Trust Me [Book 2]

Chapter 22: Reaction

Chapter 22  – [November 29th]

"I cannot believe this," Sparkle fussed. Crossing her arms, she shook her head at me. I rolled my eyes. "You've been in this exact same position before. Did you learn nothing from the last time?"

"I know. I know." I couldn't process the information. Life was one complication after another and this problem came at the absolute worst moment. Between school, Rocky, and work, I didn't need anything else.

"We all have occasional slip-ups," Tay defended, rubbing my back.

            My headache intensified as the reality of the situation sunk in.

"Deep breaths, Love. Sometimes our history recycles itself. You can get through this."

            I sighed. How the hell did this happen?

"Do another test," Tay suggested. "The first few could've been wrong."

"Oh puh-lease. It's the most straight forward test of all time," Sparkle said.

            One more test wouldn't hurt.

            Squatting, I rolled a penny between the grooves of my tires. Only the tip of Lincoln's head was covered. It was official: my tires were worn out. I should've replaced them a few months ago when I had a minor hydroplaning incident, which was why Sparkle was so annoyed. But at the time I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars replacing them. Now I didn't have a choice.

            Standing up, I shook my head one last time before heading to the front door of my parents' place. Sparkle and Tay claimed they came to spend the day with Rocky and me but I knew they were really here for my mom's cooking. I bragged a few times during our morning call about how good I was eating.

            I peeled off my winter coat on the way to my bedroom. I peeked into Trichelle's old room where she was playing hair salon with Malaysia, Halima and Rocky...or so I thought. Rocky was curled on her bed, staring out into space.

"You feeling okay?" I asked from the doorway. Rocky looked at me for a few moments before nodding. "Do you want to come in my room with me?"

She rolled over, facing the headboard. "No."

            Instead of forcing her, I headed to my bedroom alone. Rocky wasn't her normal sassy, lively self. I thought she would shake off what happened between her father and I. I thought this would be simpler.

            How did that short romance do this much damage? I threw my coat on the floor then flopped down on my mattress. All the letters were under my pillows, exactly where I left them. I eased the stack from the fluffed cushion to re-analyze.

            I read them all the first night he gave them to me. Late at night and exhausted from class, I stayed up until four in the morning to torture myself. They weren't all as lovely as the first one. Some were so filled with steaming hatred they burned to touch. Others were the rawest expressions of pure and intense affection that I wanted my ring back.

          There was one specific letter I couldn't put down. I read it daily, usually before bed. It didn't quite reach an extreme of love or hate. He wrote about having a neutral day, nothing out of the ordinary. He highlighted how I wasn't on his mind. And how he went the whole day without thinking about me until he overheard me laughing on the phone with Elaine. My laugh somehow resurged his ache but he was fighting to forget me. I kept turning the last few lines over and over in my head:

'I need to forget you because I'm still in love with you but you're not mine anymore. Didn't happen today. Maybe it will tomorrow.'

         It was the last letter he wrote. And I kept wondering if he succeeded in forgetting me. Was he finally able to heal? I struggled trying to achieve the same thing he wrote about. That's what made me reread day after day. Would I ever get over his impact?