Deception

Chapter 31

Dedicated to Adunni. Happy birthday! :) 

39 days before

I balanced my laptop on my knees, Niall's glasses on the tip of my nose making it harder to see. But it annoyed him, so it was okay. He squinted dramatically at the road ahead of him after finally giving up the task of asking for them back. I sighed, leaning back in the passenger seat. I was only three pages short of the ten page essay I was supposed to write for my Sociology class. Apparently, even after dropping the class I needed to complete the last assignment. I typed mindlessly, probably repeating exactly what I had said in the last seven pages.

"Are we even close?" I whined, looking over to Niall. He laughed and nodded, resting a hand on my thigh. The sun streamed through the open window, the lack of wind extremely apparent as sweat beaded on my forehead.

He looked over to me, stealing his glasses back before finally focusing on me at a stop light. "Are you sure you don't want the air conditioner?" I'd spent the last four hours in this car denying any need for the air conditioner even though my skin felt like it was burning. I just knew turning on the air conditioner would make it too cold for me. I sighed again, shaking my head. The heat didn't particularly get to me, but it wasn't the best thing either. I ran a hand through my hair, scoffing at the brown mess I gathered in my palm. "I actually like it better that way." he mumbled.

I smiled to myself, looking back to the partially blank page of my essay. Sociology was hell all by itself and the teacher, Mr. Shaffer, was even worse. I'd never gotten above a B on one of his essays and I could swear he hated me. Though I couldn't blame him about the essay thing, considering this entire document was a paragraph rephrased in twenty two different ways. I almost laughed at my excessive use of the synonyms feature as my sentences started to make less sense than usual. "How much longer?"

He shrugged, checking the road signs. "About twenty minutes." I could finally see something other than the expansive concrete of the highway. "So did you think about it?"

"About what?" I asked, finally finishing the eighth page. "And do you think he'd realize if the essay was in 14 font?"

He chuckled, turning onto the first residential street we'd seen in three hours. "He would." I could tell he got the message as he avoided answering my first question. I closed the laptop, turning in the seat to face him.

"I don't think you understand why I'm doing this." I told him softly. I considered resting my hand on his arm but refrained when his jaw clenched, the atmosphere in the car shifting dramatically. He made a sharp turn, staying silent, making me regret my words.

"Then, please, regale me." he mumbled through clenched teeth. His voice came out calmer than I expected but his grip on the steering wheel told me otherwise. His knuckles were white as he leaned closer to the wheel and farther from my partially outreached hand.

I rested my hands in my lap, looking down at the chipping polish. I found it hard to breathe, not too familiar with this territory. It had been a while since he'd been mad at me and it felt like we had just been putting it off. This particular argument was long overdue. "I meant that this relationship seems to revolve around sex." I shrugged, trying to make my voice as soft as possible.

He began to turn his head toward me, stopping only when the light in front of us turned green. "You can't possibly be serious." He lightened his grip on the steering wheel, running one hand through his hair. I folded my legs under me in the chair, looking out at the peach colored houses beyond his window. I bit down on my lip before continuing.

"I mean, I proposed this break so I could-you know."

"I don't get that. Why couldn't we just go on with our normal lives while you learn? It's not like I'm forcing you, Anna." I pushed my hair off of my forehead, holding my head in my hands. "What is it then?"