“It’s not that simple anymore, Noah,” Lily responded somberly. “Things between Ryder and I have changed, and I can’t do this anymore. I like you and I know I said I would end things after the game, but it’s just not going to happen now. I’m sorry, but nothing will change that.”
My hand flew to cover my mouth as I watched Noah slam his fist against the blue painted metal of the locker next to him. I couldn’t avoid the gasp that escaped me at the sudden bang, and I pushed my hand tighter against my lips, praying they didn’t hear me. Pushing my body against the locker, I strained to hear the rest of their conversation.
“No, Lily, I don’t accept that. You are supposed to be my girlfriend. You told me you were done with him.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lily whispered back to him, her voice filled with sadness. “This thing we had between us can’t go any further than it already has Noah. I’m sorry.”
“This isn’t over, Lily. You haven’t even given me my chance yet. I know this isn’t one-sided—I’ll wait as long as it takes.”
Noah’s heavy footsteps pounded toward the stairs, so I spun on my heel and ran as fast as my legs could carry me before darting around the corner and out of view. As the basement door slammed shut, Lily began to sob.
The bell for class startled me and I counted to thirty in my head before I turned to head down the stairs again. This time when I rounded the corner, the basement was empty—Lily was gone.
Pulling open the door for classroom 3B, I sank into my desk and took my history binder out of my bag. As classmates poured into the classroom, I kept my eyes trained on the blank lined paper in front of me, replaying the conversation in my head.
“I thought you were going to break up with him, Lils,” Noah had said.
Noah and Lily? How long had that been a thing, right under my nose?
She was going to leave Ryder? For Noah?
She was cheating on Ryder? With Noah?
Why had neither of them confided in me? I thought, and I couldn’t help the sense of betrayal I felt.
“Things between Ryder and I have changed.” She had told him. What things? At school, they seemed the same, at least from an outsider’s perspective. She hadn’t confided in me about anything in their relationship though, which I guess was for the better, since I really didn’t want to hear those details. I just couldn’t wrap my head around the entire exchange between Noah and Lily. Shocked was an understatement.
Mr. Coleman walked in and slammed the textbook down on his desk, signaling that he was about the begin his lecturing. I forced myself to listen and take notes about what he was saying, even though my thoughts were everywhere else but the lesson.
It seemed like it had been an eternity before the dismissal bell finally rang. The class immediately ignored Coleman, who was still lecturing, and threw their things into their backpacks. I wasn’t in a huge hurry to rush to my next class. I had purposely dressed prepared for PE today, so I wouldn’t have to rush to the locker room to change. I was more than happy to avoid the locker room full of stuck-up girls who used PE to “stretch” in front of the guys and flirt with the coach. Carefully, I packed my belongings and headed out of the basement toward the gymnasium to check in with Mr. O’Connor.
The weather was cool and crisp, perfect for running track, and I was ready to let the adrenaline take over and fog my mind into nothingness. I ran in my favorite cropped sweatshirt and yoga pants and knew that despite the cold, I would soon be warm, relishing in the fact that I could put on my headphones, turn up some Lady Gaga, and just zone out. After checking in, I walked to the corner of the gym to stretch my legs out for a minute before catching Mr. O’Connor’s eye and signaling that I was headed out to the track. He threw me the OK symbol as I pushed the double doors open. As I put in my headphones one at a time, my eyes scanned the track around the football field to see who else was out there.
I was alone.
I took off running and the second my feet hit the soft squish of the track, I felt my inner peace wash over me. Pushing myself, I sprinted the long portion of the track and jogged the short. About four laps into my workout, movement caught my eye, and I saw a glimpse of someone at the corner of the bleachers. My glasses were in my backpack inside the gym, so the person was nothing more than a blur. As I jogged, I kept my eyes trained on the figure and my heart skipped when the person came into focus.
Ryder.
He was staring at me but made no move to come down the bleachers to speak to me. I didn’t dare stop jogging, feeling his eyes on me as I rounded the edge of the track. When I finally convinced myself to turn back toward the bleachers, he was gone.
I slowed to a complete stop and put my hands on my legs to steady myself while I caught my breath.
My heart refused to slow, thumping wildly in my chest as I let myself wonder where he had gone.