How Can We

Chapter Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty Three

“Hey Wally!” The blonde girl told him.

“Bette, hey, I haven’t seen you in a while.” Wally replied, running his hand through his hair. They haven’t really talked since their date, a long time ago. He wished he could say they fizzled out and naturally drifted apart but that would be a lie.

Wally forgot to call her.

He did text her the day after but that was pretty much it. He felt like a douche for it. It was a ****ed up thing to do, and the fact that he didn’t think too much of it until now was even shittier.

“Yeah.” She agreed awkwardly. She cleared her throat. “So how have you been?” She asked trying to diffuse the tension and stay friendly. The fact that she was even attempting to be nice to Wally showed how sweet she was. It was an admirable trait.

In any other circumstance he would have loved to go out with her again, if only he wasn’t so infatuated with Artemis. It was always the blondes that were troublemakers.

“Fairly busy.” He didn’t know how else to describe it. There wasn’t enough time to describe everything. “How about you?”

“I’m ok.” She told him, her tone indicating disappointment. Was she expecting more flirtation?

“Good.” Wally nodded making things awkward once more.

Wally had hit an all-time low with flirting with other women. Shocking right? Recently he’s begun to feel uncomfortable flirting all willy-nilly because he felt like it was betraying Artemis in some way. They weren’t together, not in the slightest. Still, he knew he liked her and it felt wrong to flirt with other women knowing what he knew about his own feelings.

Flirting with other women whether it be innocent, harmless or playful was not fair to them, Artemis and Wally.

*******

It was no secret that Wally thought Artemis was out of her mind when she said she wanted to see her father. If he was in her shoes he wouldn’t want to be anywhere close to that pathetic excuse of a man. However, it was her decision to make and he accepted that. Whatever she was going to he was going to be there right beside her.

Until they got to the police station and she asked him to stay behind.

Wally had to admit he was a little insulted, she didn’t even consider him waiting inside for her. On the other hand, he was just happy she let him tag along, although he didn’t give her much of a choice. She chose him to confide in, which was more than he could ask for.

Artemis came out of the police station about a half hour later looking lost and visibly upset. He was frightened about what went on inside and worried she would bury it deep inside herself, never telling a soul.

Every day he gets more surprised with how much she opens herself up to him. It showed she trusted him, a lot. But there was still a tiny part of him wishing that it meant she cared about him too.

It was false hope, he knew that. He realized any signs he came up with, were probably just looked into too much.

Even if she cared about him, there were still so many issues to come between them. For starters, she didn’t want a relationship, at all. He wasn’t ready to put his heart on his sleeve just yet. Then there were their opposite personalities, and the list just goes on from there.

As much as he wanted it, Artemis & Wally could never be. It would be impossible.

And that very thought made his heart clench.