She Brought Light || Guy's POV

Chapter 60: "Of Course Not, Ve."

It's been exactly one week and five days since the wedding. The whole of Sunday morning, Veronica and I stayed in bed but by noon, Veronica's hunger won over, forcing us out of bed. After eating, mom, Cole, Emily, Veronica and I spent the rest of the day in the living room and had a movie marathon with a coffee table full of snacks. Instead of cooking, we ordered pizza for lunch and Chinese for dinner.

When school started the next day, everything felt weird. There was a tension so thick among our group that it became suffocating. So much that Zayn and Alyssa spent the Tuesday in the library during lunch hour, the Wednesday we all sat in the cafeteria for approximately 7 minutes before going to the field to practice.

And that's how the rest of the days following went.

Veronica has barely spoken since we sat down for lunch hour today. I've asked her countless times if she was okay but she kept brushing the question off, only making me feel more uneasy. Matt noticed it and so did Zayn but when they asked, she would just force a smile and give a stiff nod.

There was one time when she tried talking to River, but when he barely even answered her, she stopped trying to speak to anyone. She watched River ask Matt and I something about practice but all we did was shrug in response and focus on eating instead.

River hasn't bothered trying to talk to us in almost two weeks and I think it's affecting Zayn and Veronica a lot more than the rest of us. There was a time during the week when Veronica asked Andrea if she wanted to come sleep over but Andrea flat out declined, saying she would be sleeping at River's this week.

That only pissed me off more.

It pissed me off how Andrea and River couldn't take a step back from each other long enough to see just how much they're affecting the rest of us. Matt doesn't speak to Andrea or River at all, hell he doesn't even acknowledge their existence. In the mornings, he won't even spare them a nod in greeting, he just ignores them.

Zayn and I stopped greeting River two days ago and, honestly, I don't even know why him and Andrea still bother sitting with us during lunch.

Out on the field for practice and Veronica still hasn't said a word. Halfway through our warm up session, she pulled River aside and asked him something. River looked confused but nodded, agreeing to whatever she had asked him. That earned him a small tight lipped smile and a nod before Veronica walked over to Matt, Zayn and I.

"Hey, uh, if you guys aren't busy today after practice do you think you could come over?" She asks, glancing between the three of us.

Frowning, Zayn and I nod. "Yeah, of course." Zayn and I both respond in unison. Veronica gives a small nod before walking off and joining the rest of her team for practice.

"What's up with her today?" Zayn asks, frowning in Veronica's direction.

"I have no idea." I sigh, turning to face her. "She's been acting distant and it's giving me an uneasy feeling." I frown, watching as she runs with the ball at her feet, her lips drawn in a straight line.

×××

After practice, we all drive over to Veronica's house while River drops Andrea at home. Veronica followed me home to fetch Cole and while I was in the shower, she helped mom clean the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen to see mom giving Veronica a sad smile, her hand placed on Veronica's. My stomach twisted at the distressed expression Veronica was sporting.

All I could think about in that moment was Veronica breaking up with me again.

Pushing that thought aside, I entered the kitchen. Mom's eyes found mine and she gave me a disappointed look, only confusing me more than I already was. I kissed her cheek and followed Veronica and Cole out the front door. Veronica and Cole got in her car while I got in mine and the whole drive to the Stone family's house was spent with me lost in my thoughts.