15. Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Max
Peyton and I fought, so I guess it’s fitting that I slept on the couch for two nights. The first night Shayna fought me hard on not taking my room, but the second night she barely made a peep. And today we moved all her stuff to her next place, so tonight I’ll get my bed back.
Everything’s weird. Shayna’s feeling guilty that she’s the reason Tris even came up. Ashima’s been over-the-top nice, which sucks because I want to be mad at her. So all of us have been saying sorry a lot and avoiding talking about anything of importance.
When I return to Nick’s condo after helping Shayna move, Ashima helps me remove my bedding from the living room couch. “Are you still mad at Peyton?” she asks as she pulls the top blanket from the couch and wrestles it into halves.
“Yep.” I jerk up the other blanket.
“If you would’ve made up you would’ve had a bed to sleep on.”
“Well, I get my bed back tonight, so no need.” And like she really wants me dating Peyton. I see right through it. “And I know your master plan. You’ve been angling all along to get me back together with Tris, all with the end goal of shoving me off to Washington, DC.” I tip an imaginary hat. “I must admit, it was well played. Seriously messed up, but still well played.”
“Wow, Max, that’s really a stretch.” She wrinkles her nose at me. “That’s really paranoid. Have you been spending too much time online reading conspiracy theories?”
“Is it?” I make my point by running my hand over my bald head.
“Point taken. But believe it or not, I wanted you to get your act together because I was worried about you. I’ve been trying to help you out.” She puts the last fold in the blanket and plops it on the coffee table.
I’ve wrestled my sheet into sloppy quarters, and I add it to the stack. “Really? Not what I’d call help.”
Ashima picks it up and shakes it about, making the edges line up better. Then she adds another fold. “I’ve been so good to you. I introduced you to Emi and Holly. I threw you a party, Max.” She slaps the sheet back on the coffee table. “And most important of all, I introduced you to Peyton. If you’d stop being so stubborn and make up with her—”
“No, no, no! You don’t get to rewrite history. You did not introduce me to Peyton for us to date. You did it so she could help torture me with all your ideas on how to fix me.”
That gets Ashima’s attention. She puts her hands on her hips. “That’s not true!” But a moment later, she drops them. “Okay, not totally true. Maybe I do want you to find your own place and was pushing you in that direction. And maybe because I haven’t been more direct, it feels to you like I’ve been scheming against you, but I don’t have it in for you. I really, truly have been trying to get you out of your funk. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? And in all fairness, do you think you’ve been the most considerate roommate?”
“Hey, I’ve been picking up.” Ever since the bacon visit. “But fine, I wasn’t the best when I moved in.” I hate to admit that, but Ashima’s not completely horrible.
“I know sometimes I can be a bit of a cranky puss, but I don’t want you to move to DC.” She tucks her hair behind her ears. “The past couple of weeks have been fun with the four of us hanging out. You and Peyton make a great couple.”
“Well, that seems to be over now. But either way, I guess it’s time for me to move on and find my own place.”
When I look at Ashima, she’s biting her lip. Then she says, “I’m sorry I’ve been all up in your business. And I promise to butt out. Before I do—one last piece of advice. Don’t go out with Tris. Just go talk to Peyton.”
“Peyton jumped on getting me with Tris at warp speed. She wants an out.”
“You know she has her own way of seeing things. Also, she’s always kept her boyfriends at a distance. It’s a fear of commitment thing. You know she doesn’t have a lot of family and things are weird with her mom. Honestly, I think she’s afraid of how she feels for you. But if you’re patient with her, she’ll come around.”
“Doesn’t seem like that.”
“I’m serious. I think she sees this as a test.”
“I don’t think so. But even if it is, it doesn’t matter. I’m not standing Tris up.”
“You two are so stubborn. This makes no sense.”
“Look, if she really wants me to do this stupid test, then fine, I’m doing it. And if she wants an out and wants me to move on, then guess what, I’m doing that too. Peyton’s getting exactly what she wants. Both of you should be thrilled.”
Ashima lunges at me and grabs my hands. “That’s ridiculous. Let Shayna have more family time. I’m afraid you already failed the test by even agreeing to go. Come on, Max. Talk to Peyton. I don’t want her to leave Atlanta.”
“Leave? What are you talking about?”
“She got another job offer. She’s going to visit this weekend.”
I can’t believe Peyton didn’t tell me. I shake my hands free. I refuse to care about this. “If this is a test, then she designed it so it’s impossible for me to pass. Face it, Peyton’s ensured that she’s getting an out.”