Chapter 31
ARE YOU NOT TALKING TO ME NOW? Rowan texted me at 10 A.M. the next day.
I hadn't slept much at all and now I was forcing back some cereal while watching TV. I knew it didn't make sense to let everything implode now, but I just didn't feel like I could handle dealing with it. What was I supposed to say to him now?
Of course Ashlyn had gotten to me. I should have been there with Rowan, not her. I was angry and embarrassed and I didn't know how to tell him.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I sent back to Rowan, my hands sweating.
YOU HAVEN'T TEXTED SINCE 5PM YESTERDAY. YOU IGNORED MY LAST TWO TEXTS.
ROWAN IM UPSET, I told him.
YOU CHOSE NOT TO COME.
YEAH, WELL, YOU GOT DRUNK AND HAD FUN, RIGHT?
WHAT?
I took in a deep breath.
ASHLYN TEXTED ME FROM SOMEONE ELSE'S PHONE LAST NIGHT. SHE SAID SHE WAS WITH YOU AND YOU LOOKED HOT. AND THEN SHE SENT A PHOTO OF YOU AND HER TOGETHER, I explained.
It was a few minutes before Rowan answered and I felt frozen, like the world had stopped moving around me.
WHAT THE FUCK? ARE YOU JOKING?
WHY WOULD I BE JOKING?
CASS. YES, I WAS DRUNK. I GOT DRUNK BECAUSE I MISSED YOU AND I WANTED YOU WITH ME.
I didn't reply, so he sent another.
ASHLYN SHOWED UP WITH THIS GUY I USED TO PARTY WITH. THEY WEREN'T EVEN WITH US. AND I DON'T REMEMBER HER TAKING A PHOTO, IM SORRY.
WELL, YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW I FELT, LAST NIGHT, I said.
YEAH... BUT SHE'S JUST MESSING WITH YOU. I DIDN'T EVEN REALLY TALK TO HER, I SWEAR.
IM SORRY I DIDN'T COME. I SCREWED UP, I YELLED AT MY MOM AND ASKED HER WHAT IF I GO ANYWAY AND STAY WITH YOU? SHE WAS REALLY MAD.
DAMN. DOES SHE HATE ME NOW? he asked.
NOT YOU. MAYBE ME.
I DOUBT THAT. DO YOU WANT ME TO COME TO DALLAS TODAY?
YES. OF COURSE.
OK, I JUST NEED TO SHOWER THEN ILL BE ON MY WAY.
OKAY, I finished.
Seeing him for the first time in a week - and since the night we had sex - was emotionally overwhelming. Every time I blinked I could see that photo of him and Ashlyn and it hurt my heart. I knew he didn't do anything. I believed what he had told me. But I didn't like not seeing him for a whole week, especially now.
"Wow," he said, walking towards me. "Your cast is off."
I nodded. "Yeah."
He wrapped his arms around me, but it felt hesitant, like something was different. I squeezed him, letting myself relax. He smelled good and I loved how I could hear his heart beating when I laid my head on his chest. I just wanted us to be okay.
"That was a long week," he whispered. "I'm sorry about last night."
"Okay," I said.
"You always say okay," he told me, shaking his head.
YOU ARE READING
Safe and Sound
Teen FictionAn accident brought them together, but there's a lot of things to keep them apart. Cassidy was supposed to visit her dad on her winter break; Rowan was on his way to spend a weekend with his brother. But neither of them made it. *Completed* *Please...