How Not to Fall In Love

Chapter 42

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I texted Sophie and Cole the minute Austin and Logan arrived at Sadie's house to let them know we were headed to Downtown Mall. Logan sat in the back with Sadie while I rode up front with Austin. I mouthed to Austin if my eye looked all right. He smiled, shook his head yes, and then laid his hand on mine. I asked him again if he was upset that we were having dinner with Cole and Sophie, and he reassured me that he wasn't. I texted them again before we parked to tell them we'd meet them in front of Coffee Oasis. I told Austin that Cole and Sophie would meet us in front of work in about fifteen minutes. Austin parked the car a few blocks from Downtown Mall because we couldn't get any closer on a Friday evening. As we walked down the sidewalk, I'd jump each time a vehicle sped by us. I knew Dad wasn't in any of those vehicles, but I couldn't help but think he was nearby watching, waiting to jump out at me. Austin must have known I was on edge because he pulled me close to him, wrapping his arm around me. Being close to him made me feel safe, but it also made me jumpy because of my father. 

"Hey!" Sophie ran up to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. " I've missed you." 

"I'm sorry." I hugged her back, trying to move her hair out of my face. 

"What about me?" Cole asked, wrapping his arms around the both of us. "Good grief, Sophie! Your hair attacks people." He backed away, rubbing his mouth on the sleeves of his shirt. 

She raised her head, glaring at Cole. "What about my hair?" She let go of him, fixing her floral blouse. 

"Absolutely nothing." I smiled, then glared over at Cole. His eyes widened as he shrugged his shoulders, trying to look all innocent in the matter. He was never innocent when it came to Sophie. He was always teasing her about her curly hair. 

Once I was done playing referee between Sophie and Cole, I remembered my manners and apologized for not introducing everyone. I couldn't believe I forgot to introduce Sadie and Logan to them. I felt horrible and kept apologizing to them as we made our way down the sidewalk, checking the restaurants and trying to decide where we wanted to eat. Again, I found myself looking over my shoulder every few minutes, making sure my dad wasn't following behind me, about to pounce on me for being with Austin. 

"What sounds good?" Austin asked, trading glances between everyone. 

"Italian sounds so good." I chimed in when no one was speaking up. 

"Oh, yes." Sadie and Sophie both agreed, looking back over their shoulders at me. The guys swapped looks with one another and laughed because they knew there was no use in suggesting another place. We girls decided on Italian, and that's where we were going. Austin leaned down close to my ear and told me that Italian sounded good, then kissed the corner of my forehead. 

"Hayes! Why are you hanging out with those nerds?" 

Austin's hand tightened around mine. I groaned in pain, causing him to loosen his grip. He lifted my hand to his mouth, kissing the back of it, then letting it go. His demeanor changed in the blink of an eye because Blake had to yell at him. I glanced up at him; his jaw was clenched, and anger filled his eyes. He grabbed me, moving me behind him as he turned around to face Blake. "What the fuck do you want, Blake?" His voice was low and threatening. 

"Calm down, Hayes. I was simply asking why you were hanging out with these nerds, is all." Blake laughed. 

Logan walked past me, putting Sadie next to me, and he took his place next to Austin. "Blake, if I were you, I'd shut the fuck up before we wipe the street with your ass. I don't see your friends here to help you either." Logan stated. 

"I don't need my friends to help me with you two pussies." 

Something in me snapped; I rushed out from behind Austin and stormed over to Blake, who was standing there laughing. I doubled up my right fist and punched him in the nose. Blake's head flew to the side, and pain spread throughout my hand. I grabbed my hand, stepping back away from him. Austin pulled me away from Blake, positioning me between him and Logan. Blake grabbed his nose as it started to gush blood. 

"You fucking bitch! You broke my nose!" Blake yelled, holding his nose and tilting his head back. "You're going to pay for this!" He turned and walked away. 

Austin turned around, taking my hand in his, and examined it carefully. "Are you okay? Can you bend your fingers?" He let go of my fingertips, letting me move my fingers. "Does that hurt when you move them?" He asked, not taking his eyes off my hand.

"It doesn't hurt that much." I bent my fingers into a fist, then straightened them back out. "Sorry that I hit him. I don't know what happened. I heard him starting to laugh, and something snapped inside me. I've made matters worse for you. Why are you with me?" I lowered my head. 

"Rylee, I'm with you because I like you. You hitting him was awesome. Yeah, you didn't help things, but Blake's a dick. He deserved to get punched in the face." Instead, he wrapped his arms around me, kissing my forehead. 

"Blake looked shocked as hell, honestly." Logan laughed. "Wait until it gets around school that Rylee broke his nose." Logan laughed even harder. Austin, however, wasn't laughing; he looked worried. Logan must have known the look on Austin's face because he stopped laughing and told him everything would be okay and that they wouldn't let anything happen to me. I swapped glances between Logan and Austin, trying to figure out what Logan meant by that comment. Deep down, I knew what he meant; I didn't want to face the truth. Blake was coming for me, which meant Austin would be by my side, risking Dad seeing us out together somewhere. I had to tell Austin the truth or break things off for good to keep him safe. 

Austin moved to the other side of me, took my hand, and started walking toward the restaurant again. He asked me again if my right hand was hurting. I told him no, even though it was throbbing a little bit. I was more preoccupied with the potential mess I had created because not only was Blake going to be after me, but Taylor and her friends were as well. I couldn't hide out at work all the time, either. Austin and his friends couldn't protect me all the time because my father would eventually come home, and I'd have to find a way to keep Austin away for my sake and his. 

"Austin, can I talk to Rylee for a second," Sophie asked, tugging on my shirt. 

"Yeah. We'll go inside and get a table." He kissed me, turned, and walked through the double glass doors. 

"Are you okay, Rylee? I can tell something is really bothering you that you won't talk about in front of everyone." She moved closer, touching my arm. 

"Yeah," I mumbled, lowering my head for a second, then looked out toward the rows of tables between the trees. "Just regretting hitting Blake is all." 

"Rylee, I know there is more bothering you than that." She lowered her head, trying to look me in the eye. "I can't make you tell me, but you know you can talk to me about anything." She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. "Let's go inside before Austin comes back out here."