Days of Revelations (Night of Secrets #2)

Chapter 37 - Unwanted Interactions

Jax

I thought being on suspension with a concussion was bad, but it's even more annoying without one since my parents drag me to help out at Roses in Ink all day every day. It's something to do, but I'd rather brood at home than do it here while helping my parents and customers.

It's especially annoying without Adeline. She always makes the shifts bearable. I'm pretty sure she'll make it bearable now even if we're not dating. I've hardly seen her since she broke up with me, and that feels intentional. I guess she's serious about the whole making-sure-I-don't-care-about-her thing.

But I'll see her today. She never likes to miss shifts. Not to mention the dinner afterward. I don't know whether I'm looking forward to it or if I'm nervous. I'm still in love with her and I care about her, but it feels like the right thing to do to give her space if that's what she wants. I think...

The bell above the door goes off. I knew I'd see Adeline, but my breath still catches in my throat when she walks in. At first, it's because I haven't seen her in days, and I'm reminded all over again about how amazing she is. But when I take a closer look, it feels like my throat completely cuts off airflow. She seems thinner and paler like she hasn't been eating or even sleeping. There's a distance in her eyes like a thunderstorm just at the horizon. You know it'll rain, but you're not sure when it'll start.

Mom and Dad are with a customer right now, but they pause to glance between me and Adeline. They both shoot me a look, but I have no idea what they actually want me to do. They know I'll be respectful. I would rather run head first into a brick wall than do anything to upset Adeline.

Adeline mouths an apology to my parents and waves. They smile and wave back before steering the customer to the other side of the store, giving me and Adeline more space and privacy to talk. Gotta love Mom and Dad even when they give me weird, cryptic looks.

"Hey," Adeline says. She pulls a stack of papers from her backpack and hands it to me. "Your homework and classwork."

I sigh, taking it from her. "Thanks. Exactly what I wanted."

She laughs, setting her own homework out on the counter. "Sorry. But I flipped through it earlier. Doesn't seem too bad."

"I hope so."

Adeline sits on the stool next to me, setting her backpack on the ground. "So how have you been?"

I shrug, setting my schoolwork aside. "Okay. Just really bored. There's only so much I can brood about for an entire week by myself." The corners of her mouth turn up, and the thunderstorm in her eyes seems to recede. Good. "I'm actually looking forward to coming back on Monday."

Adeline nods, picking up her pencil. She twirls it in her hand. "I don't think Dean's coming back anytime soon."

I smirk. "Good. Hope he's suffering."

Adeline presses her lips into a thin line. She's probably debating whether she should agree or scold me, her eyes switching between shining silver and thundercloud. In the end, she nods and turns to her homework, but her eyes were definitely tilting more towards shining silver.

We talk while she works on homework. Neither of us really brings up the breakup, but it's all I can think about. Especially since I'm not sure what I can do to comfort her now that we're just friends. Not kiss. Maybe hug. Maybe hold her hand. But I don't know where she stands with all that.

"Adeline," Mom interrupts, setting a handful of flowers on the counter. "Can you make the bouquet for me?"

Adeline nods, setting her homework aside. She carefully starts arranging the flowers, a slight crease between her eyebrows. While she does that, Mom and Dad keep up a conversation with the customer, leaving me to study Adeline. It's always fun watching her concentrate so hard when she makes arrangements. Especially when she makes faces to herself whenever she doesn't like what she's doing. Really cute. It's even better when she thinks it's perfect, and she smiles to herself. Like right now. It's always a small smile, but it still lights up her entire face.