Page 87 of Clichés & Curses

Goodnight.

Partner.

Chapter Eighteen

Thursday came around, and I was back in my usual spot at my favourite coffee shop on campus. The afternoon sun illuminated through the windows, giving off a warm ambience as I immersed myself in my book.

Everything about that moment was perfect. But it seemed my heart wasn’t fully on board with it.

Colton’s messages from the previous night kept floating in my mind. Though it might not have been at the forefront, it still stood at the sidelines, occasionally reminding me of its existence, whenever my mind started drifting during class.

I was waiting for my next class, with a book in my hand to distract me from reality, but it wasn’t working as well as I had hoped. As I tried reading the start of a new page for the third time, I heard footsteps coming toward me and coming to a stop near my seat.

My traitorous heart started speeding up, holding out to the hope and ridiculous notion that it might be Colton.

But the glimmer of optimism instantly burnt out, when I titled up my head to see who it was. I instantly switched over toconfusion as my eyes registered the person actually standing in front of me.

‘Miles?’ I called out.

He gave me a sheepish smile followed by a small wave. ‘Hey. I’m not bothering you, am I?’ he asked, noticing the book in my hand.

‘Not at all,’ I shook my head, closing the book. It wasn’t as if the words were entering my head anyway, so I didn’t really mind the interruption. ‘How have you been?’

‘So far, so good,’ he shrugged. ‘I was wondering if I could talk to you for a bit?’

‘Oh, sure,’ I said, surprise lacing my voice at his request. I quickly picked up my backpack that was occupying the seat across from me, and gently placed it next to my seat before gesturing to the now empty spot to Miles, ‘Have a seat.’

‘Thanks,’ he said, putting down his backpack by his legs as he got himself settled.

The next minute was filled with silence as I waited for Miles to start the conversation. But as more time passed, I decided to take initiative.

‘So, what did you want to talk to me about?’ I voiced out, leaning forward and picking up my coffee from the table between us. I couldn’t help but be curious as to why he had decided to approach me. Other than the time when Colton invited me to the party and at its venue itself, Miles and I had rarely crossed paths, so I wasn’t sure what he wanted to discuss with me.

He took a moment to collect himself—as if he was working up the courage to voice out his words. From the way he kept fidgeting, my suspicions started to arise as to what it might be about.

Another beat passed along with an exhale from Miles, when he finally said what was on his mind.

‘It’s about Colton,’ he confessed, confirming my suspicions.

‘Is he okay?’ My spine straightened instantly, slightly alarmed.Did something happen to him?

‘Yeah, he’s doing all right,’ he replied.

‘Oh, that’s great,’ I breathed out, relieved to hear that he was fine.

My words hung between us, and the silence started to stretch once again. I thought about asking questions about the baseball team to fill the silence—it was slowly getting awkward—but Miles beat me to it.

‘Colton didn’t ask me to talk to you by the way, in case you were wondering,’ Miles said.

My head jerked back upon hearing his words. That thought had not crossed my mind. ‘Okay?’ I said, my confusion making it sound more like a question.

‘I just wanted to tell you that he really did oversleep yesterday. From his nap, I mean; he barely made it in time for practice.’

‘Okay,’ I repeated, my tone still confused. ‘But I still don’t see why you’re telling me this. He already told me about it yesterday.’Well, texted me more like it.

‘And he apologized to you for missing your ASL practice, right?’

At that, I narrowed my eyes at him. ‘He did apologize, but how did you …’ I trailed off.

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