nodded, this time motioning toward his car instead of grabbing for Naomi.

Kieran leaned closer, his voice so low that only Naomi could hear him. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Oliver won't hurt me."

Despite all his flaws, Oliver had never harmed Naomi. He wouldn't start now. Or so Naomi told herself, even if she only believed half of it.

"It's a shame that he's stealing away the most beautiful girl here," Kieran muttered.

Naomi snorted, trying to keep a straight face in the direct line of Kieran's flirting. Only Kieran called her beautiful. She wanted to smile, an urge she had long suppressed.

"Naomi?" Oliver pointed toward the car, impatient as always.

"Get your eyes checked," Naomi shot at Kieran before she lifted her chin and marched forward to settle into Oliver's vehicle.

As if to prove that his eyes were fine, Kieran stared after her. And he didn't stop. Not until Oliver sped away and left the buses in the dust.

Only then did Naomi turn her attention to the man at the wheel. "How'd you find me?"

"You should be thanking me for finding you instead of questioning how."

"That's not an answer." Naomi folded her arms, if only to make herself seem more serious.

"Oh, really? Because I covered your butt with your mother." Oliver shot Naomi a displeased glance. "No heads up? Really? You're fortunate I think quick on my feet."

True, Naomi had hidden her true intention from her mother, but she didn't mean to put Oliver in the middle of it. That was part of the reason she hadn't told him, either.

"What did you tell her?" Naomi managed, barely, to conceal the panic welling in her chest.

Oliver shrugged. "I said you had been with me all day yesterday, and that you said you were going to stay overnight at my sister's place."

In truth, Naomi had only meant Oliver's older sister once. It had been amicable, but not friendly. The lie was shabby, but Naomi doubted her mother would dig further than Oliver's words.

"You didn't have to lie for me."

"Yeah, I did," Oliver insisted. "Do you not have this figured out by now? We're meant to be together. You like me, right?"

Once upon a time, Naomi would have agreed immediately. Now, she didn't know. Oliver had, recently, left a bitter taste in her mouth. His arrivals were too convenient, his words too vague. As if he never really let her in to see his true self. If she couldn't see Oliver for who he was, would he see her for who she was?

Naomi cleared her throat, avoiding the question by asking one of her own. "Why do you want to be with me?"

"It's our destiny, Naomi, you know that."

No, she didn't. "Do you like me?"

"We get along great."

Would Oliver never answer her real questions? Naomi huffed her annoyance and finally threw out the last thing she could think of to test him.

"Do you think I'm beautiful?"

Oliver chuckled. "Of course you're pretty, but it's up to you whether you believe that or not."

On cue, Naomi's phone dinged.

The caller ID was simply a number, but Naomi could tell the message's sender at a glance. As if he had heard their conversation and needed to offer his own input, Kieran's text offered a stark contrast to Oliver's answer.

You don't believe you're beautiful? I'll prove otherwise. Next Saturday, Project J Photography.

"Who is that?" Oliver asked in a brittle tone.

She shouldn't tell him, said her instinct. Naomi laid the phone screen-down in her lap. "Nobody."

Whoever said white lies couldn't hurt anyone had never been there when the white lies exploded.