''Ian Romero, the person I hate the most in the whole wide world. He turned the entire school against me, and then just left me alone in the hell he created.''
There's no one Cody Walker hates more than Ian Romero, who is the reason he has been bull...
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*Ian Romero's POV
"Oh, right. Yeah, he was really sick. I'll make sure he'll see the school nurse, if that happens again." I lied for Cody and I'm not quite sure why. In a way it was worth it, since for the first time the look in Cody's eyes wasn't hostile.
Maybe it was the wine, but when I looked back at him, I thought mom was right: he was handsome. Without the hatred in his eyes, he actually looked really good.
"..with Callie?" When I turned my gaze away from Cody, I realised everyone was staring at me expectantly.
"Huh?" I asked. I really needed to slow down with the wine, because my thoughts were getting totally off the point again.
"I asked, if you're still going to see Callie today?" Mom repeated.
"Yeah.. I guess so." I shrugged. There was still plenty of time before the movie would start.
"Is there any girl you haven't mentioned to us yet?" Chloe grinned and nudged Cody's shoulder.
"Uhm, no, not yet." Cody muttered. I couldn't exactly see it, but I was pretty sure he was twiddling his rings again.
During the dinner, I realised something about Cody and his family. The more we drank, the more questions our parents made and the more questions Cody was asked, the more I realised he was lying. I got a feeling Cody's family had absolutely no idea how Cody was actually doing and what he had been through.
"What about Diego? Where did you leave him?" Gary, Cody's dad, asked after we were already on our third bottle. No one was drunk, but everyone talked a bit more freely and the atmosphere was almost festive.
"Diego? Oh, I divorced him years ago. That's why we left the town, surely Cody has told you about it." Mom answered and took another gulp from her glass.
"Um, no, he never mentioned that to us." Vivian, Cody's mom, knitted her eyebrows.
It was my time to look at Cody surprisedly. He didn't answer my gaze, instead he was looking down at his now emptied plate.
"It was a really difficult time for Cody." Gary pointed out and smiled sadly. I would have given anything to see what secrets Cody's eyes hid in them that very moment, but he still looked down.
I would never have believed it, but I had one of the best dinners today. I had such a great time with Cody and his family. Who would have believed that? Actually we ended up having such a great time it was already dark outside when we left the restaurant.
We said goodbyes to Cody's family outside the restaurant, when they left for the train station. My mom decided to continue the evening with the guy she was currently dating, I think his name was George. So eventually it was just me and Cody.
"Um.. Want to walk with me?" I asked cautiously. Cody just shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
We walked in silence for a while, even though neither of us knew where the other lived. At least we were walking in the right direction.
"You really didn't tell your parents why we moved?" I asked at some point. I had so many questions, yet this one was the most important.
"I promised you I wouldn't." Cody shrugged again.
"You didn't tell anyone? Why?" I felt like someone was clenching my throat. I almost hoped he wouldn't have kept his promise.
"Because that's what friends do." Cody answered in a peremptory tone that made it clear we weren't friends anymore. I didn't say anything to that, I just continued walking next to him quietly.
"Why didn't you tell your parents you got beaten up?" I asked eventually.
"It's nothing they need to worry about." Cody sighed. I could hear from his tone that he was getting fed up with my questions, but I still needed to keep asking them.
"Who was it? What happened?" I asked. Cody turned to look at me, but he didn't say anything for a long time.
"Weren't you supposed to see Callie today?" He certainly knew how to distract me.
"Dammit." I muttered and dug out my phone. There were texts and calls from her. I didn't need to call her to know she was angry and that I had fucked up. How could I possibly forget I was supposed to meet her?
"That's my door. I'll leave you with your girl trouble." Cody announced then and he was already at the front door, when I called after him.
"You didn't answer my question." I said as Cody turned to look at me. His blue-grey eyes had an expression I couldn't read.
"I don't think I need to." Cody said and opened the door with his keys.
"I'm really sorry." I whispered so quietly I was surprised he could hear it.
"Me too." Cody said almost as quietly and just like that he walked in and closed the door behind him.
When I continued walking, I wasn't thinking about Callie. I thought about the look in Cody's eyes when he said it — ''I don't think I need to." — and I knew he was right.
♡♡♡
Question of the day: What do you miss the most from the time pre-coronavirus?
(Me: Gigs! Plus not having to worry if I could do something and see someone or not. I'm — like probably everyone else at this point — just really fed up with the pandemic already..)
