In Between the Lines

Chapter 10: Poorly Injected Lips

But that was just it—I didn't want to see any more guilt in that gaze. I didn't want to see any more regret or shame or apology clouding those eyes when he looked at me. Not when he didn't deserve to feel that way.

So I said simply, "Don't tell me about Jeremy right now. I'm not sure I can handle any more surprises for today."

Dez's eyes seemed to lighten just a shade. "Does this mean you'll want to hear about it eventually?"

I smiled a bit, responding to the question I knew he really wanted me to answer—if it meant that I'd want him around. And though I was surprised at my sudden change of heart, I realized that I did want him around, that I wanted to be around him, to be there for him. Just like he'd been there for me.

Even if it was just to remind him to tone down the arrogance every once in a while.

So I said yes.

***

I'd gone straight to Alyssa's house afterwards since we'd agreed we would work on our homework together for tonight, a very rare occurrence that I'd only agreed to after Alyssa had threatened to hunt me down at my house and drag me here—an empty threat considering she had no idea where I lived. Still, I could tell my friends' patience with my constant rejection of seeing them outside of school was starting to thin, that their thoughts were headed in the same direction that Hannah's had about my feelings around our friendship.

I promised myself that after tonight, I wouldn't come to Alyssa's house again—even if it meant their patience with me ran out completely. Even if it meant they eventually hated me.

Of course now that I was here, no homework was actually getting done as we'd been talking about what happened at the Valley's Galley since I'd walked through the door. We were now sitting on Alyssa's living room floor, crouched around her coffee table with our untouched books sprawled across the glass top. A good show of productivity, at the very least.

"Wow," Alyssa breathed as I finished telling her everything that Dez told me during dinner. "That is . . . "

I wasn't sure I could find the right words either, so all I said was, "I know."

"And he was just . . . "

I nodded. "I know."

She shook her head, a few tendrils of her dark brown hair coming loose from her bun. "Sexy, smart, and sensitive? Lord, save us all."

Olivia snorted, chiming in from her place on the couch. "Please—have you two forgotten what he did to Jeremy?"

Alyssa's smile wavered as she looked to me for my reaction. But I looked at Olivia, bracing myself for her reaction when I told her, "He tried to explain that to me."

She angled her head down, looking up at me from beneath her glasses. "And what excuse did he give you? Some crap about Jeremy not getting him a good enough grade on one of his papers or something?"

I didn't bother to tell her that Dez wasn't that kind of guy. From what I'd seen of him in Chemistry, he was actually sort of brilliant. I knew the rumors about him shooting for Ivy Leagues couldn't have been far off.

"I didn't let him tell me why he did it," I admitted.

Both Alyssa and Olivia stared at me in shock.

"I already put him through hell." I shrugged. "You guys didn't see him, the guilt was tearing him apart. I needed him to know that I trusted him, otherwise he was never going to forgive himself for what went on with his team."

Alyssa's aww was drowned out by Olivia growling, "You're acting stupid, Lyra."

Alyssa's head snapped to hers. I opened my mouth to speak, but found myself unable to come up with anything to say. Not once since we'd been friends with Olivia had I ever seen her so . . . angry.