Taking My Penalty

25: Ride Home

TALIA

There are big muscles in my face again.

"Oh, god— Can you—?"

"Ah, right, yeah— Sorry about that." The tower in front of me stepped back.

The very unexpected tower.

Almost right away, my heart was pounding again after I had just calmed down in the changing rooms.

God, I'm a wreck.

Clumsily collecting myself, my eyes trailed up the frame in front of me, knowing exactly what I was going to see.

Reece ran a nervous hand through his hair with a gulp. "Just thought I'd see how you're doing." He asserted. "Are you okay now?"

No, I'm nervous again.

"I'm better." I shrugged shakily, looking straight up at his tall figure.

I half expected him just to nod and say bye, thinking he should be on his way to whatever brought him to school in the first place.

"'Better' isn't okay, though?"

"I'll be alright," I replied with an unsure tone in my voice.

I felt a little vulnerable in the moment, to be honest.

The whole time I spent getting ready to go, I'd received a text back from Maeve stating that her parents had left for the weekend so she had no way to help me get home.

Meanwhile, my family were still all on their own businesses.

I would have asked Camilla or Delilah but my parents weren't familiar with their parents and that was something I'd get bollocked for it.

Protective parents shrunk my social circle.

They wouldn't even let me catch a bus or the tubes at this time of the day either.

I was stuck until Mum was out of work or my brothers could pick me up. Dad would have to go straight home to do some work again, I guessed.

So no, I was only going to be entirely okay if I wasn't going to wait in the cold halls of Leland in the dark for another hour or two.

"Well, Lexie won't bother you anytime soon," Reece informed. "Hopefully that makes you feel a little better."

Again, I awkwardly nodded. "Ah, yeah, thank you for that."

"Anytime."

What am I even doing?

My eyes drew away from our long-held stare, knowing that Lexie leaving me alone didn't seem to make my sulk go away.

"Natalia?"

"Hm?" My head shot back to him, failing in trying to act normal.

"Is there something else?" A line formed again between his eyebrows his eyes wandered my face, which was likely still a clear pink from recent crying.

With another anxious inhale, I shook my head. "No."

"Oh." His hands slipped into his pockets, raising his broad shoulders. "Are you sure? I mean— You don't look so sure."

Without any effort to hide it, he kept reading my face as I thought of my answer, which could barely form under his gaze.

It's probably best that don't talk too much to him.

"Yeah. Just want to get out of the cold." I eventually answered.

In response, Reece untightened his jaw. "Going home?"