Page 36 of Race to Me

I go rigid when I see Foster walking towards me, the vivid memories playing in my mind again. I’m embarrassed about that entire night, and I regret kissing Callum. I should never have done it out of spite, but he kissed Envy first for some reason I can’t explain. Why did he do that to me?

Foster sits in the empty chair beside me and crosses his arms atop the desk. He looks to me once, then looks down. The way his mouth opens and closes tells me he’s trying to collect his thoughts.

Under the harsh fluorescent lighting above, his healing bruises make my stomach hurt. They were bad. There’s a thin scar running along his right brow.

“Sky ...” he finally begins, and then the bell rings.

I stand up and walk out.

∞∞∞

Mrs. Parks, Accounting. The class that feels like it lasts for hours as I mull over everything I should have said to Foster. I mean, why did he show up with only a few minutes left in class?

“Ms. Johnson,” Mrs. Parks places my Entrance to Accounting test in front of me. “Very good job. You’ve got the highest grade in the class.” I see a smile form on her face, but it’s quickly gone.

What I’ve realized about my accounting teacher is that she’s very straightforward, only using few words at a time. Professor Dyer is similar; I swear he gave us the anatomy project so he could sit on his phone all class and not talk to us.

“Thank you,” I say with a grin, taking the paper and looking at the perfect one hundred on it. Accounting is my major, so this is my most important class.

∞∞∞

On Thursday, I walk into Biology with tired eyes. I was so exhausted after practice that I couldn’t focus on what should be Foster’s portion of our assignment.

I thought he was going to be a no show again but surprisingly, he got here before me. He’s sitting languidly in his chair, and a dimpled grin attempts to melt my anger. I can’t explain why whenever I see him my heart races like crazy.

I want to smile back and try to forget what happened, but there’s more going on in my life; it’s not just Foster. My birthday is tomorrow, and I haven’t even heard a word from my parents.

I sit down next to him, trying not to show any sense of happiness with the way he’s looking at me. And when I pull out all of my work, he continues to stare at me with a boyish grin. “What?” I finally ask, my voice light-hearted even though I didn’t intend for it to be.

“Nothing,” Foster says. “You look beautiful today.”

I pull on my pink sweater, rolling my eyes. “You’re lying, and I can’t handle your mood swings today.” I focus on the empty sheet of paper in front of me.

He leans back in his chair, appearing unfazed. “Not lying. Also, I won’t be here tomorrow, but I’m going to come over when you get out of school.”

“No, you’re not.” I reply, looking at him in disbelief.

He shoots me a smirk. “We need to finish the project, and you’re not doing it all on your own.”

“I ...” When I stumble on my words, he tilts his head and nibbles his lip. Shit.

“So, I’ll be there tomorrow at five. Cool?”

I shake my head again. “No. I’m busy.”

Foster leans forward, intrigued. “With what?”

I want to say with Callum, just to give him a taste of his own medicine. But I already did that, and I regret it. “Practice.” Not a lie.

“Well, I’ll be waiting for you at home.”

Shit. “I won’t let you in.” My tone is a little playful, but stern. I can’t help myself; it’s hard when he’s right in front of me. His curled black hair above his brow, the way his eyes drink me in. But he hurt me. I’m so tired of being hurt.

Then, the bell rings.

“I’ll break the door down.” he tells me with a wink before walking out of class and disappearing into the mass of bodies.

∞∞∞

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