Page 35 of Scars of Anatomy

Trust Me

I walk into the science building feeling like I’m floating on air, smiling cheek to cheek. Everyone who walks past me must sense my good mood—during the week before finals, of all times—and gives me long, sideways glances.

When I enter the lecture hall, my eyes automatically land on Olivia’s face. Her attention is focused on Delilah, but it only takes her a few moments to sense my gaze, her eyes finding mine.

She smiles shyly, blushing adorably.

The grin on my face widens.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I jog up to our row and stand beside her. She tilts her head back to look up at me, the long, smooth lines of her neck on full display. Her eyes lock on mine, a hint of questioning and longing set deep within them.

Gladly, without hesitation, I lean down and plant my lips on hers in a short but meaningful kiss. When I pull away, she’s blushing madly, the smile on her face matching mine.

“Hi,” I whisper, pecking her lips once more before shrugging off my backpack and taking my seat. “What are you blushing for?” I tease, resting my hand on her thigh.

Her blush deepens and she shyly looks away, shrugging. “Nothing.”

Grinning, I lean in, pressing my forehead to hers. “Is it because I get to kiss you now? Whenever I want,” I whisper lowly.

“Maybe,” she whispers, a playful edge to her tone. “That and the fact that everyone is staring.”

I furrow my brow, pulling back to glance around the classroom to find people gawking at us. Especially Delilah.

Delilah’s face over Olivia’s shoulder is almost comical. Her eyes are wide behind her thick-rimmed glasses, jaw practically on the floor. I try my best not to laugh.

“Wha—you and you . . .” she sputters, trying to digest it all, her eyes shifting between me and Olivia rapidly. “You didn’t tell me!” she bursts out, her angry, accusing eyes homing in on Olivia.

Olivia cringes. “We just got here, and you were talking about debate club!” she tries to defend herself.

“Debate club, sh-mate club! This is way more important!” Delilah insists, sitting forward, thoroughly interested. “Tell. Me. Everything.”

Olivia looks back at me with uncertainty.

I nod, giving her full permission to give her best friend the details.

She starts off slow, Delilah hanging on her every word, but then they both turn into giddy schoolgirls, smiling and talking excitedly, animatedly, all the while trying to keep their voices down, making me chuckle.

Not long after, Rat Boy walks in with that seemingly permanent scowl on his face, his dark hair doing nothing for his pale skin, which is only getting whiter with winter.

He walks up to our row, quirking a brow at the excited shrieking before taking his seat next to Delilah. “What are you two going on about?”

“Olivia’s got a boyfriend,” Delilah says in a singsong voice.

I watch as a dozen different emotions scroll across his ratlike face.

He starts with shock and eventually lands on rage.

“Who?” he asks sharply, miserably failing to leash his emotions.

I think he already knows the answer to his question, his beady little eyes snapping to me and my hand resting on Olivia’s thigh.

While Olivia and I never fully established our relationship status as boyfriend and girlfriend, I have to admit it has a nice ring to it.

I’ve never had a girlfriend before, never wanted one, and I’m surprised when no alarms go off in my head and my stomach doesn’t twist uncomfortably at the thought.

In fact, I feel pretty damn good—excited—about it.

And I’m definitely getting satisfaction out of Rat Boy knowing our unconfirmed but basically confirmed status.

At least he finally has some color to his face. Red, but whatever.

“Seriously, Olivia. You and this guy?” he spits, prickling my anger.

Olivia jerks her head back in surprise at his hostility, a hint of shock and annoyance pulling on her features. “What about it?”

He huffs out a humorless laugh. “You do know you can count the number of girls he’s slept with on this campus on your fingers at least five times over, right?”

I watch Olivia’s face fall, and I remove my hand from her thigh, balling both of my hands into tight fists.

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up, you jealous little prick,” I say through gritted teeth.

“I’m just looking out for her,” he insists.

“No, you’re not.” Olivia speaks up, turning her gaze to him.

“You’re suffocating me, Quinton,” she confesses.

“I feel like I have to constantly walk on eggshells around you because I know you still have feelings for me that I told you I don’t reciprocate.

I thought you could get past it, that you could accept it, and we could actually be friends, but clearly that isn’t the case. ”

“What are you saying?” he demands, alarmed.

“I’m saying, it’s probably best we don’t try to be friends anymore,” she says, her tone almost sad, but her intent clear.

His face twists in shock and anger, his complexion turning an unflattering shade of red.

He balls his hands into fists and abruptly stands.

Delilah shifts closer to Olivia to get out of his way as he snatches up his backpack, flinging it over his shoulder before storming out of the classroom, causing a scene.

A low, hushed murmur falls over the lecture hall, all eyes on our row.

I watch Olivia uncomfortably sink into her chair, folding into herself, clearly mortified by all the attention.

I glance at Delilah, who has her gaze on Olivia, frowning in pity. Her eyes shift up to meet mine and she gives me a helpless look, not knowing what to do.

“Hey,” I say softly, scooting closer to Olivia and taking her hand in mine, rubbing circles into her palm with my thumb. “You okay?”

She nods, refusing to lift her gaze.

Delilah rubs her hand up and down Olivia’s arm to comfort her. “I’m proud of you, Liv. Deep down, you know it’s for the best. You can’t feel bad for telling him how it is.”

“I know,” Olivia sighs.

“Finch.” I lean in closer, tucking some of the hair curtaining her face behind her ear. “Look at me.” Lightly grabbing her chin, I turn her face toward me.

When she gazes at me, it feels like a sucker punch straight to the gut. She looks conflicted, and it has me worried that it’s not just about her guilt over her fight with Rat Boy, but about what she thinks of me after what he said.

I wish I could say the words that came out of his mouth about me were completely untrue, but I have had more than my fair share of random hookups throughout the years. I used to brag about them not too long ago, but I feel ashamed now.

I know she’s probably overanalyzing his words about my crude past, but I pray she doesn’t think she’s just another girl I’m trying to get with. She’s so far from that. All the other girls, I wanted them in the moment. But Olivia, I want her for the long haul.

“I’m sorry.” The words fall thick from my lips, loaded.

I’m sorry this happened. I’m sorry he lashed out at you.

I’m sorry for my past. I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner.

I’m sorry for coming into your life, probably making it more complicated than it already was.

I’m sorry for wanting you even though I don’t deserve you.

I’m sorry for falling for you even though I know I’m not good enough for you. I’m sorry for all of it. Everything.

As she looks at the expression on my face, staring into my eyes, I watch her face drop with an emotion I can’t quite decipher.

Surprising me, she leans forward and places a soft, lingering kiss on my cheek.

“It’s okay,” she whispers, her small voice packed with meaning.

I bring her hand up to my lips, pressing them to the back of it. “Are you sure?”

She nods, a small but genuine smile gracing her lips.

I let out a sigh of relief, the weight lifting off my shoulders just as our professor walks in and stands at the front of the room, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Good afternoon, class. As I’m sure you all know, finals are next week.

For this class you will have a final for both lecture and lab.

The final for lecture will be held next Tuesday at regular class time and your lab final will be based on your lab section, so please refer to the university website for the scheduled times.

“Now, I know it’s a lot to have a final for both lab and lecture,” the professor continues, “so I’m willing to compromise.

For the lab portion, since it’s a lot of memorization, I want you to work with your partner and take the final as a pair.

You two will have to count on each other, so make sure to study wisely.

Your best bet is to split the memorization up fifty-fifty. ”

The room bursts into a mix of emotions at the news. Some are thrilled while others are annoyed or uneasy at the thought. Me, I’m pretty stoked.

I glance at Olivia to find her expression blank, making me somewhat uneasy.

For me, this is great, getting to work with the smartest girl in the class.

I guess you could call it an unfair advantage for me and a disadvantage for her, since I’m admittedly not the brightest student.

But that doesn’t mean I’m going to make her carry all the weight. I’m willing to split the work evenly.

“Hey.” I gently nudge her side with my elbow. “We got this,” I assure her. “I got this.”

She gives me a small, tight-lipped smile, turning her attention to our professor as lecture begins.

After lecture, Olivia, Delilah, and I pack up our things and head out of the lecture hall. Walking through the building, I hesitantly grab Olivia’s hand, lacing our fingers together.

She glances down at our hands, a smile playing on her lips.

I’ve never been one to engage in PDA. The few times I have, it was in the spirit of meaningless fun or to tease, like making out in a dark corner of a crowded frat party and getting handsy. But now it’s to actually show affection. To proudly claim my feelings for one girl in particular.

Holding Olivia’s hand feels different from the other times before.

It feels secure, confident, easy. I’ve never held a girl’s hand, unless you count the times Adrianna would possessively grab my hand, dragging me along, trying to declare some sort of relationship.

But now all I want to do is hold Olivia’s hand or touch her in some way.

I used to make fun of guys who would practically hang off of their girlfriends or act like if they weren’t touching them, they’d die. Now I’m starting to understand.

As we walk outside and down the sidewalk, I dread the upcoming fork where we’ll have to go our separate ways to our next class.

Olivia stops her conversation with Delilah as we make it to the fork and stops at the same time I do, turning to face me.

“I’ll see you later,” I say, leaning in to place a quick kiss to her lips. “Study in my room tonight?”

“Your room?” I hear an all-too-familiar voice ask, appalled.

I turn my head to find a pair of piercing green eyes gawking at us, envy blazing behind them.

“Your room?” she repeats, as if it’s some kind of joke.

I clench my jaw, mentally counting to three, willing patience. “Mind your own business, Adrianna.”

She barks out a humorless laugh. “Seriously? Is this some sort of sick game you’re trying to play? After all we’ve been through, you’re acting like this is suddenly something special?” She eyes Olivia and me up and down skeptically.

“Watch it,” I warn her softly.

A malicious smirk plays on her lips, and her eyes lock with Olivia’s. “Careful, sweetheart. He only wants one thing. Trust me.”

With that, Adrianna turns and walks away, her long raven hair swishing back and forth behind her.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” Delilah mutters under her breath, possibly almost as annoyed as I am.

I exhale long and hard, my breath visible, mingling with the cold air. I gently grab Olivia’s face in my hands, pleading with my eyes. “Finch, don’t listen to her, okay? I just, I—”

She turns her head, placing a delicate kiss to the inside of my wrist. “I get it. She’s your Quinton.”

I smile sadly, remembering the day in the cafeteria when I told her that.

It was the first time we had lunch together.

I was copying her notes and asked if Rat Boy was her boyfriend after he acted so possessive over her.

Then she asked me about Adrianna, and I explained to her that Adrianna was like my Rat Boy.

“I’ll see you later,” she promises, walking away to her next class with Delilah.

I watch them go, Delilah throwing me a sympathetic look over her shoulder that says she’ll talk to Olivia, mildly putting me at ease.

I swear, every time something good happens something always has to come along and fuck it up for me.