I Don’t Fight It–1
The next morning is quieter than I expect. We all slept separately, fired from the days in the cabin and wanting some alone time. I wake up still feeling ofhausted, still feeling the tiredness in my bones, but I begrudgingly get ready for scho
No one says much over breakfast; we just talk about our plans for the day and what we want to do for dinner. I’m grabbing my bag as lake leans against the counter, scrolling through something on his phone, and Zaid pours himself coffee without lookin
anyone.
Our run in with Sadie yesterday has my stomach turning, I don’t know what to expect today and I hate how much it’s affecting me.
I think about Will and how much it upset her when the thought I was trying to take Aiden from her. Now, she feels the same about Zaid. What will she do?
Jake kisses me by the door, his thumb brushing along my jaw. “Call me if you need anything. If you want me to pick you up or whatever, just call, okay?”
1 nod. “Okay,”
His lips press against mine again, but this time it’s deeper. Slower. Like he doesn’t want to let go. When he finally does, I have to catch my breath a little.
Zaid watches as Jake walks away, and then he steps closer. I turn to him, not sure how to read the look in his eyes. He cups my face lightly, his thumb just ghosting over my cheek.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs,
I look up into his eyes and feel my chest tighten. There’s so much there. Too much. Bargret, guilt, apologies he isn’t saying out loud. Is he thinking about Sadie?
I frown without meaning to, and Zaid flinches. His hand drops away as he steps back, like
I turned him. Like he knows I won’t accept his half assed apology.
I want to pull him back and talk, to know what he’s thinking and how he feels. I want to know if he cases, but he’s walking away.
Aiden appears beside me. “Come on,” he says simply. His fingers wrap around mine,
I Don’t Fight It–1
soothing me as he pulls me toward his car.
The ride to school is quiet at first, but not in a bad way. Aiden keeps one hand on my knee while he drives with the other, and it’s enough to keep me from thinking too hard.
He doesn’t speak up until we’re pulling into the parking lot. “Are you okay?”
I swallow and nod.
“I won’t let her do anything to you.”
I keep my eyes on the window. “Thank you.”
“Are you okay with Zaid?”
I shrug. “We’ve never really talked about what he did at the rehearsal dinner.”
He puts the car in park and his eyes eyebrows lift. “Shit. I forgot about that.‘
“Yeah.” My stomach twists, but I don’t want to have this conversation, not now. I open the car door and step out, keeping my head down as I head to my class.
Aiden doesn’t leave my side. Not for a second.
Even when I tell him it’s fine, that I’m okay, he shrugs and follows me into every class. The teachers don’t say a word. They just smile like they’ve already decided Aiden can do whatever he wants, and he kind of can.
I roll my eyes when he leans in to whisper something that makes Ms. Harper blush in the middle of calculus, but it works. He stays with me.
By lunch, I feel a little more like myself. We sit at the usual table outside, the sun warm on my skin. Nikki’s talking about Parker and Aiden has his arm draped over the back of my chair, his thumb lazily tracing circles on my shoulder as he laughs.
Nikki stops mid story, her eyes going to mine, and I feel her before I see her.
2/3
