Page 57 of Make You Love Me

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I question him.

“The moment you walked through the doors at Lights Out, I knew you were different. Like a breath of fresh air. It didn’t take long for me to pick up on the Greyson shit, but I couldn’t quite figure it out. But now I get it,” he says, smiling at me, but I notice it doesn’t reach his eyes.

Shit, did I lead Corbin on? I mean he's fricken gorgeous and if I wasn’t so hung up on Greyson, I would definitely be into him, but the heart wants what it wants.

“I'm sorry,” I utter with sincerity, not really sure what else to say.

“Honestly, you did nothing wrong. Greyson is a lucky guy if he gets you back. But don’t worry, I'll respect your fucked up relationship. Just know I'm here if you need me. If there's one thing for you to know about me, it's that I'm loyal as fuck, so when I say I got you, I mean it. And lucky for you, you now have an overprotective bestie,” he says as he winks at me.

I lean across the console and give him a big hug, thankful for his understanding.

“Thank you,” I beam, settling back into my seat.

“Alright, let's get this shit over with,” he groans, reaching over to grab his backpack from the backseat. We both exit the car and walk to my front steps. “I hope you're as big of a wiz as they say you are because this shit’s for the birds.”

That has me chuckling as I punch in the code to enter the house. He nudges my shoulder with his. “There’s that smile. Don’t worry Trouble… it’ll all work out.”

I smile back at him. Everyone keeps telling me it'll all work out. Guess I just have to wait and see.

***

“You’re kidding me, right?” I hear Ashley yell through the speaker of my phone as it sits on the counter.

“Tell me about it, trying to put the blame solely on me! Then he gives me the cold shoulder all week long,” I say, walking around my room as I finish getting ready for school.

“I mean, it's been almost two weeks and you haven’t had a legit conversation yet? What is wrong with you both?” she asks. I know she's right. If we let it fester any longer, who knows what’ll happen.

“The timing is never right. Recently, our interactions have always been somewhere public and around our friends. Definitely not the right setting for what we need to talk about.” I sigh as I throw my long hair up into a high ponytail.

“Tig, the timing will never be right. Sometimes you just need to let it happen. I know damn well you will feel a shit-ton better once you do,” she says as she lets out a huge yawn.

“Ugh, I miss you so much. When am I seeing you? Are you able to make it to the fundraising Gala?” I ask her. I’m thankful she's only a phone call away, but I need to see my friend.

“I’ve been looking at my schedule, and I think I’m good for that weekend. I can come out that Thursday,” she says through another loud yawn.

“Okay, clearly I'm boring you, so I’ll let you go,” I joke, knowing she worked last night and had only been sleeping for a few hours before I called her this morning.

“Oh, you shut your face. I'm always here to talk. But I do need my beauty sleep, I'm seeing Trent tonight.” I can hear the smile in her voice.

“Love you Bitty, get some rest, and remember to stretch well before any physical activity,” I laugh out at her.

“Love you too, Tig,” she says and ends our call.

It’s Friday and I'm happy to have the weekend ahead of me. Ethel is away, and Remi invited me to a party tomorrow night. I haven’t made an effort to speak to Grey yet, considering he's been ignoring my existence since the pizza place. But I'm planning on staying sober at the party and asking him to go somewhere private with me—somewhere we can talk everything out without interruptions. I'm scared as hell to hear his side of things from that night, but I know we both need that or we are going to keep going in circles on this merry-go-round.

My day goes by without a Greyson spotting. He didn’t even show up to lunch, much to my disappointment. Even though we’re not talking, I still love admiring him from afar. As much as it pains me to say it, I crave his presence.

Closing my locker, I grab my bag and sling it over my shoulder. Placing one airpod in, I head toward the school exit. I'm halfway down the hall when I feel a tug on my ponytail. Not enough to make me fall, but hard enough to make me stumble backwards causing my bag to slip.

“What the hell?” I say out loud, at the moment not sure whom to direct it to.

“Oops, sorry,” comes from behind me. I’d know that voice anywhere.

“You’re kidding me, right? What the hell is wrong with you Amber?” I yell as I scan the ground for my fallen bag, but her words have my eyes jumping back to her.

“No, you're the one who’s kidding yourself, you fat bitch! Thinking you can come in here like you own the fucking place. I'm so sick of hearing your name everywhere I go. You’re nothing but a spoiled fat slut,” she spews at me.

I'm speechless right now. What in the actual fuck is going on? She doesn’t know anything about me, I've never spoken a damn word to her. I feel the crowd forming around us.

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