Page 33 of Collision
“I am not naive, I just tell it like it is. Since I met him, he’s been giving me nothing but grief, and unless you’re five years old, you don’t constantly annoy the person you like.”
Tiffany doesn’t seem convinced, but I ignore her and continue, “Anyway, it doesn’t matter whether he likes me or not, I promised Travis that I would stay away from him. It won’t be a problem because I don’t like him.”
She lets out a laugh. “Well, good luck then, you’ll need it. All three of you!” She snickers. She pushes me into the literary criticism classroom with a swat on the butt. I stick out my tongue at her.
After class, I decide to spend a few hours in the library. I quickly find my favorite spot, a secluded corner between the window and two rows of shelves. I place my bag on the round table and let myself sinkinto the chair.
About forty minutes later, I am in “mad and desperate study” mode with my hair pulled back into a low, tousled bun, a pen wedged between my teeth, and my notebook right under my nose.
When I realize that I need two books to delve deeper into the topic I am studying, I get up and head for the correct shelves. I walk down the aisle of books, trailing my index finger across the spines, but no luck. I lift my gaze to one of the topmost shelves and, of course, one of the books is right there. Two shelves above my head. I look around for a step stool but can’t find one, so I have no choice but try to reach it on tippy-toes. I extend one arm and stretch my fingers as far as I can toward the shelf, to no avail. I grit my teeth and rest my heels back on the ground, resigned.
Suddenly I feel a presence looming around my shoulders, like a cloak. An arm wrapped in black leather passes close to the side of my face; I feel the solidity of a broad chest pressing against my back, making me wince.
“Why am I not surprised to find you here?” The low rasp of a voice that is becoming all too familiar blows hot on my neck, and it feels like my heart skips a beat.
For a few stunned seconds, I try to regulate my heartbeat and blink repeatedly to bring myself back to reality. Thomas then tucks the book into my hands and moves to the side to lean back against the shelf. He turns his gaze to me and crosses his arms over his chest. “Hello, stranger.”
I can’t believe it. The audacity to come here and bother me in my happy place! I glower at him, annoyed, before ignoring him to keep searching for the second book. He falls into step beside me as if nothing has happened, with his hands sunk into his jacket pockets.
“You’re pissed off,” he notes, unflappable, while I resolutely keep my eyes focused on the aisle of books at my left. I do not utter a word.
“So, that’s the trick to shutting you up.” He lets the sentence hang for a moment and then concludes, “I’ve just gotta piss you off. I’ll keep that in mind.”
I grit my teeth, increasingly irritated. I try to convince myself that if I just ignore him long enough, he will go away. I walk over to a stack of books and start plucking them out one at a time in the hopes of finding the one I need. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Thomas to my right, opening a pack of cigarettes and tucking one behind his ear. I release the air I had been holding in my lungs. For a moment, I thought he was going to try to smoke in here.
“Okay, you don’t wanna talk. So I’ll talk.” He looks around, bored, and rubs his chin with one hand. “How’s your boyfriend? He was in pretty bad shape yesterday,” he sneers. “Did you tend to his wounds?”
“Listen carefully, Thomas,” I say, with a threatening look. Once again, he’s managed to make me lose my temper, and he seems pleased about it. “People come here to study in silence. Don’t you have anything better to do? Like, I don’t know, harassing old people at bus stops? Setting things on fire? Maybe attacking people unprovoked? I know you’re really good at that.”
“I’d rather bother you. It’s more fun,” he whispers with his usual shit-eating grin.
“Stop it!” I hiss through clenched teeth to avoid being overheard. “Did you come here just to make fun of me? Save it, I’m not going to let you.” I turn with the book clutched to my chest and make to walk away. Thomas, however, grabs me by the wrist and pulls me to him.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“What’s the matter with me?” I growl, unable to hold back my anger any longer. “Do you even realize how ridiculous you are? All you do is harass me, constantly trash-talking my boyfriend. Last night you went nuts on him and then, not content with that, you took the liberty of…ugh, forget it!” If we were outdoors, I would probably have already been screaming at the top of my lungs.
He speaks with the air of one laying it all out clearly. “I’m not gonna apologize to you for hitting him. I’ll remind you that he threw the first punch. Did you expect me to just stand there and take it? I was happy to give it right back to him and, for your information, I washolding back.”
“I want to be very clear: Don’t think for one second that I will let you use me. I don’t know what happened between you two, but I won’t be put in the middle of it,” I hiss.
Thomas looks confused. “Do you think I’m using you?”
“I don’t think so, I know so.” For a moment, his expression darkens, but I don’t understand why.
“You’re full of shit.” He sighs, rubbing his forehead with his thumb. “If I want something from a woman, I can get it without any tricks.”
“What you said to Travis was disgusting,” I mutter.
“I’ll give you the chance to prove me wrong, anytime you want,” he taunts. My eyes widen with indignation and I look around quickly. Fortunately, we are alone in our aisle.
“You…you’re really sleazy. And disrespectful.”
“Would it make you feel better if I apologized?” he asks, with a new gravity in his voice. He steps toward me, forcing me to step back.
“It would show that you’re sorry, at least,” I whisper.
“But I’m not. I’m not sorry about what I did. I was pissed off, but I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. Nor was I trying to use you. However, I needed your boyfriend to get the message loud and clear.” He takes another step toward me. I step back, until I run into the shelf and feel it pressed up against my back. He rests his hands on the shelf to either side of my head, caging me in. My throat tightens, and my breath quickens. I feel small under his imposing bulk. “Believe it or not, I was with you last night because I wanted to be with you.”
