"You're looking for a thrill," he said with a challenging look. She frowned while she digested his evaluation. "That's the only reason you'd be standing on a ledge like you did yesterday, if it wasn't to hurt yourself."
Her frown deepened. She wanted to argue but there was some truth to what he was saying.
"I can help you," he added, his eyes holding hers intently.
As if, she scoffed internally. So far, he had only complicated her life into a mess she still had to sort out. She wasn't even sure she would be able to smooth things out with Logan.
"I don't think that's a good idea." She adjusted her school bag over her shoulder. "Your minute is up and I need to get to class."
Spending any more time with him was something she knew would only cause more problems for her. Even if he had figured out her true purpose for what she did, what was there that he could do to help? Convinced there wasn't anything, she walked away without allowing him to argue, intent on forgetting the whole conversation.
Over the next hour, when her thoughts inexplicitly drifted to Maddox, she made a concerted effort to move her mind onto something else. There was no way to explain why he wanted to help her or even why he felt he could.
Maddox Larson had a reputation with girls. He dated extensively, if you could call what he did with girls "dating." Honestly, he was more like a "couple of dates" type of guy, flitting from one girl to another. Rumor was he was dating a girl in college.
Nothing she knew about him explained why he believed he could help her or even why he would want to. He didn't know her. Besides, how could he hope to know how to sort her life out when he couldn't even seem to keep himself out of trouble?
Just before she walked to the school cafeteria, she finally remembered to message Sally to find out if she was okay. There was no sign of Logan inside the cafeteria, and she found Diane sitting alone at their usual spot. She was quietly staring down at her lunch.
"It can't be that bad," Ashley said, trying to tease her friend when she approached her. She could tell by the slump of her shoulders she was still thinking about Noah and their breakup. The asshole was two tables away, chatting to his friends like nothing was wrong. Why was he acting like that? And her friend was heartbroken and struggling.
"He won't even look at me," Diane murmured, with the fresh heartache written across her pained expression.
"What happened?" Ashley asked softly, needing more information about what caused their breakup.
"It was the usual 'it's me and not you' speech," her friend revealed, sneaking a side glance to his table. But his sole concentration was fixed on his friends and he was laughing like he didn't have a care in the world.
Ashley had an urge to walk over to him and dump the contents of her soda over his head. But she glared at him instead. Why couldn't he at least look a little upset? Asshole.
"Some guys aren't worth it," Ashley murmured, knowing it sounded cliche.
"I really thought he was the one," Diane whispered hoarsely, and the dread in Ashley's chest bloomed and spread.
Ashley shifted closer to cover one of Diane's hands with hers. She knew what was coming next was going to be worse than she had first believed, and she felt out of place in a situation Sally would usually handle. Sally always knew what to say.
"What happened?" she asked, venturing into unknown territory. Sally wasn't here, so she had to do what she could.
Diane gulped and pulled her hand to rest it in her lap. "I thought I was special." Her friend refused to look her straight in the eye.
Without further explanation, Ashley had a pretty good idea where Diane was headed. How could her friend have fallen for that? Didn't she know better than that?
"Tell me." It was what friends did, they listened. She would say all the right words even though she knew it probably wouldn't make her feel any better. It was going to take more than a shoulder to lean on and a pep talk to help her through this.
Ashley hadn't trusted anyone enough to go that far, so she couldn't imagine how betrayed Diane must have felt. It made her want to smack the jerk who had done this to her friend.
Diane exhaled a deep breath. "We'd been waiting until...I was ready to go all the way...and then it happened." Uncomfortably, she shrugged. "Afterward he left with a promise to call me later." A glance in his direction led her to the next part. "Two days he ignored me before showing up at my house to dump me."
That was low. Ashley shot a glare in his direction, wishing there was a way to make him pay. She wanted to make him hurt like he had hurt her friend. "He's a douche bag," she stated.
Diane had a wistful look in her eyes while she stared at the boy who had broken her heart. Ashley wanted to shake her. How could she still look at him like that when he had pretty much abandoned her right after sleeping with her? The only consolation was it hadn't been Diane's first. If it had been, it would have been worse. Her friend had lost her virginity to the boyfriend before him.
When Ashley looked in Noah's direction, her eyes locked with those that belonged to Maddox. He frowned as he took in her expression, before moving his gaze to Noah. How long had he been watching her? Seeing him reminded her of their conversation outside class, and it was something she didn't want to think about. It had hit too close to home for her liking.
Ashley spent the rest of lunch consoling her heartbroken friend. It wasn't easy under the circumstances, which made her angrier.
It was only after lunch that she realized she hadn't given much thought to Logan. It spoke volumes on how much he really meant to her. While Diane was heartbroken, she knew she wouldn't feel the same way if Logan broke up with her.
For the moment it was probably best to keep out of Logan's path, and a certain bad boy who had taken an interest in her. It was easier to avoid the drama of them by keeping to herself and concentrating on her friend.
After cheerleading practice, she walked Diane to her car and gave her a hug.
"I can come over if you need some company," Ashley offered, knowing Diane would mope around the house, and she could help keep her distracted even if it was only for a few hours.
Besides, she would take any chance she got to get out of the house. Her parents fought pretty much all the time and the only break she got was when she wasn't at home.
"Thanks, but I have a date with all the ice cream I can eat," her friend joked through her hurt.
"Call me if you need company."
"I will," Diane said before she started her car and waved as she drove off.
Ashley hitched her school bag higher on her shoulder. She found her keys and walked to her car, startled when she noticed someone next to it. Logan stood there, watching her approach. Anxiety tugged in her belly as she neared him. She wasn't ready for this conversation, but he had sought her out so there was no getting out of it now. Maybe it was best to get it over and done with quickly rather than dragging it out.
"Logan," she said when she came to stop just in front of him. She was very aware of the fact that when his eyes held hers, there was no heart stutter or shortness of breath like she experienced with Maddox.
"Ash," he said.
There was an awkward moment of silence.
"I'm sorry about earlier," he said, taking her completely by surprise. "I was jealous and I acted irrationally."
It wasn't what she had expected at all. She had expected him to end things with her.
"There's nothing going on between Maddox and me." She shrugged. She was telling the truth and there was no reason for him not to believe her.
He dragged a hand through his hair and let out a heavy breath. "When you wouldn't explain yourself, I thought the worst."
"What changed?"
"I want this to work with you, Ash. You're unlike any girl I've ever dated before and I'm not ready to walk away from this."
The right thing would have been to tell him the truth, that she didn't feel the same and to let him go, but she didn't.
He dropped his school bag to the ground and held the strap loosely in one hand while he extended his free hand out to her. She put her hand in his and he gripped it to tug her closer.
He hugged her and breathed in her hair. He was everything she should want, but he wasn't. She wanted to feel something like the spark that trembled through her when Maddox looked at her, like he was seeing deeper than the surface, but she felt nothing other than mild affection. While he held her, all she could think about was Maddox.
Maddox had sparked something in her that she thought would never happen, and she had no idea how to get rid of the feeling that being held by her boyfriend felt wrong.