Resisting the Player -- [Completed - Unedited]

Chapter 25: The Accident

Aaron's point of view:

I don't know what I did to make her so upset with me.

Ever since she saw me in the coffee shop with Tiffany, she's been distant, talking to everyone--including random people in the hallways--but me.

I don't like it.

I'll sometimes see her out of the corner of my eyes watching me with longing, or watching me and Tiffany with anger, but I don't know why, and nobody will tell me, no matter how many times I ask.

Tiffany leaves, pressing a kiss to my cheek that I fight the urge to wipe away, and Ricardo, Cassie's boyfriend, moves away to talk to Jake, who might as well be her boyfriend too.

Cassie stares at them with suspicion, laced with wonder, as they talk, Rick having an uncharacteristic softness towards Jake, but her attention shifts to me as I make my way over to her.

I like her.

I like her so much to the point where I just want to pull her into my arms and tell her how I feel, but I can't.

Sometimes, I think I'm just being a coward, scared that she's not going to feel the same way, but I tell myself I'm doing this for my family, for Autumn, and it temporarily eases my mind.

I like making her annoyed. It's fun. I like seeing her glare at me and roll her eyes at me and I like hearing her insult me because I know she doesn't actually mean it. At least, I hope she doesn't.

But now, as I'm walking towards her, she doesn't glare at me or roll her eyes, and she definitely doesn't smile her beautiful smile. She just stares.

It makes me hesitate in my decision to talk to her, but I brush it off, telling myself this is just her new way of showing her annoyance, even though it doesn't feel that way.

"Hey, Cassie," I say. I'm surprised when she doesn't answer, doesn't even change her expression. I see her shiver slightly, and I jump on the conversation opener. "Are you cold?"

Her eyes narrow slightly, almost unnoticeably, before they resume their previous position, conveying the same blank expression. "No." The way her body shivers betrays her words and I laugh.

"Why don't I believe you?" Cassie's glare, the one she gives me, shows up, but something about it is different; it feels wrong. There's too much heat, too much sincerity, behind it, like she actually means it. Like she's actually angry with me. "What's wrong?"

I watch as the glare falls away, but I'm not relieved. She's hiding her emotions from me, not telling me something."Nothing." She moves past me and tries to walk towards the building doors, but I grab her arm and turn her to face me. "Let go of me." I release my grip on her arm, but I move so I'm standing between her and the building so she can't leave.

She's angry with me, and it's a little terrifying. She's already intimidating enough when she wants to be, but the intimidation factor seems to be multiplied by one hundred when she's actually angry. For some reason, I find myself getting angry, and I speak on impulse. "What is your problem with me lately?"

"My problem?" she immediately answers, the glare on her face so strong it's like she wants to burn a hole through my chest. "I don't have a fucking problem. If anyone has a problem, it's you."

The anger in me rises despite my efforts to control it. I can remain calm when way bigger people than her get in my face and threaten me, so why am I getting this riled up over her? "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I ask with a glare of my own on my face.

"Are you actually this fucking dense?" She's yelling at me, fueling my anger, and I don't want to yell at her, but she's seriously pushing me right now. "Do you seriously not know?"