Page 90 of Candygrams

“Yeah,” the expression on his face is one I can’t place, “I’ll take you home, sweetheart.”

Chapter Thirteen

Rip

I pushed her too hard, too fast. And she ran on me.

She called the next day to cancel the tutoring session we were supposed to have and I could kick myself. I shouldn’t have moved so fast. I should have let her look at it and then went to the bathroom to take care of myself.

I give her a day and then I go looking for her. I catch her coming out of the bakery.

“Hey.” I can’t help but run my eyes over her and drink her in. She looks good today in a skirt and long-sleeved shirt. “Do you have time to talk to me, sweetheart?”

“Not really. I’m kind of late.” She looks flustered and like I am the last person she wants to run into.

“Late? For what?”

“I…uh…,” she looks behind her before turning back to me.

“Hey, Tandy, you ready to go or you need another minute.” The guy comes up smiling like a fucking idiot and hugs her.

A hot streak of lightning ignites throughout my body. Who the hell is this guy and why is he touching my girl?

“I’ll, uh, talk to you later, Rip.”

I step back and let the two of them walk past me.

“Yeah, okay.” Guess she’s made her choice on who she wants…and it’s not me.

I make it home before I punch a hole in anything. And spend the fucking week trying to figure out why she asked to touch my dick if she had the other guy eating out of the palm of her fucking hand. Why would she act so innocent and unaware if she’s jumping in the lap of every other guy she meets?

She calls me but I ignore her and let all of her calls go to voice mail and don’t text her back. When she texts, I read them but don’t answer any of them.

Fuck it! I don’t need some lady jerking me around and trying to make me crazy. I don’t need another friend. And I damned sure don’t need Tandy playing with my fucking heart. Aaron calls and asks me to come out with him and a couple of the other guys, but I tell him I don’t feel great and want to make sure I’m in top form for the weekend.

I think he suspects something is wrong when I show up at one of the parties without Tandy. It doesn’t help that everyone asks about her. We have an away game on Saturday. Tandy was supposed to go with me but now…everything is different. The last person I want to come to my game would be Tandy.

Chapter Fourteen

Tandy

The sound of my ringing phone wakes me from a fitful sleep. When I check I already know who it is. He’s got one of the special ringtones that I only give to my family. He finally called but I don’t answer.

All I want to do is curl back up in my bed and drift off again. But I’ve not been sleeping well at all. I’m sad and I’ve spent all weekend crying and most of the week. I hate to admit it but the idea of fading away is becoming more and more appealing.

I’m sad. I miss him. I hate him too. I miss my friend, but I also miss…more. Maybe I’m mourning for what could have but probably never would have been. It isn’t like I didn’t know this would be how things turned out. I only have myself to blame.

I skipped the monthly get-together with my sister and her friends and all the babies. I just couldn’t pretend I was alright and everything was just like it always was. I just want to holed up in my room and forget I ever met Rip, forget the last month has ever happened, forget I exist.

I guess I should be grateful it is over before things went any further with him or I could have become even more…attached to him. I’m also kicking myself because I never should have touched him like I did, never opened myself up to his fickle ass. All football players are users and jerks and shitheads.

He probably bonged every girl at the game and that’s why he didn’t want me to go with him. No need for little sister to run interference if you actually want to fuck every girl you meet. Guess getting off in front of me only served to whet his appetite and he went looking for someone who knows what she is doing and doesn’t shy away from getting him off.

A fresh bought of tears leak from my already wet, tired eyes. When will it ever stop? And what do I do now that I’ve been broken once again? This time feels so much worse too. And Rip didn’t even lead me on like Roger did. It is all my own doing. I finally drift off into oblivion after I cry myself out again.

“Taffy, sweetheart. Sweetheart. Are you okay, baby?”

The voice is what causes my sadness to well up inside of me uncontrollably, leading me to sob out in my twilight stage of sleep. It’s wholly unfair that he should follow me into my sleep to haunt me when it’s the only escape I have.

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