"You need to buy something if you're going to stay." I spoke without any emotion evident in my voice to the blonde sitting in front of me. He stood and looked like he was going to speak to me, but I cut him off before he could. "You need to leave, Reid. I'm not going to talk to you." I said as I stepped away.
"At least just hear me out!" he called out to me through the café. Several customers looked up curiously, while others seemed to be annoyed by the boy's outburst. I ignored it and walked around the counter to clean up the dishes I'd just picked up from an empty table. I smiled brightly at a woman standing in front of the counter and walked over to get her order.
"Hi, what can I get you?" I asked her politely while ignoring that Reid was standing next to her impatiently.
"Hmm, I'm not sure…" she dragged the end of her sentence on as she stared at the menu and tried to decide what she wanted. I waited for her to figure it out and glanced around the café, making sure not to meet Reid's eyes.
"You'll want this Panini with this tea, trust me I've been here every day for two years, you'll like it." Reid told the woman. She looked up at him, bewildered that this stranger was telling her what to order.
"Reid!" I glared at him.
"No, that's quite alright, sweetheart. I'll get what he told me to." She smiled at him and then nodded to me. Reid smirked at me and nodded. I sighed and wrote down Reid's usual order and handed it off to the guy who cooked for us. I moved down the counter and refilled someone's coffee, trying to get away from him, but he only followed me.
"Will you please just stop for two seconds and listen to me?" he asked over the heads of the two older men sitting on stools in front of me. I looked up and shook my head. He sighed and continued to follow me until I reached the end of the counter. He stood in front of the swinging door that separated the counter and the rest of the restaurant. "Zoe, please, two seconds that's all I'm asking for."
"No, Reid. I'm working." I replied. He shook his head and glanced up at the clock, I thought for a minute that he was going to leave me alone because he didn't follow me or talk as I walked back down the counter. It wasn't until five minutes later when he was back. "What?" I glared.
"You're off the clock." He answered. I frowned and glanced behind me at the clock on the wall. Sure enough, it was four and my shift had just ended. "Now can you talk?" he asked.
I pushed the swinging door out of my way and made my way towards the back room where the employees left their things while they were working. He followed me, he'd been in there so many times that I didn't think twice about it and I didn't waste my breath telling him he couldn't be back there. My boss adored Reid, if he saw him back there he wouldn't mind at all and Reid knew that. I pushed past him and out into the restaurant. I could feel the curious gazes of the customers that had been listening to the conversation as I walked through the door and went out to my car that was waiting in front of the café.
"Zoey," Reid began; he grabbed my elbow tightly enough to get my attention, but not enough to hurt me. "Please just listen to me."
"Why should I when I already know what you're going to say?" I asked. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off before he could. "No, Reid. I know you're going to tell me you're sorry, that you hate not being with me. You're going to tell me that you don't know what you'll ever do without me and that you wish you could tell me what was going on, but you can't. You're not even going to explain why you can't. I know that's what you're going to say because I spent two years of my life hearing it over and over again and I'm tired of it." I sighed and pushed my hair out of my face. "There may have been a time when I loved you more than anything, Reid, but I don't anymore because I can't." I ignored the look on his face and stepped away from him.
"Zoe…" I sighed and unlocked the door to my car; I slid in and looked up at him.
"I'm sorry." I said as I closed the door and reversed out of my parking spot. I glanced over at him while putting my car in drive and knew that it was probably a good thing that I had decided to drive away, because if I hadn't there'd be no way I could make myself do this again.
The entire drive back to Spencer I listened to the mixed tape he'd made me a year into our relationship. I rolled my eyes at the cliché lovey songs he'd put on it and remembered the note he'd left with it.
Dear Zoe,
If you ever tell anyone I made this for you I'll deny it in a heartbeat, but because I love you, here it is: the complete playlist of Reid and Zoey's relationship. Maybe one day one of these songs will be playing at our wedding. (That comment got you, I know it did)
Happy one year baby,
Reid.
I sighed and stopped the CD, I wasn't up for the whole masochist thing today, and I couldn't torture myself into listening to things like this when I knew it would only make me miss him more. As if having to see him every day until May wasn't torture enough. It had come as a surprise to everyone at the beginning of the summer when my relationship status on Facebook went from in a relationship to single. The truth is it was highly possible that one of the songs on that playlist could've been playing at our wedding, we were that serious. When you're in love with someone for ten years, getting married seems like the thing to do. Of course, he had no idea I'd loved him since we were seven.
Reid Garwin was my first kiss. When we were twelve we were at Caleb Danver's birthday party and we got dared to kiss in front of everyone. My cousin, Amanda, and all of Reid's friends were there. Pogue and Tyler thought it was hilarious that we had to kiss, while Caleb thought it was gross and wished his birthday party wouldn't be turned into some kissing party. There we were, in Caleb's living room, with all of our friends either wincing in protest or cheering us on. It seemed like centuries ago, when his lips finally met mine. Now look where we are, driving away and breaking each other's hearts. Life just isn't fair.
Charlotte was waiting for me when I got to our dorm. She had that look on her face, like she already knew what had happened. It wouldn't surprise me if she did. News traveled fast within our close knit group. I was almost positive Reid had confessed to Tyler what had happened, who had told either Caleb or Pogue who passed it along to Amanda and Charlotte, hell, Dahlia probably even knew by now. I sighed and dropped the keys to my Mercedes, a birthday present from my parents, on the desk that was just inside our door. I ignored the look my best friend was giving me and fell down onto my bed, face first.
Charlotte didn't have to say anything; she just climbed onto the bed next to me and rubbed my back. We sat there for an hour before there was any noise, and it came from outside of the dorm. There was a knock on the door, Charlie got up from my bed and went over to open it. She opened the door only a crack to peek and see who was on the other side, when she was satisfied it wasn't someone who was going to make me feel worse; she opened the door all the way. In walked my cousin and her roommate.
Dahlia took a seat on Charlotte's bed, she didn't say anything, only met my eyes and gave me one of those looks she was so famous for giving. Amanda, however, is not known for being the silent one. She sighed dramatically and fell onto the bed next to Dahlia.
"Honestly, Zoe, I don't understand why you two don't just lock yourselves in a cleaning supply closet and make up. We all know about that one time last year." She smirked. I rolled my eyes at Amanda's antics and turned over so that I was facing Charlotte instead.
"Don't worry about Mandy, Zoe. We all know she's just sexually frustrated because she decided she wanted a piece of the abstinent Son of Ipswich." Charlotte said with a smile.
Amanda made a noise of protest and soon a pillow from Charlie's bed was flying across the room. I let out a noise that would probably be considered a laugh, but because my face was pressed into the bed it came out more like a muffled scream.
"He's not abstinent; he just doesn't have the experience the rest of the boys do. Excuse me for not wanting to catch a STD when I do choose to have sex." Amanda argued.
"In other words he's not abstinent by choice." Dahlia smirked. Amanda glared at her best friend for teaming up with Charlotte and pouted for a few minutes.
Eventually she forgave Charlie and Dahlia for their comments and contributed to the conversation. The four of us spent the entire night talking about everything but Reid Garwin. For the first time since June I felt good about my decision to end things with him. It didn't hurt so much when he wasn't brought up in conversations and I could pretend that nothing had ever happened between the two of us.
The next day I woke up with an arm slung over me. I rolled my eyes and pushed Amanda away enough to get up and get the things I needed for a shower. I nudged Charlotte when I had everything. She opened her eyes and glanced down at the towel in my arms. She nodded and stood up to get her own shower stuff.
We left a note for the other two girls and walked out of the dorm. We walked in silence down the hallway and into the bathroom. It was almost empty due to the early hour, so we were able to get in a shower immediately. I hummed almost silently to myself as I washed the shampoo out of my hair and could hear Charlie full on singing in the stall a few down from mine. No matter how many people were in the bathroom, she would sing. I wished, for a moment, that I had the amount of confidence that my best friend did, but remembered how embarrassing she could be sometimes and was glad for my wallflower ways.
When I finished my shower I wrapped the white towel around my body and walked over to the mirror in front of the sinks. I brushed through my thick dark hair and decided that I would straighten it today, for a change. Part of me knew I was straightening my hair because Reid loved my curls, but the other part just wanted today to be different from every other day at Spencer Academy.
Charlotte stepped out of her shower a few minutes later. I was already dressed in the uniform we're forced to wear to school. The four of never really wore the uniforms the same way as everyone else. It took rolling up the skirt an extra time, wearing the perfect pair of tights, or the perfect pair of knee high socks, the right shoes, the right jewelry, and the right hair style. It was quite possible to make yourself look cute in a uniform. In the summer months the girls weren't required to wear the sweater vest that came with the uniform, something I was extremely thankful for. The sweater gave you warmth during the winter months, but during the summer it was a death trap and a heat stroke waiting to happen.
We walked out of the bathroom just as several girls stepped in, the first wave was beginning and I was glad that my roommate and I were both early risers. I couldn't say the same for my cousin as we stepped into our dorm to see Dahlia sitting on Charlotte's bed in her uniform, with her hair styled and make up on. Amanda was still passed out on my bed, snoring lightly. I shook her enough to wake her up before moving into our bathroom and blow drying my hair. Amanda grumbled about being woken up, but got up to change into her uniform. Thankfully, Amanda was blessed with incredible hair that never really looked dirty, so she got away with not washing it.
When we were all dressed, with our make-up and hair done we traveled as a group to the cafeteria for breakfast. I settled on a muffin and a bottle of orange juice and waited for the other girls at our usual table. I was soon joined by Tyler Simms and Pogue Parry, both just barely awake with cups of coffee in their hands. I smiled at the boys and turned back to the book sitting in front of me. They'd all learned long enough ago not to bother me when I was reading. Amanda, Charlotte, and Dahlia walked over to the table soon after and started a conversation with the boys. I felt a nudge from someone's foot under the table and looked up to see Charlotte looking at me with a pointed expression and saw her eyes flick over to the entrance of the cafeteria. Reid and Caleb were walking in.
I sighed and closed my book. I put it into my backpack and stood with the bottle of orange juice in my hand, having already eaten my muffin.
"That's my cue, see you guys in History." I said with a small smile. I nodded to the five of them and walked out the other entrance. It was the complete opposite way that I should've gone and I would have to cut across the courtyard, but when you're avoiding someone and taking the long way is your only option, you take it.
I was already seated in my usual seat when the others walked in just before the late bell rang. Charlotte walked up the stairs and took the seat next to me while everyone else dispersed around the classroom. Pogue and Dahlia sat a few rows down from us and a few seats over. Caleb sat right behind me. Tyler and Reid sat across from us and a few rows down. Amanda was the loner and sat completely on the other section of the classroom.
Amanda is one of those people who can't learn when she's distracted, so she decided during kindergarten that during school hours she couldn't associate with us unless it was a free period or meal times. Otherwise she was sitting alone in the classroom, in the library, or studying in her room. We had all accepted it a long time ago and it didn't really bother us. I'm sure if Amanda hadn't been like that she'd be an extreme distraction in class, much like the blonde Son of Ipswich.
I sighed and glanced down at the opened textbook in front of me. I read the words, but none of them really meant anything to me. I caught only about every other word that our professor was saying about the Civil War, at least I knew that Amanda was paying attention and taking good notes. She was obsessed with historical events. You'd think that if you wanted to know something about the witch trials you'd ask one of the boys, considering their families went through it, but instead we all ask Amanda because she knows literally everything there is to know about the subject.
I let my eyes roam around the classroom and met two different pairs of eyes. The first pair belonged to Dahlia; she sent me a questioning look, probably wondering why I wasn't paying attention to class for once. My cousin and I are both History nuts, so of course this should be my favorite class and on most days it was, but I just wasn't into it today. The second pair, however, belonged to a boy I hadn't met. He had chestnut colored hair and bright blue eyes that had me drowning in them. He was very attractive, that wasn't a question. I felt a blush spread across my cheeks and turned my attention back to my book, but I could feel his gaze on me even after I looked away.
Class was dismissed what seemed like years later. I stood quickly from my seat and grabbed the already closed textbook that was sitting on my desk. Charlotte stood as well and walked with me down the few steps that led us to Dahlia's row. She stepped out of her row and met us to walk down the rest of the stairs. When we reached the floor, however, I felt a hand gently touch my elbow. I glanced up and met those blue eyes again. I couldn't help but smile at the boy standing in front of me; he just looked like the friendly type.
"Hello, I'm sorry if this is weird, but I'm new here. I was wondering if you could show me where Economics is?" he asked. I smiled gently and nodded.
"It's not weird. I'd be happy to show you, it's my next class as well." I began walking and glanced over my shoulder with a raised eyebrow to make it known that he should be following me. Blue Eyes, as I had taken to calling him in my head, nodded and followed closely behind me.
"I'm Chase, by the way. Chase Collins." He introduced himself as I pushed my way through the crowds of students in the hallway.
"Zoey Tomlinson." I replied without looking back at him. When we got to the classroom I walked in the door and was more than a little surprised to see Reid already sitting in his seat, he was almost never on time to this class. Chase passed me in the doorway to talk with the professor before class began.
I bit my lip and walked in to the classroom; I avoided Reid's section of the classroom and sat in the upper right corner, as far from him as possible. I sighed and shook my head, there was no way I'd be able to focus on any of my classes today. Not when he was on my mind. Chase glanced around the room, until he saw me sitting in the back with people already sitting in the seats around me. He frowned and then shrugged and sat down near the front.
I really tried to focus on the class, but I couldn't help it when my eyes drifted down to the blonde head in the front row. I found myself staring at him more often than not, during the hour long class period. I let out a relieved breath when the class ended and I was reminded that I along with everyone else had a free period next. I walked out of the room before either Reid or Chase could say anything to me and walked into the courtyard where Amanda, Dahlia, and Charlotte were already waiting with their books open, under the tree we'd met at since last year.
Charlotte waved at me and then went back to staring at the textbook in front of her. During the first few days of school very little homework was given, but the four of us always insisted on getting a head start. We were a little more nerdy than I liked to admit. We chatted the entire free period about random things that came to mind, always avoiding Reid as a discussion topic.
"There's a party at the dells tonight." Dahlia told us. We all already knew there would be a party; there was one just about every year during the first week of school. Of course we'd be going, we could lock ourselves in the library and study during our free period all we wanted, but after school hours and after all of the homework and studying was done, we were party animals.
I closed the textbook that was sitting in my lap and glanced up at my closest friends. I waited for a moment until the girls were looking at me with curious looks on their faces. I knew we had waited too long to talk about what happened yesterday, and I was ready to tell them all of the details and how awful I had felt ever since then.
"I miss him." Amanda was the first to react. She closed the book she was reading, stood from her spot across the semi-circle from me and sat down next to me.
"We know you do, love." Dahlia said as she moved closer with Charlotte. The four of us sat with our arms around each other for a few minutes, not needing to say or do anything. Just sit.