The Bright Side of Darkness

Thirty-Seven

"Hey, look who it is," Travis says as we pile out of our vehicles in the school's parking lot. "What're you doing here alone, Roxie?"

At the mention of her name, my ears perk up. I haven't seen much of her since Emori forced her to apologize. If I'm being honest, I kind of like it that way.

"I need to talk to Tay." She looks right at me, and I cringe.

Travis shrugs and gestures for the guys to follow him as he makes his way to the field house.

"What is it?" I lean against the hood of my truck and cross my arms. Usually, Roxie's presence would annoy me, but right now, I'm indifferent to it. It's nice to not have negative feelings for her again.

She looks down at her feet and taps the asphalt with the toe of her Jordan. "I miss you."

"Roxie, I'm not getting back into a relationship -"

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, yeah, I miss our relationship, but I mean I miss you." She moves closer and lends against the hood beside me. "I miss being able to talk to you when my dad is being an... I just miss you."

I sigh and look down at her. She looks different. Like she hasn't been getting much sleep. Home life must have gotten rough again. I hate that for her.

I use my hand to pull her chin up so I can see her face. "I'm sorry that you... I'm sorry. You don't deserve that."

She gives me a small smile. Her eyes dip to my lips, and I can feel her move against my hand. It reminds me of before. Back when our only problems were what party we'd get to go to next. Her lips are inching closer. I can almost -

"Shit." I push myself away and put some space between us. "Roxie, I can't. I don't have feelings for you anymore."

"Yeah, I know. You've made that abundantly clear." She turns away, embarrassed and blushing. "I thought I might still have a chance, but I guess I don't." She stands up and brushes herself off. "She's an idiot for breaking up with you. Anyone with eyes can see that you still love each other."

I stare at her in silence. Of all the things I'd expect Roxie to say, that isn't one of them.

She takes a deep breath and rolls her eyes at me. "You better find a way to get her back, dumbass. Call me sometime. I miss our talks."

Without another word, she walks away, leaving me to watch her in shock.

How can she just say something like that and walk away? I miss having her as a friend, too, but what she said about Emori startled me. I thought Emori only sees me as a friend now. But that girl wears her feelings on her face. And Roxie practices with her every Tuesday and Thursday, not to mention competitions. She's been around her enough to know.

Maybe it isn't too late.

A whistle sounds in the distance, and I glance at my watch. It's six o'clock. Almost time for the teams to head down to the field for warmups.