I straighten and paste a fake smile on my face, pretending like I don’t want to just sink into a hole and never be found. “The one and only.” I fight the urge to tug on my shirt or to wrap my arms around myself to hide my body. I suddenly feel way too underdressed in my cropped tank and shorts. I should’ve worn sweats and a hoodie. I knew that I was going out in public.
I wait for the rude words to hit me, but they never come. Instead, what does leave his mouth renders me speechless.
“There’s a party at my place on Friday, you should come,” he says with a smile, throwing in a wink.
“I’ll think about it,” I lie, keeping my smile on my face even though the thought of going to his house makes me want to projectile vomit from anxiety.
“Cool, see you round,” He says, bidding us farewell.
I turn back to the shelf to look for the part, my whole day ruined by one stupid person.
I should’ve never come back here. There are way too many people that I know. Way too many bad memories that already follow me around.
We fall into an awkward silence as we continue to look for Beckett’s part.
When we get back to his house, I go inside while he goes back out to the shop. I change into different clothes and lie on my bed.
Orbit.It shouldn’t mean anything to me. It’s just a stupid word.
“Sloane, can I come in?” Beckett asks, tapping on my door twice. I take a deep breath, wipe my eyes, and answer him.
“Yeah.”
My voice is weak when it comes out.Pathetic. Just like the rest of me.
He opens the door and leans against the doorway. He looks at me for a few long seconds before he speaks.
“I made dinner.”
“I’m not hungry,” I whisper.
He stands there silently while I just stare at the wall so that I don’t have to look at him.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
He invites himself into my room and sits on the edge of the bed. His hand lands on my leg, and he gives my calf a gentle squeeze.
“I can have the party busted. I’m sure there will be underage drinking,” he offers.
I shake my head. “Not to tell you how to do your job, but you don’t have to do that for me. It doesn’t matter, it’s just a stupid word.”
“Maybe so, but I saw how you reacted. How uncomfortable he made you.”
I don’t say anything. I can feel his eyes on me, but I refuse to look at him. Afraid that if I do, I’ll cry.
“They gave me the nickname in high school. I don’t know who started it, or why. But they did, and I don’t think that it’ll ever leave me.”
“Kaden let them call you that?” He sounds angry.
“It started after him and Mase graduated. When everything started going downhill, when I just stopped caring about everything.”
“I’m sorry.”
“They said that I was so big I had my own gravitational pull.”
“What else happened?”
