Breathing out a sigh of relief, he made his way up to her front door. Knocking on it, he waited. He counted to ten then to twenty before the door finally opened and there she stood. At first, she glared at him.
“I didn’t mean for that to happen today.”
“Then what did you mean to happen?”
“I don’t want to argue with you, Pru.”
“I don’t want to argue with you either but I didn’t agree to you starting a fight with Sean.”
“He fucking started it.”
“Seriously? You want to do this? You want to start throwing blame?”
“I don’t want to argue with you.”
“I don’t want to argue with you either, but you’re making it really hard for me to want to take your side,” she said.
This wasn’t what he wanted.
“You do know I didn’t want any of this to happen, right?”
“Yes, I know that.” She wouldn’t look at him.
“Dammit, Pru, look at me.”
She waited a couple of minutes before finally giving him her full attention. “What?”
“What’s going on here with us?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Yes, there’s nothing going on. You’re here trying to tell me what went on back at high school.”
“You’re withdrawing from me.”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I honestly don’t know what you want from me anymore, Drake.”
“It has been one day and we can’t even remain friends because of it.” He couldn’t lose her. There was no way he could allow her to go. They weren’t done. “I’m sorry.”
“Please, stop saying that.”
“I mean it, though.”
“I know. You keep saying it but I really don’t need to hear it.” She released a breath and looked incredibly nervous.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“I’m just thinking this is a lot harder than it was supposed to be.”
“Dammit, Pru. Don’t do what I know you think you should do.”
“He’s my best friend and you pummeled him today.”
“He deserved it.”
“No one deserves that, Drake. No one. Why can’t you see that?” she asked. She ran her fingers through her hair, and all he wanted to do was hold her, not fight. Fighting was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Can’t I do something to make it up to you? Surely there has to be something?” he asked.
“There’s nothing. We were wrong to think we could even try this.” She pulled away and he couldn’t let that happen.
“No, don’t do this. I fucked up today, but we knew it would be hard for us to get this right. Don’t give up on me or on this.” He reached out to her. She didn’t fight him as he caught her close to him.
Drake honestly didn’t know what to do next. Here she was in his arms, exactly where he wanted her to be, but there was a divide between them. He shouldn’t have fucked with her best friend but he’d seen the crazy look in Sean’s eyes. That dude wasn’t right in the head or in any part of his body.
He didn’t like him and no matter what he said to warn Pru, she wasn’t listening to him. Not that he could blame her. Why would she listen to him? He’d spent most of his life making her miserable. There was no way he was ever going to be able to pay back for all those sins.
Kissing the top of her head, he felt her sink against him.
“I don’t want to fight with you, Drake. I feel like we’re always fighting over something and I hate it.”
“Me too.”
“I need you to leave Sean alone. You messed him up today.”
“It didn’t stop him from going to class.” Drake had seen him walking the halls. There was something that really bothered him and he couldn’t for the life of him think of what it was. Sean wasn’t the same.
“Don’t,” she said, sounding really tired. “I just want you to hold me.”
Drake’s heart started to race. She just wanted to be held. What did that mean?
He wasn’t going to question her, not when he had her in his arms. “All I could think about all day was that kiss.”
“I wish we could have spent all day in the closet and not come out. I would’ve loved that.”
“Me too,” he said, being completely honest with her. There was nowhere else he’d wanted to be than with her. When his friends had arrived, he’d hated it. All he wanted to do was tell them to fuck off. Then the shit with Sean. It seemed that no matter what he did, he was always screwing up in one form or another.
Running his fingers through her hair, he closed his eyes and breathed her in. For now, he didn’t have to worry about anyone or anything. He could just enjoy being around her, and it was all he wanted, all he craved, all he wished for.
“Will Sean be coming here?” he asked. He didn’t want to leave her but for tonight, he would give her this chance to be with her best friend if she needed it.