The Purple Backpack ✔️

Chapter Fourteen

ANDREW'S POV

I was definitely faster at editing photos that I was pretending to be. I just wanted to keep Pierra in the room with me for as long as I could. I would never get a chance like the one presented before me so I had to make sure that I took full advantage of it. I had not expected her to knock at my door, nor had I anticipated that she would stick around to wait for the photos. She wasn't even rushing me like most customers would but she wasn't acknowledging my presence either. She was just lying on the floor scrolling through her phone as she listened to music on her airpods.

I wanted her to talk to me but each time I tried she shut me down fast. Pierra had always been nice to others and to me too for those few moments that we were getting along. I had no idea she had a feisty side to her that made her shut people like me who hurt her up. Her sharp and witty tongue was allowing me to see a side of her that I'd never seen before and I didn't exactly hate it.

When she had brought me food and actually remembered my favorite soda I had felt hopeful then she had to crush my hope by telling me she had just been doing what any decent human being would. She was putting on the mask that she had on with everyone else around me and it was breaking my heart. She had been so free on our date but then I had to mess that up and now she would probably never open up to me again. I probably didn't deserve it anyway.

"I have to go return the dishes, do you need me to bring you anything?"She asked and I turned my gaze to face her.

"No I'm good."I replied watching her as she gathered up all the utensils we had used.

"Okay."She replied shortly leaving the room.

She had already fed me without asking me for my half of the money to pay for the meal. There's no way I was going to ask her for anything else.

I started transferring all the edited images and videos to a flash drive as I finished up editing the last few pictures. I had already kept her long enough and she had been patient but there was no need to keep her around if we weren't going to talk.

Our conversation from the previous night was clearly not going to continue and she wasn't going to allow me to apologize so I decided to just leave her alone. She had drunk alcohol because of me and probably said words she never meant to because I made her angry and I didn't want to go through that again. Pierra deserved to be happy with a guy who her brother approved of and wasn't afraid to fight for her and that was clearly not me. It hurt thinking like that but there was nothing I could do about it.

Pierra came back into the room five minutes later and resumed her position on the floor. Everytime she had been in my room it had been under tense uncomfortable situations. For once I hoped she would be there for the right reasons but I had lost that chance. I would love to have a movie night with her or just lie on the bed talking all night. I would love to know what kind of music she loved so we could listen to it together.

The kiss we had shared on our date had been haunting my mind and I wanted to feel her lips on mine again. When I closed my eyes I could remember just how soft they had been against mine and recall just how sweet she tasted. I wanted Pierra with every fiber of my being but I had already messed up and Bishop would never approve. He'd made that perfectly clear by getting me hospitalized for two weeks.

I looked at the last picture I was editing and gave myself a thumbs up for the perfect shot. It was of Bishop cutting his cake with Pierra on one side and his girlfriend on the other. Everyone was singing happily all smiles except for Pierra who looked sad and out of place. She had a fake smile on for the sake of her brother but neither him nor anyone else noticed. Her brother was happy next to her but she was miserable and that one picture put everything into perspective for me. How could I allow Ivy to continue being so miserable while her brother was living his dream life unscathed of the ruin he was making of his sister's life.