Page 58 of I Hate You More

“Sure.” She was smiling at me again, but it felt like a lie. The skin around her eyes was tense, and I kept getting small glimpses of more complex emotions flashing across her gaze. It was like she’d plastered a sunny expression on her face to cover her true thoughts, and I couldn’t understand why she was pretending.

I took the banana and stared down at it, feeling as though I was staring at a Rubik’s cube rather than a piece of food. Ally would never usually be so unselfish around me. I’d normally expect a fight to the death or at least some sort of disagreement, even over something as simple as a banana. I knew we’d agreed to a truce on the weekend, but I never imagined it would mean she’d turn into one of those smiling bobbleheads people kept in their cars. Who was this Stepford wife who’d replaced my fierce, feisty rival?

“Well, have a good day,” she said, shooting me one last smile before she left the room.

I stared after her, trying to figure out what had just happened. I’d been so worried about seeing her today. I thought she’d go straight back to her usual cold self and try to avoid me. Instead, I was met with a version of the girl I didn’t recognize, and I was left wondering where the real Ally had gone? Was it strange that I missed her usual bristly attitude toward me?

The only conclusion I could draw was that she was holding up her end of the truce. Since she hadn’t brought up what I’d said in the truck yesterday, I had to assume that meant she wanted to forget about it. She wanted things to remain cordial between us, so at least that was something. But for some reason, it made my heart sink.

Our interaction at breakfast put me in a funk for the rest of the day. I was still embarrassed about what I’d said to Ally and confused by how she was acting around me. I knew she was being nice for the sake of the truce, but it seemed like she was taking it a bit too seriously when she actually waved to me in the corridor or smiled at me in class.

“What’s wrong with you?” Shane asked when I sat down at our table for lunch. The two of us had no classes together this year, so the lunch break was the only time we really saw one another at school.

“Nothing’s wrong with me,” I grunted in reply. He clearly wasn’t convinced by my response though.

“You’ve been acting strangely ever since the party,” Shane continued. “Did something happen?”

“Nope.” I took a bite of my burger, hoping if my mouth were full then Shane wouldn’t expect me to answer any of his questions.

“Was it because of seven minutes in heaven?” Shane continued, apparently unable to take the hint. “I know you guys don’t get along all that well, but Tessa and I thought maybe if we put you in a room together you’d finally get over it.”

“You and Tessa, huh?”

Shane’s eyes only betrayed the slightest bit of unease as I turned the interrogation round on him.

“You’re avoiding my question.”

“Because you’re barking up the wrong tree. I already told you, I’m fine.”

Shane held up his hands and shrugged. “Okay, I’ll drop it,” he said. “Have you heard from your parents recently?”

“Are you trying to put me in a bad mood?” I raked a hand through my hair and let out a heavy sigh before I decided to answer him. “Not since Dad text me last week.”

“They’re coming to visit soon though, right?”

I shrugged. Mom had sent me through some dates, but I couldn’t remember when they were coming. As far as I was concerned, they could stay away the entire year.

“So, big game on Friday,” I said, hoping he’d let the subject of my parents drop.

Shane chuckled, knowing exactly what I was doing. It didn’t stop his chest from puffing out a little larger though. Unlike me, Shane lived and breathed football, and this week, he was leading the team against our biggest rivals. “It is. You coming?”

“I might make an appearance.”

Shane shoved my shoulder playfully. “You better be there. It’s the first home game of the season, and we’re playing the Wildcats.”

“Is that important or something?”

Shane laughed and shook his head at me. “You’re such a dick.”

“You’re not the first Lockwood to tell me that.”

“And I probably won’t be the last.”

I normally would have agreed, but given that Ally had been acting so strangely since our truce started, I suddenly wasn’t so sure.

“Hi Chase,” Jenna said, sitting in the free seat beside me. “I didn’t see you at Shane’s party on the weekend.”

It was probably because I’d locked myself in my room for the night after spending those seven minutes with Ally. I wasn’t going to tell Jenna about that though. “I was there. I guess I must have missed you.”

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