Sharp Edges

Chapter 48

He abruptly stood up to leave when their last lesson came to an end. He left and Jeanette ran after him.

She wanted to, needed to settle things down between them.

She had questions only Oscar knew the answers to.

"Wait up!" she yelled at him across the street, he came to a halt and watched her approach him.

"What do you want?" His voice was unaffected by her presence, as if he couldn't care less.

"I just- Why'd you kiss me back then?"

Oscar took his time answering. Because just as the question slipped past her lips, something struck him.

A feeling of conscience, regret and shame.

At first, be couldn't quite put a finger on what those feelings were - he wasn't used to feeling like this after doing something to someone.

But it was perhaps the way Jeanette's lips quivered, or the way her eyes became glossy with tears, or maybe the accusatory tone of her voice just on the edge of breaking down and crying.

Perhaps it was her voice accusing him of ruining her which finally made him see it.

Jeanette didn't like him, nor did he like her.

But Jeanette, just as him, wanted to remain friends - only the gap between them was too big to jump over, too big to overcome.

And what he'd done just broke apart the last unstable bridge.

But Oscar took a little too much time before deciding on his answer, and Jeanette was yet nowhere to be seen.