Page 18 of The Sky Between Us

His muscles tensed up even more, and his hand fisted.

“Aiden?” My voice held thousands of unspoken questions. What’s happened since we last saw each other? I knew they didn’t lose a game as dad would have mentioned that. “Talk to me.”

His ice-cold blue eyes cut to mine and there was nothing kind in them. “Like you talk to me?”

“I…” I started, but I didn’t know what to say. I bit onto my lower lip. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Only you get to be distant and closed off, right?” He muttered, pushing my hand away. “Well, it doesn’t work like that, ice queen. Two can play this game.”

I sighed and shook my head. “Sorry that I cared,” I rolled my eyes, turning away. “You are probably on your PMS. Or did you lose in your video game?”

Aiden chuckled, but there was no humor in his voice. “Sure, Hazel, whatever you say. Close up today, will you? I’ve got homework.”

He didn’t even wait for my reply, just left me standing there.

My mouth hung open in surprise, but I quickly recovered.

Not even Aiden Hitchings had the power to get through to me.

I finished cleaning up and removing the expired snacks and cakes from the fridge, before closing the cashier station and securing the money in the safe. I could finally leave.

Aiden and his new attitude kept popping up in my head and annoying me. I should have known he was just like every other soccer player.

A narcissistic asshole.

Then why did I feel betrayed?

I was lucky not to get into a car accident on the way back to my dorm, as I didn’t pay attention to the road. All I did was think of him.

Once I finally collapsed onto my bed, I pulled a pillow over my head and listened to Sarah’s new YouTube video, which she was editing, or re-watching to make sure her edits were correct. I couldn’t tell which one, nor did I really care.

“Elliot texted me,” she informed me in a flat tone once she paused the video.

I lifted the pillow and turned towards her, taking her bait. “What did he want?”

“There’s a party tonight at their place.” I heard the unspoken question linger behind her words.

“He wants a repeat of you,” I grunted. “Not interested, nor should you be.”

“I was thinking, we could go… stick together and just have fun?” she pushed the subject, but uncertainty laced her tone with every spoken word.

Sarah knew her chances were thin. I agreed to one party, but there was no way I would go to another one. Not even for seeing Aiden or finding out what the hell was wrong with him. For a while, I thought maybe we could have been friends. Sky liked him and maybe I enjoyed spending some time with him at Starbucks. We didn’t talk much, nor did we really get to know each other, which in my case was out of line anyway, but he didn’t feel like a complete stranger.

My heartbeat quickened and excitement sparked within me. Maybe we could go to the party after all.

Shaking my head, I buried my face back into the pillow. “I don’t want to go.”

“Let’s just show up. I want to prove to Elliot that I don’t care about him and that I’m over him. Our night together meant nothing. It was a simple hookup and we are both adults. We can move on…”

I wasn’t sure if Sarah was rambling to convince me or to convince herself that she didn’t fall into the trap of that player and that he isn’t constantly on her mind. She began to act like every other girl in our school. Annoying.

“Sarah,” I sat up and looked at her. “I’m only going to say this once, because you’re my friend and I like you. He fucked you, then kicked you out and ignored you for more than a week. And now, when he finally reaches out, snaps his fingers, you are gonna go running?” I lifted a brow. “I thought you were all about strong women who don’t need a man's bullshit.”

With a loud exhale, she placed her headphones on the desk and moved to sit on my bed. “Hazel, I might be all for strong, independent women, but I’m still a girl deep down. I like to be wanted. I don’t like to be invisible. The past three years I was non-existent in the society of our school. Now I have the hottest guy's attention. Is it shallow of me to want to enjoy it for a little while longer? I know it won’t last. Guys like him, never end up with girls like me. But I’m not like you. I don’t want to stay alone forever. One day, I want to settle down. And I don’t want to look back at this time of my life and regret not taking this chance.”

I sighed and reached out to squeeze her hand.

Sarah was right. Human beings weren’t designed to be alone. I did my best to keep everyone at arm’s length the past few years, and it was getting exhausting. I found myself craving attention, friendliness or just a simple smile from someone. Instead, all I did was push people away. Just like I did with Aiden.

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