In My Skin

CH 54 || His Inner Grumpy Grandpa

"What was that about?" Cody asked, his gaze following Jared's back.

"Nothing."

"Tay, he was all over you even after you blew him off."

I blinked. "Well... I guess I'm not pretty enough anymore, right?"

Cody stared at me in disbelief. Then his eyes narrowed, and his gaze snapped up, narrowing onto the corner they'd chosen to sit at. "Is that what this is about? That you think you're not pretty enough or some shit like that."

My stomach knotted. "I mean—"

"Don't tell me he said something to you?" he asked in a low voice.

"No. He just said the usual."

"Like what?"

"Just...well, he just noticed it and dropped some...advice."

"Advice?" Cody ground out. "He offered advice? As if any of his advice would actually help."

"It's fine," I mumbled and finished my tea. "I'm used to it."

Cody's sharp voice made me freeze. "You're used to it?"

I shifted in my seat. "Um...yeah. It's not the first time... Anyway, it doesn't matter."

"Come on." Cody shot the group a disgusted look, snatched my bag, and ushered me out.

"Where are we going?"

"My car. I'll give you a ride, and the two of us will have a proper talk. In private."

Uh-oh. "Okay..."

I settled into the passenger seat and waited, but Cody didn't show any sign that he wanted to leave. He fiddled with the radio until some soft rock music filled the silence between us.

"Tay," he began in a careful note. "We're friends, right?"

My heart tightened. "Of course."

"Then how come I learned that you're dealing with a chronic illness from Suzy?"

"It's just a skin condition..."

He raked his hand over his short hair. "Just a skin condition? For mild cases, maybe. Tay...you shut yourself in for over a month for just a skin condition? You can barely sleep just for a skin condition?"

My eyes went wide. "Did you talk to Suz?"

"Of course, I talked to Suz!"

I could only gape. Cody never raised his voice.

"Do you know how worried I was? You wanted to end things with Kel, fine, but did you ever stop and think about how I would take this? Because it felt like you didn't want to see me anymore either."

I bit my lip, willing myself not to cry. He had a right to be angry. But how should I explain that I hadn't had the energy to do pretty much anything without it sounding like some lame excuse?

He sighed. "Still, I get it."

"What do you get?"

"I talked to Suz, didn't I? And from the way you talk, I can guess that you didn't have a lot of friends sticking with you through stuff like this. Doesn't mean I'm happy about it, but I understand. Okay? On that note...he wouldn't mind either. Trust me."

I sniffled. "How can I dump all this stuff on him right away? Killian doesn't know, but I know what it's like. It's not fair. And then he's already busy with his family stuff... I-I can't start a relationship like this. It's not healthy. It's not balanced..."