Forget Me (Adore You Pt. 2)

Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

On Friday, Robbie was back. It was earlier than expected. Maria had told me he wasn't coming back until the start of the following week. As I worked on one of Ackerman's never-ending math packets, my phone buzzed in the pocket of my skirt,' he's back, just giving you a heads up,' Lana said.

I felt my stomach sink, and my hand started trembling.

"Hey, everything alright?" Chris asked, looking up from the fantasy football roster he had been making while I did our work.

"Yeah, just had a stomachache," I said nervously, flipping through the packet.

I knew why Lana sent that; what she really meant is: He's back. Keep your shit together when you see him. I appreciated the heads up. I don't know how I would have reacted if I had been blind-sighted.

I had planned on dropping off his books this weekend since Maria would spend the weekend at her house. Now I was going to have to wait until he left again.

When I got out of math, Lana was waiting for me outside.

"You don't need to walk me to class," I said, looking at her.

"Of course I do, babe," She said, hooking her arm into mine.

"Lia!" Abigail yelled, power-walking towards us. "How was your summer?" She asked. Before I could answer, she pushed me into the girl's bathroom.

"What the hell?" I asked, looking at the busty blonde in front of me. I had kept in touch with Abigail through text and FaceTime. She wanted to come to visit, but the days she was able to make it were the same days Lana would be there, so we thought it best to just wait till I was back in New York to hang out.

"Robbie is back," she said, her hands on my shoulders.

"Yeah, we know already," Lana said, coming into the bathroom after me. She glared at Abby, her lip curling.

"So, look at her; she looks like she just rolled out of bed. You're about to see your ex for the first time in months. You have to look hot. Like, did you even put mascara on this morning?"

"Robbie has seen me without makeup hundreds of times. Who cares?" I said and turned to look at Lana, hoping she would back me up.

"Ehh, she has a point," she shrugged.

"E-exactly," Abigail said, pulling her makeup bag out of her purse. I didn't miss the surprise in her voice when Lana agreed with her.

"She does look a little disheveled and lacking in sleep," Lana said, "I also have two skirts I took from your locker that my staff hemmed," She added, taking the skirts out of her bag. "Just change into it now, and I'll take the one you're wearing. You look like you're joining a convent."

I sighed and took off my skirt. As I did, a freshman walked into the locker room. She looked at us frozen, confused at my state of undress.

"Scram," Lana and Abigail said at the same.

I don't know why I expected one of them to say, jinx, you owe me a soda; maybe it was the lack of sleep. Instead, they both blushed and turned their attention back at me.

"Better," Lana said, turning me around when they finished.

"Can I go now?" I asked. I usually liked makeovers, but I was so nervous that I just wanted to crawl into bed and cover myself with a blanket.

"Yeah, I'm satisfied," Abigail said, looking me up and down.

I walked to drama and made it seconds before the bell rang. The sub passively looked up from her computer and handed me another packet. When I went to go to my regular seat, I felt it. His gaze on me. It was strange how physically aware I was of him.

I looked up to see him looking at me from across the room. He looked as good as he did before, and it caused an aching in my chest. Our eyes locked for a brief moment, and I raised my hand to say hello. He nodded and then looked away when one of his Soccer teammates patted his back to get his attention.

I sat down in my empty row, feeling as if I couldn't breathe for the whole hour. When the bell rang, I was out of my seat before anyone else.

I had Robbie again in Economics. I was sitting with Lana and Antoine. He nodded at us as he walked by and took a seat at a table behind us. Lana grabbed my hand underneath the table and gave it a squeeze.

When the day was over, and I was on my bus home, all I could think about was how surreal everything seemed. How you can know someone so intimately, and at the same time, they could feel like a complete stranger.

He didn't even try to say anything. Or sit with us at lunch. I knew he wouldn't but knowing and hoping are two different things. I was expecting him to be so okay. He participated in economics as if everything was fine. He even did the required reading and had a conversation with the professor about the stock market. I could barely focus on the summer reading. Being in the same room with him and not being able to talk to him felt so foreign.

That night I needed to talk to someone to vent and called Nicole.

"People deal with things differently," She said.

"I know, but I thought it would at least seem like he missed me."

"He probably does. He just doesn't readily show it. Plus, he was broken up with Lia. I thought you wanted him to be okay?"

"I do. I just ...I don't know I miss him."

"Isn't it better this way? That way, you can focus on figuring out what the hell his family is up to without the stress of Robbie prying and doing something rash."

"Yeah. It is," I sighed. Maria had made me promise not to tell anyone. I made the exception with Nicole. I always told her everything, and she would never tell anyone anyway. Her response after I told her about the accident was to get away from them.

"There is no dick worth your life," she said.

The thing is, this wasn't just about being with Robbie. I loved him and missed him, but I was more terrified something would happen to him. It was a fear that kept me up at night. This terrible feeling of dread that they would hurt him. Maria had it in her head they would, and she kept insisting. It made me nervous and paranoid. I don't think I would be able to handle it if they did anything to him.