Ephemeral

C H A P T E R 2 0

The silence in the car was tense, my hands gripping the steering wheel loosely as we sat in the driveway.

Neither of us had spoken for the past ten minutes, the revelation of the night still fresh and unaddressed.

I glanced over at her to see her looking at me, her eyebrows etched into a frown. However that was the only sign that she was angry; the rest of her face monotone and emotionless.

My jaw set as I took a deep breath.

You're at fault Y/N. Don't get mad.

As I opened my mouth to speak, she held up a hand, effectively cutting me off and irritating me. However, I stayed quiet, letting her speak.

"Why'd you wait so long to tell me?"

My head jerked back instinctively, my mind a little taken aback by the question.

"I'm sorry?"

A corner of her mouth twitched as she breathed in deeply through her nose, repeating the question. "Why did you wait so long to tell me?" I went to answer, but she continued, "Did you even have any intentions of telling me?"

"Babe-"

"Just answer the question Y/N."

I rolled my eyes, "That's what I'm trying to do, if you'd let me speak."

"Are you getting mad?" She asked incredulously.

"No! No." I sighed, "I'm getting irritated because I'm trying to explain myself and you won't let me."

"Because I'm angry Y/N!" She hissed, turning to me with absolute hurt look on her face. "You lied to me."

"I didn't mean to." I cautioned.

"You didn't mean to?" She parroted.

"Yes!" I groaned, placing my face in my palms. "I'd never try to hurt you."

"Then why did you LIE TO ME?!" She raised her voice, punctuating every word with a tap on the dashboard.

"I panicked."

"What?"

"I PANICKED OK?" I snapped, shooting up to meet her gaze. "IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED, HUH?"

"WHY WOULD I WANT TO ARGUE WITH YOU?"

"BECAUSE OF YOUR DUMBASS FRIENDS!" When confusion crossed her face, a surge of cockiness rushed over me. "You thought I didn't hear Hunter and Jacob?"

"What're you talking about?"

" 'You and Line are just too happy. No couple has no fights. I'm telling you, if they don't argue once, they're not gonna last.' " I mocked. "Why the fuck would you listen to them?"

"Oh my god, have you lost your mind?" Her hands moved with her words. "I didn't listen to them!"

"Then why are we arguing?!" I shouted.

"Because you fucking lied to me!" She maintained, "And now you're trying to put it off on me!"

Another tense silence fell in between us, neither of us speaking as we stared fiercely at each other.

This time, I broke the silence.

"I'm sorry that I tried to place blame on your friends. It just irritated me to hear them say shit they know nothing about."

A stressed exhale cut through the air, "That's fine and all, but it still doesn't explain why you lied."

"Like I said, I panicked."