Lessons of the Heart and the Liquid it Pumps ||

51: Pushed Down

“So basically… you’re just passing judgment without actually getting to know him?”

Silence was his response and for a few minutes I listened to the fast paced ads on the radio. “Why don’t you like Shane?”

I tilted my head down to look at him. “Because.”

“Because why?”

“I don’t need a stuck up jock in my life.” I huffed, not wanting to discuss it further.

“Hmm. Sounds like passing judgment….”

Our eyes met and we narrowed them at the same time holding a silent war. He’d trapped me with my own words and he knew it. “If you really want to know then I’ll tell you.” I said taking a slow breath and releasing it. “He never paid attention to me until I began dressing like this.” I motioned to the form fitting white shirt with light grey lace showing from the low v-cut that showed off my decent sized cleavage without showing too much.

“That’s my fault actually.” he said turning his eyes away from mine and towards the parking lot as we pulled up to the school.

“Your fault?”

Aiden nodded slowly. “I told him to stay away from you.”

“And why would you do that?” I asked in a disbelieving tone. If this was his sorry attempt at trying to get me to like Shane then I was going to laugh. He couldn’t expect me to just believe that Shane had hidden some liking for me and only decided to break free from Aiden’s reign when I started dressing decently.

“I didn’t want a repeat of David.”

David. The name flashed through my mind and I peeled my eyes off of him. My first real crush, my first real boyfriend, my first time…my first taste of heartbreak. A slow breath left my lips as I watched the rain roll down the glass. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You just had to leave him behind Isa. You may have done it with a smile but I know that you didn’t want to do it.” He avoided looking at me as he parked the car and turned off the engine. “We were only supposed to be here for our junior year and relocate again.”

It was true; our mom’s had planned for us to be out of Basin High once we finished our junior year. Neither of us were sure why, but they’d allowed us to stay. It had all started when we left Florida after our eight grade year. The year I left David behind. We didn’t even have a goodbye. One morning my mom told me to pack and the next we were gone. Aiden and I were used to moving every year but it had always been in the same area since our mothers were never around anyways. But that year it wasn’t another cross city move, it was a cross state move.

“I just didn’t want you to get hurt again Isa. When he said you seemed nice I told him to back off. To leave you alone. That you were off limits. So he did. You can’t date best friend’s sisters. It’s a well known rule. And we’re like siblings. We’re all we’ve got.”