Bittersweet // Complete

27

Chapter 27

I took the bus home so Noah could get to his practice in time. Coach was being a hardass, and rightfully so. The season was in full swing and the boys had to be at their best. The fact that I knew very little about football would have been worrying, but I had other things chewing me up at the moment.

For example, public transport systems in this country are a joke. They're good for reducing carbon footprint and all, but I was losing my mind trying to reach home before half past ten. I all but sprinted from the bus stop to home, taking the stairs two at a time. Not even taking a second to see what was happening in the house, I grabbed my bag and threw the useless things out, adding a few books that I needed for the day.

I didn't feel like taking Noah's shirt off. It felt...nice to be wearing it. Okay, I could make this work. I'd seen a Pinterest hack for it before. I wore leggings first, taking one problem out of the way. I bunched up the extra fabric and put a large knot in the middle, tucking the rest of the shirt in. This could function as a good outfit, I guessed. I grabbed a black jacket, and rushed out again, leaving River yelling after me, "Have you even brushed your teeth?"

Of course I had. Noah had kept a spare one in his bathroom for me, 'just in case' and I had smothered him in kisses when I had seen it. How he thought of everything was simply astounding. 

Sophie was waiting outside class for me when I nearly skidded to a stop in front of her. She laughed seeing my frazzled state, pushing my hair behind my ears, "How on earth did you manage to be this late?"

I shook my head, still catching my breath, "Tell you later."

We sat through two hours of gruelling lessons on the ecological balance of ocean life. I had scribbled and scribbled and scribbled notes all over the sheets till my fingers were shaking like an old Nokia phone. Sophie was texting Alex under the desk, and judging by the frustration on her face and the length of her texts, they were definitely arguing about something again.

"He's mad I was talking to Lucas yesterday," she explained as we were packing things up.

"But you're single, right?"

She nodded, "I don't know it's like if he can't move on from me, he won't let me move on either."

"That's not fair," I grumbled, worrying about how things would transpire further. They were probably one sentence away from saying really mean and hurtful things to each other, and a lot of times things you say can't be taken back at all. Eleanor had surprisingly not shown up for her classes, so Sophie and I hung out with Daniel for a bit before even he made his escape to meet Finn again.

"Do you want to go get some ice cream?" Sophie was stretching her neck side to side as we headed to the parking lot.

"I was in such a hurry, I didn't even have breakfast. You want to come home with me?" Sophie agreed very willingly. Maybe she just didn't want to be alone after Alex ruined her mood.

I dropped her off at her car, promising to come home as soon as possible on my bike. By the time she picked up the bread and the honey from the corner store, I would reach home. If I cycled at three times my regular pace. Yeah, there was no way I would be doing that, so nevermind.

I pulled out the lock off my cycle, putting my phone back in my bag. It had fallen out of my pocket more than once, and I couldn't curse the small jeans' pockets enough. Sophie was already parked on the opposite side of the street. I hoped Nathan or River were there at home to at least let her in.

The house was eerily silent as I turned the lock in, calling out to my roommates, "Nathan?"

No response, "River?"