Page 26 of Love, Academically
This was absolutely ridiculous, Lila wasn’t even his girlfriend. Jason had made his choice and was seeing someone else, and here he was squaring up to him? What the actual fuck?
“Guys, please stop arguing. I’m tired and hungry. I just want to go home,” she said quietly, her blue eyes imploring him to just wheel her away. “Rhys, can we go home?”
Rhys looked at her and frowned. Lila was on the verge of tears, her voice choked and her throat working hard to keep all heremotions in. Why was she upset? It wasn’t as if she still cared about Jason. Or did she?
Regardless, he felt like a right dick, letting her ex-boyfriend get under his skin, making her upset.
“Yes, of course,” he said, turning the wheelchair.
“Call me, Li, if you need anything,” Jason called after them, a fucking smirk in his voice.
Rhys’s knuckles were white on the handles of the wheelchair as he navigated the winding corridors to the pharmacy.
He positioned her and passed the prescription for painkillers (and, he hoped to God, crutches) to the pharmacist behind the counter.
Rhys was genuinely baffled. She was soLila, so vibrant and alive in work. Then Jason rocked up and she turned into a meek little serf, needing someone to tell her what to do. That wasn’t the Lila who’d pushed him into doing that stupid course.
“Why do you let him think you can’t do anything by yourself?” he asked when he sat down next to her.
Lila turned her sad eyes to him. “Because sometimes I can’t.”
She shrugged helplessly and tears she had obviously tried so hard to keep down started to escape down her cheeks.
She wascrying.
What was he supposed to do with that? How did you comfort someone who was crying? Dan didn’t cry, and his sister always had their mother and other people to look after her when she was upset (not that Elin was a crier). That was one of the things his ex, Seren, didn’t like; he just wasn’t very good with emotions, his own or other people’s.
He reached over and patted her hand awkwardly.
“There, there, it’s okay,” he said. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”
The words sounded stupid but Lila snorted a laugh, so they must have done something.
“Thank you for pretending again.” She turned a watery smile on him. “I was really hoping I wouldn’t see him here.”
Rhys shrugged and looked away from her outpouring. “It’s fine. It would have been weird if I wasn’t your fake boyfriend.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve ruined your day and now I’m crying.” She sighed. “I’m just hungry. I need to be fed regularly.”
His day had been ruined, and yes, she was crying, but it was all right. He’d done a good thing.
“I can stop and get you fish and chips if you like. But you can’t eat them in my car.”
Why had he said that? His car would stink of vinegar.
“Can you? Would you? Thank you! Thank you so much,” Lila said, putting a hand on his forearm.
“Yep,” he said, folding his arms across his chest, waiting. Again.
Lila
It’s a good job they hadn’t taken Petunia, because it would have been a struggle to get the crutches in.
“Don’t worry about stopping, Rhys. I’ve ordered some fish and chips to be delivered on Just Eat.” God, she was starving. “I’ve ordered you cod and chips okay? Oh, and gravy.” That was the least she could do for all his help today.
“Oh. All right,” Rhys said. He stopped at the main road and looked at her expectantly. “I don’t know where you live.”
“Oh sorry! Left here.”
