Page 129 of Steeling Her
“If you don’t stop over there, I will eat your pizza, Haley.” The sounds stop as soon as Nick finished his threat. He didn’t look anywhere else other than me while he said it. “Thought so.” He smirks and sits back in the chair with his hands behind his head.
We didn’t even notice the screaming match happening between Rob and Rachel. That is very surprising because I thought Rob wasn’t the hot head; as it turns out, he is.
Adrianna walks away, having had enough of this. I stand up instantly and tell Nick I’m going to check on her. He smiles with concern but nods at me to go ahead. I feel her pain. She’s fought enough, and she’s over it. I can see it on her face. I see her running into the bathroom, alone, down the short hallway. There’s a part of me that’s glad it’s not me, but another part of me feels bad that it’s happening to someone else.
I push the door open and hear her sniffle in one of the cubicles.
“Adrianna?” I ask and it stops immediately. “I’m Carter, the jalapeño loving vegetarian pizza eater.” I hear her chuckle, allowing me to figure out what cubicle she’s in, but I can still hear the sniffles from her.
“Hi, Carter . . .” she says after some time of what sounds like her trying to get herself together. I can hear the roll of toilet paper thumping at the side and being used generously.
“You want to talk about it?” I ask, unsure of how to approach this, I’m trying but I know I’m not the best at this type of thing. I haven’t had many friends for practice. She stays quiet for a while longer. I stand opposite the door and wait for something—anything.
“I went to high school with Rob and Ryan. We became best friends in my first year there. I gravitated towards Rob more than Ryan. I clicked with him more.
“I was new to the school, and he took a liking to me too. We used to hang out every single day unless one of us was sick. If it was me, he’d come over and bring me chicken noodle soup his mom made for me; if it was him, I’d do the same with a little spice in it to make him sweat it out . . .
“I started to get feelings for him after, like, two months of meeting him, and at one party we kissed. It just happened, and it was the best thing I’ve ever felt.” She closes her eyes in satisfaction. “Then I started to get deeper into the feeling between us. I started to more than like him, and I wasn’t sure if he regretted it or liked me back. But he was that guy all the girls loved. He was quiet and mysterious, and there were loads of girls hot on his tail, but he always hung out with me.
“We never dated because I was always telling myself if he wanted to, he would have asked me. But he didn’t, so I pushed it aside. And then, when we went to college, I could see the groupies he had, and we drifted apart. Mainly due to me and my feelings. I couldn’t watch those girls hanging around the guy I fell for, you know?” she asks me. I do know. I know what she’s thinking and it is hard to see that. I couldn’t watch it with Nick. It was too hard, even when I was so angry with him.
“He slept with her . . . and I walked in on it. That was supposed to be the night I was going to confess how I really felt about him, and he didn’t even care. He slept with her.
“Sure, she’s gorgeous, glamorous, sexy, beautiful, and everything I’m not. So, when I saw that, I hated him for it. I couldn’t even look at him anymore. He broke my heart, and I had this massive fight with him. I walked away. I haven’t spoken to him in four months and six days. I’ve been counting because I miss him so much. I miss my best friend out of everything. Although, he has texted and called me many times.
“I can’t be around him if he’s going to be with her though. She’s not a nice person. All he sees is the outside of her—how beautiful she is. She’s the total opposite of me, she’s a girl I could never be, and that’s what’s hard. Because he likes that—he likes those type of girls. I want him to be happy, and I know he’s not with her.
“There’s an old Italian saying.‘Certe persone sono come alcune mele... belle fuori e marce dentro.’Meaning some people are like apples; beautiful on the outside but rotten on the inside.” At some point, Rob entered the bathroom. She didn’t even realize that he had joined. I didn’t want to tell her because I want them to talk. I wanted her to keep talking about what’s going on inside her head. It’s good to let it out.
She continues, “He’s such a beautiful person, especially inside, but they don’t even give him the chance to let them see that. I’m glad they didn’t let him. I’m glad, because then they wouldn’t fall in love with him too. I’m selfish when it comes to him, but I really know him inside and out, and I still act so stupid around him. I still fall for him every single time I see him.
“He’s not an apple. He’s this kind and sweet guy that nobody really gets to see, but when you do, people will really love him for his true self. He’s . . . so bright and caring and . . . perfect.
“The best thing about him is when he smiles, not that smirk he wears with those other girls. The real and happy smile that makes me nearly faint, you know?” she asks and I smile down at my feet.
“I do, actually, I know what you’re talking about,” I respond and lift my head to look at Rob, who has his head resting on the wall of the cubicle next to the one she’s inside of. He’s smiling back at me in a daze. I know he’s thinking about her, listening to her describing him and how caring and kind he is, primarily to her.
“Fuck! Is he in here?” she groans. I hear a small smack of metal, I bet she hit her head against the toilet paper dispenser.
“I’m here, Aid.” He chuckles to the wall that she’s on the other side of.
“Shit, Rob! You know I hate when you do that. We were having girl talk with my jalapeño loving, vegetarian pizza eating customer! Can you not do this right now?” she whines. He laughs even more. I know they’ll be alright. I don’t know her all that well, but I have a feeling they’ll be alright.
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to talk with you.” He softens his approach and knocks on the door to ask if she can let him in.
“Go talk withher,” she says over the door. He rolls his eyes at her being stubborn and turns his head back to me, shaking his head.
He mouths, “She’s always been like this.” This is probably the longest conversation I’ve had with Rob. He usually just greets me and walks away. “She’s Italian too,” he mouths once more and rolls his eyes playfully and bites his lip.
“She’s not here anymore—”
“Oh, how lovely,” she interrupts him with her sarcastic comment.
“Come on, Aid, come out and talk to me. I hate talking to you through a door.” He knocks again, begging her to come out and talk to him.
“Are you making that face? Carter, is he making that face where he’s pouting and blinking really fast with his eyelashes making him look extra cute?” I chortle because that’s exactly what’s happening with him right now. He knows how to play with her to get her forgive him. “Rob, you can’t do that! That’s not fair,” she whines. “I’m not coming out until you lose that look,” she promises, and he smirks back at me. “And don’t you dare be smirking either.” He snickers and shakes his own head at how she’s reading him so accurately when she can’t even see him. “Carter? Is his face neutral?” she asks me, and I reply with an immediate yes once he shows me. After the confirmation, she opens the door up and they see each other again.
“I’ll leave you guys to it.” I wink at her. “I’ll be outside if you need me, either of you,” I tell them and they both thank me.
