THIRTEEN #3
"Yes," I laughed softly. The genuine surprise in his voice actually broke the ice, and I felt the tight knot of tension in my shoulders ease up. "Exactly. It's a lot to take in."
"What was your favourite subject, then?" he asked, falling back into step with me.
"I don’t know. I like to read, so English maybe." I looked up at him, trying to match his easy pace. "How about yours?"
"Sports. Well, basketball, really," he said, gesturing with a tilt of his chin toward the double gym doors at the end of the hall.
We reached the heavy wooden doors of the library. I turned to face him with a questioning look. “So why not take a sports-related course here?”
The easy-going smile slipped from his face, replaced by a sudden, heavy look. “My parents said I need to concentrate on getting a real job.”
The sudden shift in his tone hit close to home. My own parents were absolute experts at shooting down dreams. Wanting to salvage the mood and prove we had something in common, I explained, "Well, I happen to like shooting hoops."
Aaron raised an eyebrow, looking down at me with a slow, challenging grin. "Are you any good?"
"Yes, actually. I beat my brother all the time," I teased, throwing him a sharp, daring look. "Are you? Height isn't everything, you know."
Internally, I gave myself a quiet high-five. I was seriously impressed by my sudden burst of confidence.
"Brutal." Aaron clutched his chest as if physically wounded, a genuine laugh breaking through his heavy mood. "Maybe I’ll have to challenge you to a hoop-off to see if you’re all talk.” His phone then started ringing, and he apologised, sliding it from his jacket.
“Ah, got to go, it’s my dad. So, see you at one, right? "
"Right," I smiled, watching him take the call and walk away.
I pushed through the heavy doors, and the loud, buzzing chaos of the hallway instantly vanished into a thick, dead silence.
After a brief interaction with the librarian to whom I flashed my brand-new ID card, she pointed me toward the back corner where the quiet section was.
I needed to look at my notes. I had another test at the end of the week.
I sank into a secluded wooden chair, opened my notebook, and tried to force myself to focus.
But with every page I turned, the text blurred.
My mind was spinning. All I could think about was what Kieran would say when he found out I was having lunch with Aaron.
Would he lose his temper? Would his jaw tighten with that dangerous, quiet fury I'd seen at the party?
It seemed such a long time ago, but I remembered it well.
A strange, thrilling warmth bloomed in my chest. Why did the exact thought of pushing Kieran Rook’s buttons make me feel so incredibly good?
But in the end, the joke was on me as Aaron stood me up.
I waited outside Peppers as the minutes ticked by, but he never showed. Without his number, I couldn't even text him. Swallowing my pride, I ended up sliding into a chair with a group of random guys, picking at my food and feeling like a total loser.
The next morning, Aaron cornered me in the hallway before I could actively avoid him. He looked genuinely apologetic.
"Amelie, I am so sorry about yesterday," he rushed out, catching my arm. "My sister—she’s in the hospital. We thought she was coming around, but it was a false alarm. I had to go home.”
My irritation melted into a sudden wave of sympathy. "Oh my god, is she okay?" I began, but before I could ask anything else, a loud group of guys threw their arms around Aaron's shoulders.
"Yo, Blake! We hitting the courts later?" one of them loud-mouthed, effectively hijacking the conversation. Blake? I wondered why that name sounded so familiar.
Aaron quickly pivoted, smoothly introducing me to the group. To my surprise, they were all super nice, immediately pulling me into their easy banter. Still, the mystery of Aaron's sister hung in the air, unanswered.
I spent the next couple of days buried under a mountain of textbooks, cramming for an upcoming test. Jessa mentioned in passing that Kieran was staying with friends for the week, which explained the eerie peace at the main house.
I did catch glimpses of him at school, though.
Twice, he walked right past me in the courtyard, his eyes scanning the crowd without ever locking onto mine. He didn't even blink.
A sharp spike of annoyance hit me every time.
It was infuriating being completely invisible to him again, but I forced myself to bury it.
I simply didn't have the time to overanalyse his toxic mood swings. My memory of the kiss was still so fresh in my mind, and that made everything feel so much worse. Had he not enjoyed it as much as I did? I wondered if he’d heard about my brother coming to live with us.
Maybe that had pissed him off; he certainly hadn’t wanted me there originally.
And he still doesn’t.
Instead, I focused on family. Sophie practically screamed with joy when I called her to report that Adam was safe and due to move into the Rook’s pool house. By Thursday, I’d locked in arrangements with Kathy for Adam and me to visit Sophie in her temporary foster home at the weekend.
Piece by piece, my chaotic new life was slowly dropping into place. Well, apart from my on-and-off friendship with Kieran.
The most captivating, deeply annoying boy on the planet.