Page 28 of Don’t Love the Boy Next Door (Hotties Next Door #2)
Chapter Twenty-Four
Katie
My cheeks haven’t stopped hurting since band practice last night.
I’m in a daze as I get ready for school the next morning.
I hardly pay attention to Phoenix on the bus ride to school, and I gather the wrong textbook for my first class.
Phoenix chuckles every so often, teasing me how cute I am.
I’ve never had a boyfriend before, so this is all new for me.
Although…boyfriend? Eric and I haven’t established anything yet. I can’t wait until we make it official.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and scan the screen. No texts from Eric. It’s a little odd that he hasn’t returned any of my texts last night or this morning. It’s probably because he’s busy finishing up the last song for the concert.
Every part of me is on pins and needles to see him again.
I mean, we just saw each other last night, but I miss him.
A lot. I tell Phoenix I’ll catch up with her later and make my way to the student parking lot.
Most of the kids have already arrived, so the place is packed with cars.
I scan them, trying to locate Eric’s. It’s possible he’s already here, but wouldn’t he have texted me or something?
A bit of worry pricks my insides, but then I relax when I don’t see his car or Ethan’s motorcycle. They haven’t come yet.
The truth is, I thought Eric would offer to take me to school, but he didn’t contact me. Again, a bit of worry creeps up my neck, but I tell myself I’m stressing out over nothing. Maybe the Palmer twins overslept and are running a little late.
My body perks up when I catch sight of a motorcycle down the street, a familiar-looking dark car following behind.
I wave as Eric passes by, but I don’t think he sees me.
He gets out of the car and Ethan climbs off his bike, and they make their way toward the school building, laughing and joking like brothers do.
Ethan notices me and slaps Eric’s chest, nodding in my direction. When Eric’s gaze flits to me, I wave and give him a huge smile. He returns the smile, though it doesn’t look like an excited one. But that’s probably because I can’t see so well from such a distance.
When they finally catch up to me, I give Eric another smile. Ethan says, “I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it,” and heads into the building.
Eric and I lock eyes.
“Hey,” I say with another smile.
Again, he returns it, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He swallows and looks around, not really meeting my gaze.
“Why didn’t you return my texts?” I ask. “Were you busy working on the last song for the concert?”
He releases a sigh, running a shaky hand through his hair.
Alarm bells start going off all over my body. Something’s…not right.
“Eric?” I ask slowly.
He finally pins his eyes on me, an unreadable expression on his face. “I can’t do this, Katie.”
“W…what?”
“You and me…it’s not going to work out.”
It feels like the sky has crashed down on me. My head is stuffed with cotton and my chest is as stiff as a wooden board.
“W…what?” I ask again.
He looks around the area like he wants to escape. Then he glances back at me, that same unreadable expression on his face. “I’m sorry, but things aren’t going to work out between us.”
“But…how…why…?” The cotton has grown thicker in my head, making me unable to process anything he’s saying. This has to be a nightmare. The worst one I’ve ever had, following my mom’s death.
“Eric,” I whisper.
“I’ve got to get to class.” He strides into the building, not looking back at me once.
I stare after him, tears gathering in my eyes and rolling down my cheeks. No, he wasn’t busy with the song last night. He was avoiding me.
After the conversation we had at band practice last night…and what he told me at the window …“When we’re apart, it feels like the world is incomplete.” After all the moments we shared…after everything …
I hear first period bell all the way from outside. But I just stand there with the tears endlessly dripping down my cheeks. It’s like I have an ocean behind my eyes. I don’t think I’ve cried this much since my mom died.
My head hurts. My stomach hurts. My legs hurt. My heart hurts. I keep replaying his words over and over in my head, because I must have misunderstood him. There’s no way…
Somehow, I find myself inside the school building. The hallway is completely deserted, since all the kids have already left to class. I lean against the lockers and let the tears fall, splashing down my shirt and the book I have pressed against my chest.
I don’t know how long I stay like this, but some coherent part of my brain reminds me that I could get in trouble loitering out here. I pluck myself off the wall and enter the bathroom, splashing water on my face. But that’s useless because more tears come.
I whip out my phone and shoot off a text to Phoenix. In the bathroom. Need you ASAP .
Then my thumb hovers over Eric’s name. Every part of me urges me to send him a text. To convince him he made a huge mistake. He and I…aren’t we perfect for each other?
Again, I don’t know how long I just stand here in front of the mirror with tears continuing to rain down my cheeks. It feels like this is happening to someone else, like I’m watching a movie. This can’t be my reality. It can’t be.
The door to the bathroom flings open and Phoenix rushes inside. She skids to a stop when she takes me in, her eyes widening to epic proportions. “Katie,” she gasps as she dashes over to me. “What happened?”
My throat is as dry as a desert. The only thing I can manage is a whimper.
“Oh my gosh.” She grabs me into her arms. “You’re scaring me.”
I pry myself out of her grip and cover my face.
I thought I had an ocean before? The new batch of tears that explodes out of my eyes is ten oceans combined.
It’s not only the fact that he doesn’t want to be with me.
It’s the loss of hope and dreams. The hope that I could be happy.
That I could open my heart to love. But I just got hit with a huge dose of reality.
Because life sucks. Plain and simple. People you love are taken from you.
When you try to move on, you just get slapped in the face.
What’s the use of trying to be happy when it’ll just make me feel even more broken?
“Katie.” Phoenix rests her hands on my shoulders and stares into my eyes, her own full to the max with worry. “Tell me what’s going on before I have a heart attack.”
“Eric…” The words get stuck in my throat again.
“What about him?”
“He…he…” I hiccup as my whole body shakes. “He broke up with me.”
“ What ?”
“I mean, I don’t know if it’s even considered a breakup,” I say as another hiccup takes over me. “We weren’t really together. Not even a day.”
“Hold up, hold up.” She steps back and studies me. “Are you sure he broke up with you?”
I nod. “Very sure.”
“But why ?”
I lift my shoulders and wipe my eyes.
“There has to be an explanation. Eric’s crazy about you. I know it. This must all be a misunderstanding. I’m sure if you try to talk to him—”
“No,” I say, a little too roughly. “You convinced me to open my heart. Now I did and I feel…” More tears roll down my cheeks. “Now I feel even worse than before.”
“I’m sorry, Katie.” She gently takes me in her arms again. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”
“I know. I’m sorry I snapped at you. This isn’t your fault. I guess…” A heavy sigh seeps out of my lips. “I guess the sweet Palmer twin isn’t as sweet as we thought.”
“No way.”
I shrug. “We don’t really know them that well. They just moved here a month ago.”
She steps back and stares in the distance, nothing but disbelief on her face. “I don’t get it,” she mutters to herself. “It was so obvious how much he liked you. What the heck is going on?”
“He’s a jerk.”
“No.” She spins around to face me. “I refuse to believe that. He’s like the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”
And that just makes a whole lot of fat tears stream down my cheeks. Because the truth is that I know he’s a good guy. One of the sweetest ones out there. Yet, he broke things off with me. After he made me feel so special last night…
“I’m so messed up,” I say. “And we weren’t even officially together. How am I going to get through this, Phoenix?”
She once again gathers me in her arms and hugs me tight. “You will,” she promises. “And I’ll be by your side the whole time.”