Yeah, I Hate You Too, Sweetheart.

Chapter 30 - Justin

Justin

     It was second nature to take off running after Laila as soon as she left the kitchen, the front door slamming shut behind her.  I could hear Maggie calling after me, telling me not  to go after her, but I hardly paid her any attention at all. 

  There were so many thoughts rushing through my mind at that moment , I could only focus on Laila. She was the only thing that mattered to me. I honestly didn't even care if somebody came across me at that moment and I was crying. 

   I wasn't even sure if I was going to cry or not. I was fairly certain that I was going to explode.

I forced my legs to move faster as I leapt off the front porch and took off running across the gravel driveway. I could see Laila's small form in the distance, down by the bridge we'd taken to get to the Falls. 

  "Laila!" I shouted, my voice cracking. 

She kept walking, her back turned to me, not stopping.

  "LAILA!" 

I was gasping wildly for air when I finally managed to come to a shaky stop beside her, gripping at the bridge's railing so hard my knuckles were turning white. 

  Laila finally stopped walking, leaning against the bridge's railing, and I thought she might've been crying. 

  God.

Tension was thick in the air while I waited for her to say something  - just something - for her to break the heavy silence, for her to let me know that everything was going to be okay. That she wasn't going to leave.

  "Do I have bad luck, Justin?" 

My stomach plummeted when she said my name, my breath catching in my throat.

  "What?" I demanded incredulously.

Laila glanced over her shoulder at me, her lips pressed together in a firm line, an undefinable expression on her stricken face.

  "Do I have bad luck, Justin?" she repeated forcefully, her eyes narrowing.

 I thought about that question for a moment. 

   "No. No, you don't," I said, taking a tentative step forward. 

  I definitely knew that it wasn't luck that had started whatever the hell this was between us.

Laila glanced at me with a shocked expression before she barked out a laugh and started walking again, lengthening her strides. 

  "Wrong answer."

"Laila!"

  I took off after her, silently praying that she would just stop, for God's sake, so we could at least talk things out.

  "Would you please just listen to me, damn it!" 

My own eyes widened in shock as I spun Laila back around to face me, my hands gripping her arms loosely. 

  "What's there to talk about?" Laila asked, her voice oddly shrill, her sea-blue eyes bright and shining. "You don't need to explain anything to me. We weren't dating or together or anything, so you don't owe me anything."

  She made to move away again, but I held her steady, a frown etching deeper on my face.

"Just stop acting so childish and hear me out, all right?" I said forcefully, just the tiniest bit pleading.

  "Childish? Childish?"  She laughed sarcastically and crossed her arms firmly over her chest.  "I'm  the one who's acting childish here?"