Why is my gut twisting, and why do I wish I would have kept my mouth shut?
Oswald’s trying to explain something, but his words get tangled, and the girl…the girl looks devastated and embarrassed, not like she got caught out, but really humiliated. The next thing I know, Oswald is pushing up against Memphis and we’re leaving in a huff.
Once we get outside, I hear the click of the lock, and I actually grunt. Damn, I don’t know that girl, but I sure as shit don’t like that I’m part of the reason she looked like she did before we left.
Oz shoves Memphis in the chest, and he stumbles backward but doesn’t fall. I put myself between them as fast as I can and separate them. Oz is yelling at Memphis, and this isn’t someyou ate my foodbullshit. He’s pissed.
Memphis is either too shocked to respond or…or I don’t know what, because he’s acting like his brain isn’t working, and he’s a smart motherfucker, so that’s worrying me.
“Knock it off before she calls the cops, you dummies,” I snarl between my teeth. Oz looks over his shoulder as if he’s just now realizing she could be watching this, or at the very least hearing it.
“I’ll fucking walk,” Oz spits out and takes a few steps back. “Get the fuck out of here. I’m not leaving until you two do.” He includes me in his venomous glare.
“Stay away from her,” Memphis says in a tone I’ve never heard him talk to Oswald in.
“Kiss my ass,” he retorts with no intention of listening.
I grab Memphis by the arm when he moves like he might try to get back in Oz’s face. “You need to cool off, you both do,” I say, reminding them this isn’t the time or place for this. He jerks his arm away from me and stomps over to his truck. When he starts the damn thing up, he revs the engine like he’s preparing for a race. I throw myself into the passenger seat, and he slaps the gear shift down, reversing out of the driveway like he just robbed the place.
I grab the door and brace myself on the dash so I don’t go slipping around as he spins the wheel to turn. “What the fuck, Memphis?”
“You called her a cleat chaser!” He spares me a glance, and it isn’t pretty.
“You were the one acting like she was trying to pin a baby on Oz,” I defend.
“No, I wasn’t,” he spits. “I was telling her she needs to be more careful. She’s… She’s… What if she let some guy over who wasn’t like Oswald?”
“Man, that was you being worried about her?” My doubt is clear in my tone.
“Just shut up for a minute.” He slams the heel of his palm on top of the steering wheel.
I sit back in my seat. I don’t even know what the fuck just happened, but it feels big. Memphis and Oswald never fight—well, they never fight like that—and as much as it bothers me, seeing her face after I called her a cleat chaser is even worse.
When Memphis parks his truck, I hop out of the cab and shut the door. As badly as I want them to fill me in on how we got to that point this evening, I don’t think I would get many answers, so I fist the keys to my work van and leave Memphis stewing behind the wheel.
Waylynn
I wentto class on Thursday, only because I knew I wouldn’t run into Oswald or Gravlin, and then I spent the weekend holed up in my house like a freaking hermit, regretting my choices about trusting my gut.
I blocked Oswald’s and the unknown numbers from my phone Wednesday night and even drafted a notice that I was going to drop Hilbrand’s class, but I haven’t had the nerve to send it yet. With Gravlin being the TA, he will more than likely see it, so I may just stop going altogether so I can avoid him completely. I don’t care if I have to pay for the class again. It would be worth it so I don’t have to be around them. I just hate losing the credits, because it means I’ll have to make them up later with a heavier class load.
On Sunday, I finally get the nerve to leave the house. I feel foolish now for thinking they would even try to see me or speak to me again. There are several coffee shops on and near campus, but I avoid them and drive to the one four miles away. It’s in front of a strip mall with a grocery store, which reminds me I need to get food. Grubhub is getting old, even with the endless choices.
Instead of grabbing my drink and heading back home, I park near the store. I could order it online and have it delivered, but I’m in that weird space again where I’m feeling lonely even though I don’t really want to deal with people.
It’s not until my shopping basket is half full with a bunch of mismatched stuff that I realize I should have had a better plan than this. I’m feeling slightly overwhelmed and thinking about abandoning my cart altogether, but I don’t want to make more work for the employees by making them put everything away. Plus, what if they remember me the next time I come here?
Forging on, I make my way past the freezer aisle and snag a carton of ice cream and some chocolate syrup that is hanging off the door, then head to the checkout. Half this stuff will be shoved in the freezer and forgotten, but I’m past caring, I’m just ready to get out of here.
The person in front of me has an overflowing cart and two kids. One is strapped to her chest in some sort of sling, she keeps bracing the little thing’s head when she bends over, and the other is sitting in the top seat, happily chirping away. The rush I was feeling to get out of the store slowly ebbs as I watch the three of them.
The little girl in the cart makes a high-pitched squeal that brings an instant smile to my face, but the mom leans over and shushes her with a kiss to the side of her head. When I look up again, I see a familiar face through the large store windows.
Gravlin walks like he has a purpose as he crosses the parking lot. He’s looking straight ahead, so I’m free to inspect his profile without him catching me. He’s as handsome as the first day I saw him, maybe even more so because I know what he looks like close up, and he’s just as closed off. I wonder what made him so abrasive, or maybe it’s just me he doesn’t like. Once he passes the window, I push my cart forward the few inches I gained. The lady in front of me almost has all of her stuff unloaded, and the cashier is already ringing her up, so hopefully, I can get out of here soon.
A little of the urgency I was feeling earlier pecks at me again. I’m not sure if he is coming into this store or not, but I would rather get out of here just in case.
As hard as it is not to look for him, I keep my face forward, which limits my view. I haven’t seen him return the way he came, so he must still be around.
