Page 48 of Our Forever Starts Tonight

When I could, I sent Aria a text, hiding it from any onlookers, but the message bounced back immediately.

I’d been blocked—no shock there.

“Oh, Tristan,” Ceradi said, bringing my attention to her. “Did you see that Aria was so late coming out of the fire drill?”

Hannah watched my face, reading my expression, but hopefully I was hiding it well when I said, “No, I was too busy looking for you guys. I didn’t notice.”

“Well, obviously she was last,” Josh said. “It’s not like she can move all that fast.”

Ceradi’s shrill laughter filled the restaurant and it brought rage bubbling up to the surface of my skin. I slammed my hand down on the table rattling all of the silverware and plates. “Stop it!”

“What?” Josh said.

“Don’t talk about her like that. You don’t even know her. She didn’t do anything wrong to any of you and doesn’t deserve to be treated that way!”

Hannah, Milton, Josh, Capito, and Ceradi were all staring at me in utter shock, along with several people at the surrounding tables. My nostrils flared out with anger, and I glared at Ceradi so hard I thought my eyes may fall right out of their sockets.

“Are you joking right now?” Josh asked.

Ceradi was leaning forward in her seat, almost like a beast preparing to jump all over its prey. The people whose attention I’d attracted from nearby tables were murmuring and pointing at me, and were more than enough of a hungry audience for Ceradi’s torment if she threw into a fit. Under the table, I could feel a stabbing into my leg, and I noticed that Hannah’s hand was under the table and her fork was missing.

This was what Aria was talking about, right? Standing up for her? Not letting her down?

Then again, I’d pretty much already done that in a way I was quickly learning was irreversible.

So then what was the point?

“Yeah,” I said, relaxing in my chair and throwing on a fake laugh. “I’m kidding.”

Josh, Milton, and Ceradi all erupted into laughter, but Hannah, and for some reason, Capito were both watching me with concerned gazes. I forced a smile on to pretend as if I was okay, but I had a feeling that they both knew I wasn’t. The conversation carried on, trashing Aria even more, but Capito and Hannah stayed out of it. The rest of the meal was arduous, but I made it through by the skin of my teeth, and was so exhausted when we were leaving that I considered getting a ride home and coming back for my car.

“Close call,” Hannah whispered to me as we were walking out. “Don’t you dare drive away until we get the chance to talk about it.”

We said goodbye to the others, with hugs and waves, then all climbed into our cars and waited for everyone to pull off. Hannah was parked next to me and I assumed she was going to come over to my car, but she continued to sit there until I finally got a text that simply said:

Capito’s still here.

I looked over,and sure enough, Capito’s car was still parked in the parking lot and he was staring back in my direction as if he was waiting for something. I opened the door of the car and climbed out, and as soon as I did, both Hannah and Capito did the same. Hannah lingered back, but Capito crossed the parking lot, tucking his hands into the pockets of his letterman jacket. He was a tall, thickly-built Hispanic guy, with a closely shaven head and a budding goatee. He carried toughness like most people wore glasses, so seeing him staring at me like I was a puppy cowering in the middle of a busy highway was disconcerting to say the least.

“You, uh, wanna talk about what happened back there?” he asked.

My heart thudded once, and I looked back at Hannah for guidance, but she seemed just as confused. Turning my gaze back to Capito, I read his face for signs of deceit or trying to trick me for Ceradi, but he seemed genuine.

“I’m… in love with Aria,” I chose to say.

He puffed up a bit and then let out a long breath. “Fuck, man. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“Tris,” Hannah warned, but I just shook my head at her.

For some reason I trusted that everything was okay. “You see how Ceradi is about it.”

He scratched his head. “Yeah. That’s a tough one. I’m sorry for anything shitty I’ve said about her. Just trying to fit in and all that.”

I laughed. “Yeah. Trust me when I say I know how that goes.”

Hannah made her way over to us and stood next to me. “Did something happen?”

It felt a little weird having Capito there, but it also felt like I was gaining an ally, which in a really strange way, gave me some of the confidence I’d always lacked. “Yeah. We got locked in the closet and I told her how I felt. She feels the same way and things got… hot. But when Coach showed up to let us out, I jumped back and then wouldn’t go within ten feet of her. I just panicked. Old habits die hard. I wish I could redo it and just walk out of that school holding her hand.”

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