Abandoned

chapter ten.

I never did get to hear the rest of the story. By the time Justin ran off the dishes had been finished and it was starting to get dark. So in the end Rose and I called a "Bye, Justin." up the stairs after saying goodbye to Pattie and then left.

The next day in gym he ran over to where Britney and I were and asked to talk to me. She gave me a look and then walked away as I noticed Casey glaring at me from across the gym. Ha, Justin hadn't even glanced in her direction since what she said to me.

"Hey." He said. It's a free day in gym today so just walking around the indoor track is an option, so we started to walk.

"Hey."

"Sorry I bailed last night."

"It's fine." I assured him, and it was. Sure, I'm kind of dying to know what happened to his dad. Clearly he's not around anymore. I was thinking he walked in on him cheating, but that doesn't make too much sense.

"It's just been a long time since I've had to talk about it."

"You can tell me whenever you're ready." I shrugged. "Or if you want to at all. It's really not my business."

"No, I want to. You told me all that stuff about you, so I owe you. Besides, I have to get you to admit that we're friends." He smirked.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."

"Justin! You comin' back?" A guy shouted from over by the basketball court where a game was going on.

"One sec." He yelled back, then turned back to me so he was walking backwards. "I'll meet you at the tree at lunch, okay?"

"That's where I'll be." I said. He smiled and ran off to join the game. Immediately Britney appeared next to me.

"So, what did he want to talk about?" She asked.

"Nothing." I laughed.

"Oh c'mon, it was something! He was staring at you like you were a burger and he was starving to death."

"What," I gasped and broke out into laughter. "No, he wasn't. Trust me, neither one of us can hardly even stand each other."

"Whatever you say." She sang and ran off into the locker rooms once the teacher dismissed us.

Later, as I sat under the tree I couldn't help but glance up every minute or so to see if I saw Justin coming. Part of me wanted to get this inevitable conversation over with so I can return to pretending that we've never met, but I was also interested in the rest of his story. Plus, we haven't fought at all today, which is a weird change.

So, imagine my reaction when he never showed. I waited a whole two extra minutes after the bell rang, resulting in me being late to my next class.

I felt stupid for feeling a little disappointed, but maybe it was a good thing. I got a reality check, reminding me to steer clear of Justin. No matter the reasoning, just the fact that I'd kind of wanted him to meet me was not a good sign.

As I'd expected, I heard my name called from behind me in the crowded hallway. I figured he had either completely forgot and will go on with his day or he'll give me some excuse for not showing. He went with the latter.

"Ray!" I didn't even try to weave through people and make an escape. He's too tall and can see over people, making it easier to catch up with me. He always does. For some reason it's not rare for me to be trying to get as far away from him as possible.

"I'm sorry about lunch, I got caught up with something." He said as I opened up my locker and he leaned against one next to mine.

"It's not a big deal." I tried to sound convincing, but he caught the irritated tone in my voice.