Who She Is

~8~

Alyx's POV

I try to relax in her seat. I've never been so nervous, though. My palms are so sweaty. I try not to look at her out of the corner of my eye too much. I don't want her to think I'm some weirdo. I hear a sound go off. She grabs her phone, taps on it and brings it to her ear.

"What?" she asks the person on the other end. "No. I can't today." She rolls her eyes. "I'm hanging out with a friend... No... No... None of your business... I said no. Bye." She hangs up and lets a huff out. "Sorry. So, what do you like to do? I didn't really plan anything, but I wanted to hang out with my new secret-keeping friend." She lets a laugh out. She was just agitated, and now she's laughing. Her mood changes quick.

Right when I open my mouth to answer, her phone rings again. She must get a lot of phone calls. She roughly grabs it, putting it up to her ear again.

"What?!" she says, sounding annoyed. "Fine, damn it. Text it to me. Just quit calling." She hangs up and throws her phone back in the cup holder. She looks over at me, making me meet her eyes. "I guess I can't really hang out today. I need to pick up a few things for my uncle. Do you mind going with, though? Before I take you home?"

"I-I don't mind." Was she talking to her uncle like that? Or it could have been a sibling telling her he needed things. That makes a little more sense. I don't see Amaya being disrespectful.

We ride down to the only grocery store we have in this tiny hell hole of a town. She parks her car in the nearly empty parking lot. She grabs her bag out of the back seat and grabs her wallet out of it. We both get out, and she locks it.

Once we get inside, she pulls her phone up and checks it. She tells me what he needs, and we grab it all. It was kind of weird what he needed: sandwich bags, straws, duct tape, and plastic wrap.

While we wait in line behind two customers, she starts talking to me. "I'm sorry. He always makes me do this. He's too lazy to do it himself." She looks... angry? I can't tell. She probably didn't want to do this after school.

"It's okay. I don't mind."

"I do. I didn't want to do this. I wanted to hang out with you," she says. What? Did I hear that right? What the hell? Me? Calm down, heart.

I let a cough out, "Really? Why?"

"Just because I wanted to." She shrugs and brushes her hair over her shoulder, making my heart thump faster. "And because I've got to keep an eye on you, remember? I mean, you haven't really given me a reason not to trust you, but I don't know you. You seem innocent and all but still," she says, bluntly.

Oh. I don't say anything back. She doesn't trust me. Of course she doesn't. Why would she? She just said she doesn't know me.

She sets the items on the counter when it's our turn, and the cashier scans them. We grab the bags, and she unlocks her car when we get there. Once we're seated inside, I open my mouth. "You can trust me. I know you don't have a reason to, but you can. I won't tell."

"Okay," she says, slowly. "Thanks but still. I don't trust anyone. It's a survival tactic." She has trust issues? Who's broken her trust? I want to know. She cranks up and pulls out of the lot. "Where do you live?"

I tell her the address, and she apparently knows the road. She stops at my house, and the driveway is empty. She pulls in and parks it.

"No one home?" she asks with furrowed eyebrows.

"No. My mom's working still."

"Oh, okay. Well, I got to go. I'll see you at school tomorrow," she says while I'm getting out.

"Okay," is all I say. Why don't I ever say anything else? Not even 'bye'. Or maybe a 'see ya'. Ugh.

I unlock my front door and go inside. I eat some pizza left over from last night before going up to my room. I kick off my clothes and shoes and lay down in my boxers. I turn the tv on and watch it for a few hours until I'm passing out. I close my eyes and relax on my back. I hear my phone ding on my nightstand. I grab it and see Amaya's name, causing my heart to race.

'Thanks for coming with me.' Her text reads. Another pops up. 'Sorry we didn't really do anything. Next time.'

I quickly text her back. 'You're welcome. I didn't mind. And okay.' She said 'next time'! When's that going to be?!

She doesn't send anything else after that. I plug my phone up and set it down. I take the opportunity before falling asleep to revel in the progress I've made with her. I actually spoke with her and rode in her car! And shopped with her! I was actually with her in a public outing. I wonder if anyone saw us and thought we were a cute couple. Oh my god. I sound like a lovesick school kid. Well...

Wait a second... Let's separate fantasy from reality, Alyx. No one probably thought that, considering the difference between us. Ugh. They most likely thought I was her brother or cousin or something. She's way too pretty for me. People probably hold her to a higher standard. I'm definitely not suitable enough for her for anyone to even consider us together. It'd be nice if I was, though.

A/N- I hope you are all enjoying this. Please comment and vote!