Five Seconds After the Flash

Chapter Sixteen

I was studying in my room when my phone buzzed later that evening. It was a message from Ryan.

Where are we going? Do I get to know?

I found the link to the walk-in tattoo parlour website that I had found after making my decision and sent it to him without any explanation.

It was a few minutes before he responded. Then:

6:00?

I confirmed and got back to reading my assignment for English.

At 5:30, I had another text message from Ryan.

Can you meet me outside?

"Seriously?" I said as I typed out the response. He was two floors below me, and he usually just came to the room whenever he was ready to go.

I closed the book and stood, grabbing my crossbody bag. I felt jittery now that the time had come, but I was ready.

I walked the short distance out to the parking lot, adjusting my bag against my hip. When I looked up, I stopped.

Andrew was standing in front of his truck, leaned against the front on the driver's side. He smiled when he saw me.

"What... what are you doing here?" I asked.

He walked around and opened the passenger door, then motioned for me to get in.

"Well... let's just say your brother happened to mention that he was taking you somewhere tonight, and I asked if I could cut in."

I walked forward slowly, not willing to accept that I was seeing him in person for the first time in weeks.

"And why would you do that?" I asked.

He grinned as he said, "I told you that I would take you to get a tattoo. I thought it only fair that I keep my word."

He closed the door and walked around to the driver's side, then got in and started the engine. I was so confused, but I didn't know where to start.

"Got the address?" he asked.

I nodded, and typed it into the GPS on my phone.

We drove in silence, and I snuck glances at him. He seemed thoughtful, and he was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel to a beat that only he could hear.

I felt like I hadn't seen him in so long. The silence was awkward, and I felt the weight of everything that needed to be said. But I didn't speak on our short drive, and he didn't either. His hair had grown out a bit, and he had a little more than scruff on his face. The sight of him still made my heart flip in my chest. 

When we arrived, I felt nervous about the tattoo, but preoccupied by Andrew's sudden reappearance into my life. 

When he stopped the truck, he looked at me earnestly.

"You're biting your lip," he said, with a hint of a smile.

"I don't even notice it anymore honestly," I said, repeating what I had told him the first time he had mentioned it at breakfast. I couldn't believe how much had happened in the last few weeks.

"I'm sorry that I haven't said anything," he said, and I exhaled, realizing that we were doing this for real.

"Understandable," I said.

"It's not though," he continued, "We should have talked about it. I just shut down, and all of my feelings from being cheated on in the past hit me at once. I was upset that you had kissed your ex, but it's ridiculous to compare that to what Rachel did to me. That's not your fault. We had not even talked about dating, and you didn't owe me anything. You still don't. Not an apology, nothing."