How Not to Fall In Love

Chapter 15

I pulled into the school, scanning the parking lot for Taylor and her friends, and much to my surprise, I didn't see them. I parked next to Sophie, who was surprisingly out of her car. Of course, she's never out of her car when I get here, which means questions will fly at me any second now. Jules asked me one last time if I would be okay, then got out of the car to join her friends a few rows over. I had no sooner grabbed my bag from the backseat when the driver's side door flew open, and Sophie stood there staring down at me. 

"So, what are you going to do about Taylor?" She asked, stepping back so I could get out of the car. 

"Nothing." I closed the car door. 

"Nothing?" She tilted her head to the side, looking confused. 

"Yeah, nothing." I eased past her and started walking around the front of the car. "Are you coming?" I stopped, looking over my shoulder at Sophie, who was still standing in the same spot. I didn't know what she wanted me to say or do about Taylor. In all honesty, doing nothing was probably the best thing to do for the time being. 

She looked away to the left as if she was trying to decide something, let out a sigh, and then started walking around the car to join me. "Sometimes, I don't get you, Rylee." Her brows furrowed together. 

 She didn't get me? What was there to get? I didn't want to mess with Taylor. Taylor was not one to mess with when crossed. And even though I did nothing wrong, I'd done everything wrong in her eyes. Today was going to be a bad day; I could just feel it, and Sophie wasn't helping either. 

"What are my favorite friends doing?" Cole said, walking up beside us. "Are you ready to face Taylor in English?" He asked, glancing over at me and raising his eyebrow. "You know I'll be in there with you if she tries to start anything with you." He wrapped his arm around me.  

"Thanks, Cole." I rested my head against his shoulder as we walked toward the school. 

I stayed quiet and listened to Cole and Sophie talk about boys, movies, and coffee on the way to our lockers. When they started talking about coffee, I'll admit, I kinda zoned out for a little bit because I remembered I had tutoring with Austin again today after school at Coffee Oasis. I'm sure Taylor will be there with her friends. The mere thought of the situation stressed me out to the point that I wanted to run out of the school, jump in the car, and drive back home. But I couldn't do that either because they would notify my father, who was out of town for the next two weeks, and I didn't want him to return from his trip any sooner. 

"Are you okay, Rylee?" Sophie asked, opening her locker. 

"Yeah, just thinking," I said, hoping my answer would satisfy her curiosity, but of course, it didn't. 

"Thinking about what?" She peeked around her locker door. 

She would ask me what I was thinking about. Cole would've accepted my answer whether he believed it or not, but not Sophie. "I was thinking about what Jules and I would do for the next two weeks without Dad being home." I peeked around my locker door at Sophie, then went back to switching out my books. 

"He left you two alone for two weeks?" She closed her locker door. 

"Yeah. Dad gave us money to get groceries and other things. But yeah, he left for a couple of weeks. I guess he came home last night, packed a suitcase, then turned around and left." I closed my locker door to find Sophie staring at me with wide eyes. 

"What?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders. 

"What parent does that? Well, besides yours, apparently. Do you and Jules want to come to stay at my house for a few nights so you aren't alone?" 

"Thanks, but I think we should be all right." I tried to give a convincing smile. 

"Well, if you change your mind, you know my parents won't care." She wrapped her arm around mine as we walked down the hall to Biology. I wanted Biology to drag on forever and never end, even though it wasn't one of my favorite classes. Then again, Taylor wasn't in this class, so it might soon become at the top of my list. English used to be one of my favorite classes, but I have a feeling that it will become my least favorite after today. 

Biology class flew by in the blink of an eye. At one point, I could've sworn we just walked in and sat down in our seats. However, I wasn't ready to leave the classroom yet; we still needed to learn more about Biology even though I hadn't heard a word he had just said for the last hour. 

"Rylee, we need to go." Sophie motioned her head for me to follow her to the door. 

I let out a soft sigh, then got out of my seat and reluctantly followed her out of Biology. It was easy for her to leave the class because she wasn't the one who had to face Taylor in English class in a few minutes. On the other hand, I couldn't saunter to my locker because Sophie had wrapped her arm around mine, pulling me through the crowded halls and bumping me into kids as we zoomed past them. I yelled apologies over my shoulder. Finally, we turned the last corner, and at the end of the hall, I could see Cole waiting next to my locker to take me to English class. My heart started pounding; my mouth suddenly became dry, and not to mention, my throat felt like it was closing by the second. Everything in my body screamed for me to bolt out of the school and not look back. 

"Are you okay?" Cole asked, taking one look at me. 

"Yeah, why?" I kept my head down, avoiding eye contact as I opened my locker. 

"Just wondering..." 

"I had to lure her out of Biology," Sophie said, opening her locker. 

"Lure me? You pulled me out of there and down the halls, knocking me into people." I pressed my lips together. 

"I didn't knock you into people." She closed her locker, tilting her head to the side. 

"You didn't? Then, why was I yelling sorry to everyone behind us as we flew through the halls?" My eyes narrowed. 

"You did?" Sophie's eyes widened a little bit while they drifted off to the side toward one of the bulletin boards filled with random school announcements, sign-up sheets for clubs, and other various things. 

"We need to get going to class, Rylee." Cole caressed my arm. 

At that instant, my heart started beating wildly to the point I was having a hard time hearing anything being said between Sophie and Cole. All I knew was that I didn't want to be anywhere in the school, and I definitely didn't want to be headed to English. 

Cole, unlike Sophie, took me by the arm, gently coaxed me away from my locker, wrapped his arm around me, and walked me down the crowded hall. He kept me close to his left side as we made our way to English, whispering in my ear the whole time that everything would be all right. Of course, I didn't believe a word he was saying, but it was much better than flying through the hallways, ramming into people, and nearly knocking them to the floor. 

We got to English, and my feet froze on the beige-colored tile floor. I stood there staring at the black letters that spelled out Mrs.Hart below English next to the doorway. I took a deep breath in and leaned to the left, peeking into the classroom to see if Taylor and her friends were in there plotting my demise. 

"Rylee, we can't stay out here," Cole whispered. 

I didn't see why we couldn't stay out here. The hallway was fine with me, and it was open to where I could get away without any problem. 

Author's Notes:

Wonder what Taylor is going to say to Rylee? What do you think she's going to do? 

If you like this chapter, please consider giving it a vote. Thanks! A.L.