Rejection Hurts On Both Sides

Chapter 7: You... Kissed Me

Chapter 7: You… Kissed Me

Many thanks to Luxaze for the cover! I appreciate it!

***

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Maria’s tone of voice is exasperated. I grin sheepishly. Opening my phone, I silence my alarm. The pig-like squeals stop.

“You just had to ruin the moment,” she shakes her head at me, her eyes betraying her amusement. “What was the alarm for, anyway?”

“I’m supposed to go to the library,” I tell her as I chug down my drink. I take a big bite of my muffin. “I’m thinking of borrowing a few books.” My mouth is now half filled with the pastry. I didn’t get to finish this during Maria’s confession, so now I’m practically inhaling my food.

Maria wrinkles her nose. Not my finest moment, I know. But whatever. Like she said, the moment’s ruined, and I do not want to restart that conversation again. That would be awkward.

As I stand up to grab my things, Maria follows suit. “Let me take you to the library,” she offers. “It’s the least I can do for being such a crappy friend.”

“Maria…” I pause. The words just drop it are at the tip of my tongue, but I can’t seem to say them. “I can go there by myself,” is what I say instead.

She gives me a glare. “Don’t be stubborn Aggie. I can call Garrett to pick us up.”

Before I know what I’m doing, I cringe. “The creepy driver?”

“No, we fired that one two days ago,” is her reply. “Garrett’s his replacement. He’s friendly, but really talkative. He yammers on and on about his daughter- the fact that she’s our age…”

I already tune her out as she rattles off facts about a girl who I might never meet. I open my bag, hunting for cash. “Hey Maria, do you think you can shoulder the bill?”

She doesn’t answer. I look up to see her looking at something behind me. Apparently, something else has caught her attention.

No shit, Sherlock. My conscience makes a return.

Hush.

I look behind me. “What is it?”

Then I see what she sees. “Son of a…” I start cussing under her breath. We quickly sit down, hoping he doesn’t see us.

“The universe just has to screw me over,” Maria lets out a muffled groan.

I glower at her. “Hey, it’s screwing me over as well!”

“Oh, really?” Her voice is coated with sarcasm. “So that guy standing by the doorway just happens to be your ex-boyfriend?” She raises a brow, her green eyes challenging me.

I roll my eyes. “Let’s get this straight. First of all, he’s your ex-boyfriend. Second of all, you’re the one who broke his heart, so I can understand why you’re panicking, because, let’s face it, you suck at confrontations so you broke up with him over text. But to top it all off, you dragged me into your mess by forcing me to vandalize his house!”

Maria glares at me.

“Okay, you dragged me into this mess my allowing me to vandalize his house!” I correct myself.

She crosses her arms. “If I remember correctly, you rejoiced when I told you we broke up. You even suggested we commence revenge plan L-5, which is also in the rule book for best friends!”