Page 47 of Fall From Grace
I lean forward, setting my elbows on my knees as my shoulders slump. This fucking funk, man. It’s all Wren’s fault. I can guarantee I wouldn’t feel like this if it wasn’t for her. For a random nerd I shouldn’t give a second thought to, she’s dominated my thoughts ever since the night at the club.
That fucking look she gave me…
Goddamn it.
Friday night is a night I should go out and party, but I’m not feeling it, so when I get up, I head upstairs and shower, toss on some sweats, and make myself something small in the microwave. Don’t really feel like cooking or ordering delivery. It’s so unlike me, but I just want to have a night in, alone.
Once my food is done, I throw it on a plate and bring it to the living room. I turn on the TV and find something to watch on one of the many streaming services I have. Seriously, at thispoint, it’s like I’m paying for cable, but whatever. I couldn’t care less.
My dinner is just one of those little wraps with cheese and pepperoni inside—funny how the picture on the box always makes it seem like the things are stuffed full to the point where they’re overflowing with their contents, but in reality, when you open the plastic packaging, you’re greeted with sadness.
I take my first bite and immediately a drip of grease oozes out and hits me smack dab on the chest. “Shit.” I try to wipe it off as quickly as possible. Stupid me didn’t put on a shirt after I showered. Hot grease on bare skin? Not so fun. I can take some pain with my pleasure, but that’s when I’m expecting it. Here and now? Not exactly welcome.
Honestly, this is what I get for eating this shit, what I get for letting a girl get me so wrapped up in her that I can’t think straight.
Night falls outside, and I’m three episodes into some show about the world after a nuclear apocalypse when my doorbell rings.
What the shit?
I get up and peer out of the nearest window. From where I am, I’m able to see who’s standing there, looking out of place, and I genuinely can’t believe it. I mean… what the fuck?
Storming to the front door, I unlock it and throw the door wide open, instantly meeting the eyes of the girl on the other side, a girl who’s been here only once before. Somehow, she remembered. She remembered and she’s here, for whatever reason.
Wren. The girl that’s been plaguing my thoughts for an eternity now.
I meet the girl’s wide eyes and say the only thing that comes to my mind: “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Call me crazy, but I don’t think that’s what she expected me to say.
Chapter Twenty – Wren
It took a lot for me to muster up the courage to do this, so when Logan answers the door and says, “What the fuck are you doing here,” I can only stare at him like he just spoke another language to me. I mean, I know I showed up randomly, out of the blue, but still, that’s rude, isn’t it?
He is a rude person, so I shouldn’t have thought he’d say anything else.
My heart is beating way too fast, just like it’s been beating ever since I decided to do this. Force myself out of my comfort zone with this guy again, only in a different way.
I haven’t seen Logan since the cemetery. I don’t know if he skipped class or if he decided to sit somewhere else. Frankly, I was too busy wrestling with myself to dare toss a glimpse around the auditorium. Maybe I was afraid of what I’d feel if I saw him sitting somewhere else.
Sadness? Jealousy? Annoyance? He’s the one who inserted himself into my life. I didn’t want him to sit with me that first day, when we saw each other again.
I open my mouth to say something back, but before I have the chance to, I realize he’s standing before me in nothing but sweatpants… sweatpants that hang a little too low on his hips. His entire torso is bare, his muscles on full display, including a V-shape pointing downward, to an area I definitely shouldn’t pay any attention to.
Jeez. Is he wearing anything under those sweats? I’m pretty sure I see an outline of his…
I avert my eyes before that thought can finish itself, although it’s too late for me to pretend I’m not blushing.Oh, get a grip, Wren, I tell myself.It isn’t like you haven’t seen it before.
“Hi to you, too” is what I end up saying, sounding just as lame as I always am.
He rolls his eyes at me, but his scowl lessens somewhat as he leans on the frame of the open door. “Come here for round two?” he asks, though based on his tone, it sounds like he’s not interested in doing any of that right now.
“Believe it or not, not everything is about sex,” I tell him.
“Uh-huh. Whatever.” His eyes fall to my feet, taking me in as they travel up my body and check me out. “What do you want?”
I fiddle with my fingers. This isn’t easy for me, that much is plain. “I didn’t know if you’d be home, but… if you were, I—” I swallow hard, like I’m about to confess my undying love to him or something. “—I wanted to see if you were up for going out tonight. With me.”
Ugh, as if that much wasn’t already obvious.
