Strained

Chapter Twenty-Five

The next time I saw Erik was Tuesday. He skipped Monday and I didn't blame him. He was honest and told his Grandma about Sage and the whiskey. We had texted a little yesterday where he told me he would be at school the next day. So, I wasn't that surprised when I saw him, but I was glad. Math class wasn't the same without him. I took my seat next to him, hoping it wasn't going to be awkward between us. The last time I saw him he was drunk and tried to kiss me.

Just remembering that made my cheeks flame red. I tried to shake that memory, wanting to move on.

"Hey," I said lightly. 

"'Sup, C," he casually leaned back in his chair. The light hit his blonde hair, making it look platinum. He wore a green long sleeve with his trademark leather jacket over the top. His combat boots squeaked as he crossed his ankles. "You'll be happy to hear that Sage and I are all good," when he said this I exhaled the air I had been holding in.

"That's great!" My voice was an octave too high. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I did what you said and you were right: she forgave me." He didn't sound as happy as I thought he would be.

"That's good, so you guys are dating again?" He nodded, then smiled.

"Thank you for helping me realize I was being an idiot." I hadn't expected him to thank me. If anything, I felt more than obligated to help him. Hadn't it been my fault Sage broke up with him in the first place? I knew Erik would never outright blame me, but that didn't matter. I knew Sage didn't like or understand our relationship. 

"Oh, you don't have to thank me," I waved away his apology. 

"No, I mean it. Thank you." He stared into my eyes and my stomach flipped in on itself. I looked away. 

"Well, you're welcome, but it's not necessary," I assured him. He rolled his eyes. 

"Why is it so hard for you to accept an apology?" He asked somewhat joking.

"I'm not sure," I answered mostly to myself. 

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Addie called me last night," he informed me.

"Yeah? How'd that go?" Hopefully, he had a conversation like I had with her. 

"It was much needed, that's for sure. She explained that she's not purposely ignoring us, it's just that she's busy filming. I guess she tried to get her birthday off, but they were flying to Canada to film a specific scene or something. It's crazy, thinking that there's going to be this movie and she's in it. I can't wrap my head around it," he lowered his voice when the teacher walked around the room.

"I know! I was just thinking that if she comes back after filming like what's going to happen? She's famous now. I think it'll be hard for her to transition back to normal life," I started to chew on my nails. Erik nodded.

"Same, except what's normal in Salem?" We joked back and forth until we had to be quiet while we finished our tests. 

After Erik and I handed our tests in, we were free to go. We had about ten minutes to kill, so we headed towards the cafeteria. The doors were open, so we sat at our table until the food was ready. It was weird being here before everyone else. Except, being with Erik was never awkward or weird, so the time flew by. Before I knew it, Ivelyn, Kate, and Mir were sitting down with us. Ivelyn looked like she was about to burst at the seams, excited to tell us something.

Her eyes were wide as she set her tray down.

"Hey, guys," Mir said bubble. She was wearing a long-sleeve white shirt that was tight against her growing baby bump. It was small, but starting to be more noticeable. Her blonde curls were held at bay by a scrunchie.