Faking It || l.r.h

25. Trust Me

*Luke's POV*

After talking to Avery Friday, I hadn't seen or heard from her since. I know I agreed to give her space but not knowing if she's okay is killing me. Why am I always the one to ruin a great relationship? First it was with Brooke and now Avery. My stupidity always drives the ones I care about away and it seems I'm stuck in the cycle. I keep going in the same damn circles and I'm sick of it.

I can't keep screwing up and expecting my apology to fix everything. I've got to change for the better. Cheating isn't an issue anymore, it seems controlling my temper is. I can't force my help onto someone that doesn't want it. Maybe I shouldn't care so much. If she wants to talk about it then she'll come to me. If not, then I shouldn't worry about it.

It's just that I care about her a lot and I don't want her to be upset or hurt for any reason. She's special and I just want her to be happy but hurting her obviously isn't gonna do that. I promise that when she forgives me, I won't do any shit like that again. I won't force anything upon her, argue with her, or grab her.

I left to go pick her up for school, at least I assumed she was coming today. School is absolute hell without her bright smile and cute giggles.

To my surprise, she was already waiting outside when I pulled up to her house and she approached my car and got in without a word. My heart fell a little because she was being so distant but I wasn't gonna let that stop me from making things right between us.

"Good morning." I smiled.

"Hey." She mumbled.

"Your hair looks nice." I said and meant it. The green color suited her well.

"Thank you."

Remember Luke, you caused this. You've got to do whatever it takes to make her happy again. I told myself. I'm not gonna try too hard because I want to respect her space but I'm not gonna let her disconnect from me completely.

The short drive to school was silent and when we arrived and parked, I got out and went around the car.

"Is it okay if we hold hands?" I asked. I didn't want to do anything to upset her any further. I was making sure to tread lightly today to make sure things went smoothly.

"It's fine." She said quietly and took my hand.

I smiled when she did and we walked to the school building. As usual, I walked her to her locker and stood off to the side as she opened it to exchange her books.

I wanted to say something to lighten the mood but I wasn't sure what to say exactly.

"How was your weekend?" I asked. It was a casual question that could lead to a decent conversation.

"It was fine." She stated.

"Did you do anything?" I felt like I was interrogating her but if she was gonna keep her replies short then I had to ask more.

"I hung out with Brooke Saturday." She replied.

"I'm guessing that's when you dyed your hair."

"That's right." She sounded annoyed but I missed talking to her.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"We shopped, went to a Mexican restaurant to eat, and talked about you." She closed her locker. "That's it."

"What was said about me?" Me being a subject of one of Brooke and Avery's conversations couldn't have been good.

The bell rang, signaling the start of first period. "I've got to get to class." She said and started down the hall.