Don't Try the Noodles

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Bailey

I'm not upset by this.

I'm not.

So, that girl was Caleb's girlfriend. Was is right, right? He did say she isn't his girlfriend. It must have been a messy breakup.

Filled with complicated kisses.

I look up at the night sky, taking a deep breath. Out of all the words that were thrown around earlier, it's the fact Caleb said his kisses with that pretty girl meant nothing that manages to shake me.

Caleb must have shared kisses with a lot of girls before. Considering how cool he is, it almost seems excusable for someone like him to have had a few that were meaningless. An easily attained kiss that was just as easily forgotten.

I'm not sure whether this incredible empty feeling in my chest right now is due to jealousy. I've never had my first kiss. It's no surprise for the ugly Asian with no friends.

No. Why must those memories come back now of all time? I've heard them more than enough. I get it.

"I hate myself," I let out under my breath. I repeat the sentence a few more times.

Verbally accepting the truth should make that truth hurt less. Please, I want to lessen this pain.

I feel stupid. I can't believe the thoughts that had run through my head during the show. To have claimed my affection for him in that way. Had there been a chance for me to begin with, perhaps that moment could've seemed somewhat intimate. But by where I actually stand, it was nothing but a pitiful cry of desire from just another fan. No, it's below even that.

For seven years of my life—my heart has been dedicated to a boy who can never love me back.

I begin walking away from the bar. I'm going to grab a taxi and head home. Emma will understand...I need the comfort of an isolated room. My parents shouldn't be home yet.

"Bailey!" a voice calls me from behind. "Bailey!" it comes again. "Bailey!"

I refuse to let my heart respond. I know who it is. And because I know, I cannot allow myself to turn around. I keep walking across the parking lot.

Caleb is a kind person. I want to believe that, regardless of the things he's done that prove otherwise. I don't know the entire truth behind him, and I don't deserve to. But I do want to believe that the entire truth will show he is kind in the end.

"Bailey!"

His footsteps are heavy. He's running towards me. There's a halt, and I can't help halting too.

He hugs me. Tightly.

The scent of him mixes with the scent of the gentle night breeze as it hits my nose. It's not unpleasant. It's oddly soothing.

Yet, I stand rigid. "C-Caleb—"

"I'm sorry," he breathes into my hair. He hugs me even tighter, almost like he wants to bury himself in me.

"But why?" I speak out.

"I lied. I lied about everything. I lied to you. I thought you and Ethan..." He shakes his head. "I lied about having a girlfriend. I never had a girlfriend. I've never even dated anyone before! I kissed Mallory, yes. But it was because I was so childish. I let my anger get the best of me. I was angry because—because..."

His rushed words come to me in one long endless string. With my burning head and heart, it's difficult for me to catch every single one of them. But that's not too important. What is important is that I can feel him. His own chest pressed onto my back. The sincerity in his voice. His shaking hands—

I reach out to hold one. I let out a sharp exhale when he flips his palm to hold mine back. Caleb's hand. It's rough rather than soft. Evidence of the countless hours he must have poured into his guitar. His talent.

"I like you."

I gasp, instantly regretting letting my feelings out without preparation. Until I realize, that wasn't my voice.

I free myself from his embrace, turn around to face him, and take a step back. "What did you say?"

His lowered gaze rises, and our eyes meet. His light greens to my dark browns.

"I like you, Bailey," he says again.

I am speechless.

"It's always been you who I liked...Even back when we had first met in middle school."

I feel faint like I'm on the edge of collapsing. Maybe if I fall backward, it'll be the last bit of shock—the final push—I need to wake myself up.

Because this can't be real.

I stumble whilst taking another step back. However, the surprise does not awaken me from anything. This is reality. Caleb is here as clear as the cloudless sky.

He is here to catch me.

Our faces are so close, and our hands intertwine once more.