Catch Me

Chapter Thirty-Six: Alyssa

Chapter Thirty-Six: Alyssa  

Zander's heart raced as his lips moved against Haleigh's. He ignored the pain he was feeling as his wounds on his face and knuckles throbbed. He internally cursed Justin for the injuries he had recently acquired. Zander pushed this thought away as he focused his attention back on the girl who stood before him. He gently placed his right hand on the nape of Haleigh's neck as he pulled her closer to him. His fingers intertwined with her beautiful, soft brown hair. His left hand rested on the small of Haleigh's back.

Haleigh pulled away slightly, resting her forehead against Zander's. She was breathing heavily as she attempted to make sense of the situation. Her heart raced, she wanted to continue kissing Zander, she felt so safe, so blissfully calm when her lips were against his. Although she desperately yearned for his lips to be on hers once more, everything inside of her was screaming for her to run.

This boy just crushed your heart. She thought to herself. Her eyes closed as she continued to rest her forehead against Zander's. You can't trust him. Tomorrow he will be kissing Alyssa again. Run. Put those walls back up. Don't let him into your heart again. Haleigh sighed deeply and she pulled completely away from Zander's touch.

Zander's eyes fluttered open and his hands fell to his sides. His eyes met Haleigh's. Instantly he could feel his world slipping away again. The look in Haleigh's eyes was causing him an uneasy feeling.

"I'm sorry." He sighed, he wasn't a hundred percent sure what he was apologizing for. Haleigh had been the one who had kissed him. He wasn't sorry for kissing her.

"You keep saying that." Haleigh's voice was barely audible. She had assumed he was apologizing for kissing Alyssa again. She couldn't help herself, her mind was continuously reliving the moment she had witnessed Zander kissing another girl.

"Let me walk you back." Zander offered. He wasn't certain what he should do next to convince Haleigh to stay, and he was losing faith that whatever he tried was going to work.

"I just need some time, Zander." Haleigh explained in a sweet voice.

"I get it." Zander's gaze fell to the floor as he pulled on a sweatshirt that had been hanging from the doorknob of his bathroom door. "Come on... I'll walk you to your dorm." Silence fell over the two, Haleigh slid her jacket on over her shoulders and the pair exited the building.

The cool night air swept over their faces. The moon was bright in the sky and the stars twinkled down upon them as they walked side by side toward Haleigh's dorm building. The ground was damp, and Haleigh could feel the souls of her converse sink a bit into the soft mud.

The silence between the pair was growing more and more uncomfortable, Haleigh racked her brain in search of something to say to Zander. She was desperate to make this situation a little less awkward, but the only thing that came to Haleigh's mind was:

"Do you think she's prettier than I am?" Haleigh's heart rate quickened as regret from her words radiated through her veins. Haleigh stopped walking when she noticed Zander had paused. He looked at her quizzically.

"Who?" He wondered, his hands were shoved into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. His golden eyes were shining beautifully in the moonlight, making it harder and harder for Haleigh to resist him.

"Alyssa." She confessed as she turned and started walking again. She could hear Zander sigh as he too picked up his pace.

"Of course not, Hales." He insisted. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met, there's no comparison."

Haleigh shoved her hands into the front pocket of her jacket, she thumbed a loose quarter as they again, walked side by side.

"Did you ever think she was pretty?" Where were these questions coming from? And why couldn't Haleigh help but spit them out as soon as they found themselves amongst the many thoughts of Haleigh's brain?

"She doesn't mean anything to me Hales." Zander asserted for what felt like the millionth time.

"So you've said." Haleigh glanced in Zander's direction. He had an uncomfortable expression on his face as the wind whipped his messy hair from side to side. "I'm just trying to figure out why you did it." She admitted as she kicked a dirt clump in front of her.

"Hales, I told you. I was trying to piss you off, and I knew kissing her would do it." Zander tried to explain once more.

"Yeah, I get all of that." Haleigh sighed. "But why Alyssa? Why is it always her? Did you date or something?" Haleigh's curiosity was getting the best of her. She needed to know everything. She needed all the secrets to be out in front of her before she could even think about giving Zander another chance.

"Hales..." Zander tried to protest.

"Zander, I need to know." Haleigh insisted.

"Yes." Zander sighed. "I don't know if you could even call it dating, but we used to hang out."

"By hang out you mean..." Haleigh's gaze fell to the ground once more.

"We hung out, watched movies, ate dinner together. You know, hung out." He explained vaguely, desperate to change the topic.

"Did you...?" Haleigh trailed off.

"Why does it matter?" Zander was becoming more and more irritated as this conversation progressed. An owl screeched somewhere off in the distance and the wind whipped forcefully across their faces.

"Because you decided to kiss her in front of me." Haleigh reminded him as they drew closer to the dorm building.

"Hales, it was a long time ago. Long before I even knew you." He explained and Haleigh's heart sank as she received her answer.

"Goodnight Zander." Haleigh said quickly as they reached the steps of her dorm building. She raced up the stairs.

"Haleigh, wait." She could hear Zander's voice from behind her as the glass door shut with a 'swoosh', leaving Zander by himself in the cool November night.

Hey guys! I'm sorry for the short chapter, but I really wanted to get something up tonight! Hope you enjoy! Love to you all! comment, vote, do all the things!