Bringing Back Hallie

Bringing Back Hallie: Chapter Seventeen

"Come on Hallie," he says, "How can you even like him? He's not your type." 

"And how would you know my type?" I ask him, completely bewildered. "I've never brought a guy around." 

He says, "But you've been with guys at parties and stuff. They were nothing like Ethan." 

"And did they stick around?" I ask him in a "duh" tone. "No, they didn't. They were interested in one thing. Ethan's not. So maybe you should have freaked out on me about those guys, but not Ethan. He's a really good guy." 

"So you've said," he says, sounding a bit rude if I'm not mistaken. "But do you like him? Do y'all have chemistry? Have y'all fucked yet?" 

"Really?!" I exclaim, a bit pissed that he thinks that he can ask me all of these things. "We've been together for two weeks. Of course we haven't slept together. And that's none of your damn business either." 

"Jeanie and I had sex before we even got together," he points out, taking an obnoxious lick from his cone. 

Yeah, well I have morals, I want to say, but somehow or another refrain from doing so. Instead, though, in an effort to sway the conversation, I ask him, "Speaking of which, where is Jeanie? Does she know you're giving me a police interview right now?" 

He rolls his eyes at me, "She's at home; she's not feeling good. And no, she doesn't actually. She's still pissed at you, so she'd be pissed at me for talking to you." 

"But you still came to see me?" I ask him, wondering why he'd go behind his girlfriend's back to see me. Does he even love her like she loves him? Jeanie's absolutely crazy for Fred, loves him to tears even though he drives her crazy. But does he feel that way for her too? 

He nods, "I miss you. And besides, she's going to forgive you eventually." 

"I didn't do anything wrong," I tell him, pissed that he's making it sound like I did. "Y'all just blew up over nothing." 

"Maybe we did," he says, shrugging his shoulders as if it's no big deal. "But still...I missed you. So that's why I'm here." 

"We've gone longer than a week without talking," I point out, not very keen on how keeps making it a point to mention he's missed me.  

He looks hurt at that, he really does. It's like he wants me to say that I've missed him too which isn't exactly the case. How can I miss someone who yells at me when they should be happy for me? Who might like me when they have a longtime girlfriend who's my best friend? Or was, anyways. 

Sounding more downcast than he did when he first came in, he asks me, "Do you really like this guy?" 

"Yes," I say immediately, wholeheartedly, "I really do." 

He diverts his eyes and becomes really focused on his ice cream, eating just about the whole thing before he eats again. And then he looks back up again, his eyes softening as he looks at me. He's looking at me like Ethan does again, but it doesn't melt my insides when he does it. No, instead it churns my stomach and makes me want to flee like he's on fire or something. 

"Hallie...I..." 

And for some reason, I just know what he's going to say. I know that he's going to say he likes me, that he's finally going to confess. Even though I know it's coming, even though I've somewhat mentally prepared, I just can't bear to hear him say it. I just can't do it. So that's why I say quickly, "I need to get going...my parents need me to watch Darla tonight and I just...I'm late already, so..." 

"Alright then," he says, sounding much tenser than he did a second ago. "Let's go." 

With that he stands up from the table, not even looking at me, acting like I don't exist, and then walk towards the exit door. He throws away his empty cone while I toss my still mainly full cup. I just couldn't eat it, not when my stomach is just in knots.