TOUGH LOVE

THE TRUTH

"So.." He starts.

"Do you remember when we were small and the best of friends? How we were inseparable?"

I nod in agreement.

"Well back then, I had the biggest crush on you. When my parents separated and I moved away, I came back and you weren't the same. You had changed and I thought that my feelings for you were long gone."

My eyebrows furrowed and I looked at him with confusion. Our food had arrived so we both thanked the waitress but didn't eat right away.

"Our freshman year, we only had one class together and you never spoke to me... or anyone for that matter. I know it's fucked up but I thought that I was protecting you from people bullying you and what not.."

"By bullying me?" I ask, interrupting James who seemed to look very concentrated.

"My intentions were good, I can promise you that. Things just got carried away when Daniel showed up." James continued, ignoring my question.

I took a small bite of the burger and stared at James. I guess now is a good time to describe him. He has these deep green eyes that you can get lost in forever. His hair was short but still combed nicely and a dark brown that looked almost black. His lips were so pink and plump and his jawline was sharp enough to cut. He was tall and lean to me but compared to other guys at school he was average height. To make a long story short, James was every girls wet dream.

I guess he noticed my staring because he looked at me and smirked.

"If you wanted to check me out, all you had to do was ask" he says with a smirk.

"Shut up." I answer back blushing.

"I'm just wondering.... why did you think it was a good idea to bully a girl whose parents died." When he started bullying me it had been 3 yrs since my parents died but I still considered that soon.

"Wait...What?" James ask with his eyes focused on mine.

*RING RING RING*

I look down to see that my phone was ringing.

Tremaine :)

'of course Tre is calling me right now'

"hold on a sec" I tell James as I get up from the table and make my way towards the restroom to answer.

"Hello" I answer.

"Where are you?"

"I'm eating with my friend"

"What the hell, Ryder you scared me"

"What? I told Kathy that I was leaving."

"Yea, I know. Sorry, just got a bit scared. So we're going to the after party, you wanna come?"

"No, I'm good. You all have fun and be safe."

"Will do cuz, love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

I made my way back to our table that was now empty. I looked around and saw James standing by the exit.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask him.

"I need to go." He said with his deep green eyes glued to the floor.

"Are you alright?" I ask placing my hand on his arm. I was genuinely worried. James was pale and he wasn't looking at me.

"Family Emergency, I already paid. Do you need a ride home?" He asks stepping away from me so that my hand wasn't touching him anymore.