Something There

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six:

When I get home from school later that afternoon, I hang up my coat before heading straight upstairs to my bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Charlie questions, and I stop midway up the steps to turn around and answer him.

"Yep," is my short reply, but he doesn't seem to buy it because he sighs, turning the lock on the front door before setting his bag down on the bench by the door.

I continue to walk up, and I hear my brother's footsteps following after me.

"You can't be mad at him for talking to other girls. It's not like he's your boyfriend or anything. Besides, he was just speaking to her. It's not like he was making our with her in front of you," he says, crossing his arms across his chest and raising an eyebrow at me.

He didn't even have to say Bryce's name for me to know exactly who he's talking about, and I quickly realize that Bryce is apparently always at the top of my brain's list of priorities.

I continue to walk up the stairs which makes Charlie laugh out loud, and he continues to follow me, asking, "What? Do you want him to be your boyfriend? Because I'm sure he would be down. Have you noticed the way he looks at you?"

My heart flutters at that thought.

The idea of Bryce looking at me like I'm someone special gives me butterflies in my stomach.

I immediately push down those inner thoughts though, remembering that Bryce and I can't have a conversation about anything that isn't purely platonic between us without yelling at one another.

"We're just friends," I say quietly, reaching the landing to the hallway and walking straight for my room.

I push open the door, and just as I'm about to step inside, I notice that Charlie is still eagerly waiting to see how I'm going to say as more of a response.

"Trust me, he doesn't feel that way," I reply softly, recalling the way he got frustrated with me for being so uptight and for taking everything so personally.

"And besides," I add, "he doesn't look at me in anyway that's special."

Charlie snorts, and I hear the sound of his footsteps now heading down the stairs. He must sense me watching because before he turns and walks into the living room he spins around to look at me again.

"Don't be ridiculous. He looks at you as if you mean everything to him. I mean, he's always a total asshole, but whenever you're not around he's even worse. When you're there with him he's so much nicer and more relaxed. Maybe you should just give him a chance," he tells me, and I huff.

He's too optimistic if he thinks Bryce could actually be open about his feelings. I'm still in complete shock that he talked to me about his parents after his fight.

I'm still totally in awe about how both him and Mateo got out of that whole situation with merely a warning. I guess they both probably figured they were messing up their reputations, and it wouldn't look good to colleges if they got in serious trouble. Perhaps the principal let it go because they forgave each other and promised it wouldn't happen again or something like that.

"I don't want a high school boyfriend anyway," I call down to him, and I hear him laughing as he walks away, probably heading to turn on the television and ignore all the homework he surely has piled up.

"Sure you don't," he calls back to me.

I step into my room, slamming the door shut after me for dramatic affect.