Neglect

Chapter 10

Patrick

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, trying to figure out what to say to Maeve. I knew she was mad at me. I was angry at myself for crying out loud.

I looked at Maeve and saw her staring out the window. I opened my mouth to say something but closed it again as my mind drew a blank.

I tried to think of what to say to her, but suddenly, I was at the Tommon gates. I panicked, purposely taking extra time to find a parking spot.

"Okay, Pa, what's up? You just passed six perfectly normal parking spots and didn't pull into them." Maeve finally looked at me, and I felt relieved when she said Pa. It honestly left me breathless for a few seconds.

"Don't want to talk? Fine, let's do that. It's probably better off that way," she snapped at me as she pulled open her door and stepped out into the cold rain.

Panic washed over me, and I quickly put my car into park and ran after her. I didn't care that if someone passed by, they couldn't drive by. My only concern was Maeve.

"Wait, wait. Look, I'm sorry. I want to apologize but don't know what to say." I twirled my hands nervously, waiting expertly to see what she would say.

"Then just say sorry, and we can move on with our lives!" She threw her hands in the air, voicing her frustrations.

I tried to say sorry—I tried—but the way her brown hair stuck to her face and her white school shirt clung to her body, I couldn't help myself.

I took a step towards her and leaned down. "I'm sorry for how I reacted in your room, and I'm sorry for this, too." I didn't give her a chance to respond before I gripped her cheeks between my hands and kissed her with all I was worth.

She stilled for a moment, and I felt my heart drop to my ass before she grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer. I moved one of my hands down from her cheek and gripped her ass tightly. She let out a small gasp, and I took it as my opportunity to push my tongue into her mouth.

She shyly mixed her tongue with mine, and I groaned out loud, trying to keep my groin away from hers so she couldn't feel the solid 3/4 I was sporting.

She suddenly pulled away breathlessly and leaned her head on my chest. I pet her hair, feeling a lazy smile crawl across my face.

"Um, that wasn't what I was expecting," she muttered, taking her head off my chest. She avoided eye contact with me, but I could still see the pink tint on her cheeks.

Staring at her with a cheeky smile, I couldn't help but pull her in for another kiss. Before I fully leaned in, I caught sight of the soft smile that rested on her face. My heart nearly melted at how much she looked at ease.

When I finally pulled away from her, I returned to my car. She still stood there looking dumbfounded and... hurt?

I spoke before she could make her next move, "you coming or what?" She looked at me with relief and only stood there for another few seconds before she followed me to where my car was still parked.

I was glad to see no cars or anyone yelling at me for my reckless parking job. "Give me a minute. I need to park this in that spot," I said, pointing to a free spot nearby. Maeve nodded her head before taking a slow step away from my car.

When I finally parked my car, I grabbed our bags and headed towards the Tommen entrance. I looked down at my watch to see that it was already 9.40. "Shit," I said under my breath.

Maeve quickly looked towards me. "What's wrong?" I pointed at my watch. She made a yikes face when she read the time. I smirked, wanting to tease her a bit more. "I guess we got a bit carried away, didn't we?" She blushed brightly before huffing and walking away from me.

I laughed under my breath and followed her like a goddamn puppy. "What period you got?" I asked. Maeve and I had one class together, and I was silently praying God was on my side today. "Arts," she said with a bright smile.

I almost kneeled to the ground and thanked Jesus. We would only pop into the last five minutes of class and continue our day like normal. If we had arts second block, we'd have an entire 55-minute period together in just a few minutes.

We said our goodbyes, and I headed towards the science building. I hurried my pace to a jog. If you got to class 10 minutes before it ended, you were put down as late excused. One minute later, and you'd be put down as absent and have a talk with the guidance counselor.

I did not want to talk awkwardly with my coo-coo guidance counselor, so I rushed to my class before the ten-minute mark.

I slammed open the science door breathlessly. The class looked at me, and I felt my ears turn pink. I muttered a quick sorry before finding my seat next to Johnny.

"Jesus, where the hell were you? Weren't you meant to pick my sister up half an hour ago? I only live 10 minutes away. Also, move over. Your dripping water all over my notes" I chuckled Johnny was a big ol swat but we all loved him for it.

"Yeah, we had some car trouble on the way over. Something about tire pressure." I explained in a bored voice. "Look, your sisters alright, so no need to be worrying,"

"My sister will be fine. So there's no need to worry about you not playing in the game tomorrow?, " he asked. I almost rolled my eyes. Rugby was Johnny's whole life, but it wasn't mine.

I sat in science class, not listening to a word the teacher said, counting down the minutes until I could see Maeve again.