Crossing Boundaries

Chapter 16

Although it was he who reached out to me, I probably would've gone another week without talking to him. Yeah, I can be stubborn sometimes—a trait I get from my mom, so Dad tells me."

My phone buzzed; Reece was outside, waiting for me to take me to school. "He insisted," although he was half an hour early. He said he was craving a McMuffin. Luckily, I had already showered, and my hair and makeup were done. All that was left was to get dressed. I quickly threw on my khaki long cargo skirt with a fitted white T-shirt, along with my white Nikes.

"You look nice," he says as I get into his car.
"Um, thanks," I reply shyly, turning away. He chuckles. "Still can't take a compliment, huh?"

My look tells him to be quiet. "I need coffee," I say, stifling a yawn.
"Okay, let's get you a coffee then." It was like our fight never happened. We slipped back into our normal selves, sipping our coffee and munching on our muffins as we headed for school. It was nice... until Reece decided to open his big mouth.

"So, are you ever gonna tell me?" he asks as he pulls into a parking space.
"Tell you what?"
Mischief dances in his eyes, and a sly grin spreads across his face. "You know about that fantasy you had." I throw the remains of my muffin at his head.

"Oh, fuck off." I step out of his car, huffing.

He laughs, following behind. "I'll get it out of you one day, Devine!"

"Mmm, yeah, in your dreams, Matthews."

"Oh, I have plenty of those." His laughter echoes through the hallway.

Shaking my head at his teasing, I say, "Goodbye, Matthews. I'm going to class."
"Wait, we have the same class," he says, running after me.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I hadn't spoken to Kady yet. I think she was scared to talk to me with Reece around. She kept throwing subtle glances his way, but he ignored her.

Why she was trying to get his attention was beyond me. She should've been trying to talk to me.

"Last class of the day, thank goodness," Austin declares, plopping down beside me. I shoot him a look, my smile clearly showing my amusement.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Lorna?"
Sniggering, I point to his nose. "You've got a piece of egg stuck on your nose."

"Eew," Sarah exclaims. "Jesus, Austin, do you not look at yourself in the mirror?" He picks it off and puts it in his mouth. "Barf," I say, gagging. "That's gross," Connor adds, looking disgusted. "Yup, so glad I bat for the other team," Sarah states whispering to me, making me chuckle.

"Hey, I'm sexy," is all he can say.

He smiles at me and then, with a serious tone, asks how I am after my ordeal over the weekend.

I shrug and reply, "I'm okay," he apologises telling me, he sorry he wasn't there for me. His face takes on a slightly guilty look.
I smile and reassure him, saying, "It's fine."

"I had Connor," I continue, "he was my hero." I wink at Connor, making him blush. His eye was still a bit purple, and while his lip wasn't in terrible shape, he couldn't smile fully due to the cut on it. Whenever he did smile, he'd wince as it hurt a bit. I felt both sorry for him and guilty. Handing him a cream, I tell him, "This should help with the bruising. Sorry, I meant to give this to you earlier."

With my mom being a doctor, our house was always fully stocked with medical supplies.

Heading out of the school doors as class wraps up, I say goodbye to the guys. Reece is by his car, waiting for me. Just as I'm about to head over to him, my name is called. "Lorna, "I look around to see Nick running up to me.

He asks how I am and mentions he wanted to call me but realised he didn't have my number. He didn't want to ask the lads, thinking they wouldn't give it to him—given their role as my "bodyguards." Causing to chuckle.

We chat for a bit. I notice Reece talking to a blonde girl, stealing glances my way while he does. My attention returns to Nick. He smiles at me and then requests my number. I smile back, giving it to him. "Glad you're okay now, Lorna. I'll text you soon. Better let you go in case Reece comes over and drags you away from me..."

I give him an awkward smile and bid him goodbye. The girl is gone now, and Reece is leaning against his car, his gaze locked on mine. Smiling at him, I open the car door and sit inside. He follows suit.

"So, who was that? What did he want?" We both speak at the same time, causing us to laugh.

"You first," he says. "Who was the girl you were talking to?"

"That was Holly. She was just giving me some Chem notes."

"That was Holly? When did she dye her hair blonde?" I ask, slightly surprised.

He just shrugs. Holly has had the biggest crush on Reece for years, but her hair was normally jet black... "gonna be hard to maintain that," I mutter.

"Maybe she wanted to look like you," he remarks. I give him a skeptical look, asking why.

"Because apparently you're the new 'it' girl, Lorna." He pinches my cheek. "All the girls are talking about you. So are the boys too," he adds with a grunt.

I offer him a sheepish smile, curious about what makes me stand out. I've never been particularly popular; it was mostly because of my association with Reece and the others that people even knew who I was.

He gives me a sidelong glance and remarks, "You have no idea, Lorna, do you?"

"W-what?"

Shaking his head, he remains silent. "Anyway, what did Nick want?"

"Oh, he just wanted to check on me and asked for my number..."

With his jaw clenched, he falls into silence as we pull out of the car park. Tension emanates from him. I inquire if everything is alright, and his response is curt, almost brusque: "Nothing's wrong."

I wonder, what now?

Sorry slightly boring chapter, writers block..
But glad they both made up for now 😏