Eight Letters. Three Words.

Eight Letters. Three Words - Ch. 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Cero Degrees Celsius

“She didn’t tell me,” I said to Dylan.

Leela had walked out of the bathroom without a backward glance. While I had stood there alone, staring at her retreating figure. Someone else would have run after her, or felt angry at the fact that she had purposely given no explanation at all. But I didn’t, I had watched her leave.

Her last words had left an imprint in my head. The severity she had spoken with and how she’d been scared to confide in me had created a ball of uneasiness, which I tried pushing to the far end of my thoughts. Gingerly I had left the bathroom soon after, and on my way to class Dylan had spotted me.

“She’ll some around,” he said. “Either that or you’ll force the story out of her.”

I stuck out my tongue at him, as he leaned forward and -- to my horror -- licked it.

“Ew!"

"Then don't stick it out," smiled Dylan. "If you're going to hang around me and tempt me, there's a penalty."

I tried for a smile, yet decided not to; scared he’d see right through it. He walked me towards the chemistry lab. I felt hesitant; being the class Ethan, Leela and I shared together I wasn’t looking forward to any kind of confrontation.

“You don’t have to walk all the way to my class, yours is on the other building,” I blurted trying to change the subject.

Dylan raised an eyebrow, “I want to walk you to class.”

“But you’ll be late.”

“Sorry, Mom,” he said, but in a whisper, intimately, close to my ear, and then kissed my neck; making me stop dead on my tracks for fear of my legs giving out. Taking advantage of our pause, I turned and kissed him full on, just a sweet, swift brush of lips because he had kept moving…He did a double take and came back to kiss me again, better than I could have ever done myself.

From the corner of my eye I saw Brendan, arguing with what appeared to be Katelyn Cross. He caught my eye, just as I stared away, and winked. The action unsettled me, causing me to momentarily stiffen. Dylan’s hand froze on my hip, and he raised his grey eyes to meet mine.

“What’s wrong?”

I shrugged, brushing off his concern. “I’ll see you later. At the care center.”

He nodded, yet his eyes tightened in concern. “Promise?”

I nodded, laughing hoping it would convince him, “I promise.”

As soon as I set foot into the chemistry lab I was welcomed with the sound of crashing test tubes. Shards of glass flew in all directions as I staggered back. A few feet away a sheepish Ethan was holding his hands in surrender at Mr. Arkwood.

“Mop the floor Mr. Carter, and try not to destroy the rest of the school while you’re at it,”

Ethan nodded, and left in search for the mop, not without sending a wink in my direction. It was right at that second I realized that something wasn’t right. Normally, the three of us camp around the table at the back. Leela tells us what to do, and in between laughing and fooling around we complete the tasks.

Today, there was only one person working on the back table. Leela had reapplied her makeup, her tear tracks where hidden underneath her glamour of nonchalance while writing quickly on her notebook. Ethan came back then, heading to the front row and sitting next to a too happy Sofia McMillan.