Page 63 of The Wrong Bachelor

As I looked into his eyes, I found myself believing him. Jake never liked to outright lie, and when he did, he wasn’t very good at it. I could tell he was being honest. He could be a bit of an idiot sometimes, but he wasn’t mean-spirited.

“Okay, fine, I believe you,” I said.

Jake smiled at me like he’d really needed to hear me say the words. “You always were the best. I’ve missed you, Mads.”

I nodded. I wasn’t quite ready to admit I’d missed him too. Jake and I hadn’t been a great couple, but it was like there was a massive void in my life without him in it.

“Do you think we could try to be friends?” he asked. There was so much hope in his eyes, and it seemed like he really wanted to try. It felt far too soon for any sort of friendship for me though.

“I’m not sure I’m quite there yet,” I replied. “But I think we could be eventually.”

“I can wait for eventually,” he said.

I turned back to look at the school and was relieved to find that the TV crew was now packing down and Cole and Laurie were nowhere to be seen. The crowd had also dispersed and I could see the school’s front doors, which had been obstructed by excited students when I first arrived.

I let out a breath. “Well, it looks like you’ve already started on being a good friend. You’ve stalled us enough that I won’t need to fight my way into school,” I said, nodding toward the empty parking lot.

“How about I do another good friend duty and walk you to your locker?” he asked.

I swallowed. I’d avoided my locker all of yesterday. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face it again so soon. I couldn’t stay away from it for the rest of the year though. I took in one big deep breath.

“Sure, let’s go.”

It was with some reluctance I walked into school at Jake’s side. I was amazed at how much distance had grown between us after such a short time. I felt different since we’d broken up, but he also felt different to me too. I found I was glad for his presence though. At least I wouldn’t have to face my locker alone.

My pace slowed as we neared my locker and I found myself wanting to squint my eyes shut and continue right past it. I resisted the temptation though, knowing that I couldn’t go another day without any of my books.

I shuddered to a stop as my locker came fully into view, and my hands lifted to my mouth as I gasped. The locker was clean. Shock raced through me, and I stayed cemented to the spot as I took in the shiny surface that was now free of any graffiti.

“Who?” I whispered. “How?”

I shook my head, still trying to believe that the insulting names were really gone. They’d been cleaned off so thoroughly it was like they’d never been there at all. Relieved tears welled in my eyes and I started smiling as I walked toward the locker.

“I heard Cole stayed late after school and cleaned it,” Jake said, from where he stood beside me.

“What?” I glanced at Jake, not sure I had heard him correctly.

“He must really like you,” he added. It looked like it nearly killed him to say aloud, and there was a frown on his face, as if his own words had upset him. Maybe he wasn’t quite as over our breakup as he thought?

I was too busy thinking about my locker though to focus on that. My heart was doing a strange flutter as I looked back at it.

“He really cleaned it?” I murmured.

“Apparently.”

I touched the cold metal, still not quite able to believe the horrible words were gone.

“Well, I should get to class. I’ll see you around,” Jake said.

“See you, Jake,” I replied, my gaze still focused on my locker.

Having it clean didn’t take the hurt away, but it made me feel like I could begin to move past it.

I gathered my books and walked to class, relieved that a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. As I walked into my English class, I caught sight of Cole and grinned. I no longer cared about seeing him canoodling with Laurie for the cameras. I didn’t even care that there had been a heap of “#Laurole” posters dotting the corridors. It was a silly couple name anyway. All I seemed to care about was the fact that Cole had done something so kind, without even taking the credit for it; that he was as good on the inside as I’d been beginning to suspect.

“Hey,” I said in greeting, as I sat in my usual seat diagonally in front of him.

“Matthews,” he replied.

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