How Not to Fall In Love

Chapter 29

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Logan came to pick up Sadie around one, leaving me alone in the house. I stood by the staircase in the middle of the hall, looking around the house. I had no idea what I was looking around for, but I couldn't move away from where I was standing. Part of me wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole so I wouldn't have to face the humiliation of seeing Austin later. Everything has changed between us, and now all he felt for me was pity. Part of me wanted to run out of the house, jump in my car, and drive away without looking back. Running from my problems wasn't the answer either. 

An hour later, I couldn't take being in the empty house anymore, fearing my father would come barging in mad about something. I ran upstairs, grabbed my phone, keys, and purse, then hurried out of the house. 

"Rylee, where are you going?" 

I paused for a brief second, then locked the front door. "I couldn't stay in the house any longer." I turned and started walking down the front porch steps. "I was going to text you once I got to where I was going." 

"Didn't Sadie tell you I was coming back?" He walked closer to me. 

"Yeah, but she didn't tell me what time." 

"Of course, she didn't." He rolled his eyes. "I told her to tell you I'd be here at two. She doesn't always listen sometimes." He moved even closer, taking my hand and pulling me toward him. He led me to his car, which was parked in front of the house. He didn't even ask me if I wanted to go with him; he just automatically assumed and started leading me in that direction. I didn't even know if I wanted to be around anyone right now with everything that happened in the house earlier. 

"Wait a minute." I stopped, easing my hand out of his grasp. "You didn't even ask if I wanted to go with you? I could be heading somewhere important, like picking up my sister." I crossed my arms. 

"Do you have to pick up your sister?" 

"No, but that's not the point. The point is you should've asked me instead of just assuming I wanted to go with you." 

"Sorry. Would you like to go with me?" He held his hand out. 

"Where are we going?" I turned to look at my house. On the outside, it looked like the other houses on the street. Well kept up with its nicely painted shutters, and even the yard was immaculate. The lawn was edged with delicate precision if such a thing existed. All I knew was that no one else's yard looked as perfect as ours, which was disturbing. I guess it went along with the lie my dad wanted to portray to the rest of the world. 

"Wherever you want to go. I thought we could go to Coffee Oasis first, and then after that, it's entirely up to you." He opened the passenger door for me. I couldn't argue against a good iced latte or cold brew. I liked and hated that he knew he could use that to get me to do something. Coffee was my weakness. He got in the driver's seat, pulled away from my house, and headed toward Downtown Mall. 

"Logan and Sadie are meeting us there." He peeked over at me. "And no, Sadie didn't tell him about what happened at your house either. You can trust her." He placed his hand on top of mine, giving it a light squeeze as if he was telling me everything would be all right. Except he didn't know if everything was going to be all right or not. No one did, to be honest. 

I flipped down the visor, turning my head to the left, examining the right side of my face for any visible marks that could be seen through my makeup. Austin must have known what I was doing because he commented that he didn't see any marks or bruises on my face when we were standing outside in the sun. I flipped the visor back up and stared out the passenger window, wishing I could go back in time and insist that he didn't have to stay with Sadie and me. The last thing I ever wanted was for him to feel sorry for me. 

Austin parked the car, and I got out before he had a chance to come around and open the car door for me. I wanted things to be as normal right now as possible, even if that meant opening my car door. He took my hand as we walked toward Downtown Mall to Coffee Oasis to meet Logan and Sadie. I wore my hair down, hoping it would cover most of my face and no one would notice my cheek if it were swollen or anything. I must have started messing with my hair while thinking about my cheek because Austin whispered that my cheek wasn't noticeable. 

"I'm telling you the truth. If you don't believe me, you can ask Sadie when we get to Coffee Oasis." He tightened his grip around my hand. 

About ten minutes later, I could see the Coffee Oasis sign in view, and the heavenly smell of coffee was starting to tickle my nose. There was something about coffee that calmed me down. Some people turned to alcohol and drugs; I turned to coffee. It was my addiction to dealing with life. 

Sadie and Logan were sitting at a table near the door in front of the big window. They were sitting next to one another in the booth while Logan had his arm resting on the back of it behind Sadie. For a brief minute, I found myself jealous of them and their cute, perfect teenage romance. It may not have been perfect, but they pulled off the facade enough to make everyone around them think differently. 

"Hey guys, over here," Sadie said, waving her hand as we walked in the door. I took a deep breath before we started walking over to the table. I wanted to reach up and move my hair to where it covered my right cheek more, but it would only draw attention to it more. 

"Have you been here long?" I asked, scooting into the seat across from them. 

"No, we just got here maybe five minutes ago." Logan smiled. 

"What kind of coffee do you want?" Austin asked, inching away from the booth and motioning Logan to get up to go with him. Austin knew I wanted to have a few minutes alone to talk to Sadie about earlier without Logan around. 

"Could you get me an iced Cherry Mocha latte? That sounds so good right now." 

"Oh, that does sound good. Could you get me the same thing?" She smiled at Logan. 

The guys took off walking toward the counter, and before I could open my mouth, Sadie leaned a little to the left and then quickly started talking. "Are you okay, Rylee? How's your cheek? You did a good job on your makeup because I can't see marks or anything." She leaned across the table, trying to look at my cheek. 

"Thank you for not saying anything to Logan about what happened at the house. It means a lot to me. I wore my hair down, hoping it would hide most of my cheek." I gently patted my cheek with the back of my hand. 

"You're welcome. Besides, it wasn't my place to tell Logan. If you want him to know, then you'll tell him." She turned her head slightly, lifting her finger to her mouth, letting me know the guys were returning with our drinks.