Silently Falling (UNEDITED, ORIGINAL)

Chapter Twenty

Silently Falling (ORIGINAL): Chapter Twenty

I approach my locker and begin to enter in my combination. Once I finish, I pull on my locker so it opens up and reveals my array of textbooks, but instead of opening, it locks on me.

I sigh and give it another attempt, and again the lock refuses to open. I open my locker every day, multiple times, and rarely does it give me this much trouble. But when it does, it irritates me to no end, even more than West does.

8-27-18

I twist the combination into the lock for the third time in the last minute, but of course it doesn't work. I glance at the clock down the hall and groan.

School ended seven minutes ago.

I told Toby I had to switch out some books from my locker and that I would be at the truck within a few minutes.

It's been longer than a few minutes.

I frown and try my combination yet again, only to fail. I groan and let my head fall to rest against the locker in my annoyed state. I'd love to bring a hammer to this damned thing and destroy it.

"Having trouble, Sunshine?"

I open my eyes and turn my head to the side. My gaze lands on West's smirk and my eyes trail up to his sparkling brown eyes.

I sigh and lift my head. "It won't open."

He chuckles, "What's your combination?" He asks, walking closer so that he's standing in front of my locker with our sides pressed against one another.

I scoot out of his way, feeling the slightest bit awkward, and I sign it for him. I may not have been so awkward had he not said what he did yesterday. After he left I couldn't get it out of my head, and today was no different.

Why on earth would West Love want to get to know me?

He twists the lock around to land correctly on the numbers, the exact way I've been doing it, and then pulls it to see if it will open.

Of course it does because the universe hates me.

I avoid meeting West's gaze, because I know his lips are lifted into a giant smirk. I simply switch the books in my backpack for the ones I will need for homework.

"Thank you." I begrudgingly sign.

"Just call me your knight in shining armor." He says, following me as I walk to the parking lot.

"Or not." I shrug.

We walk in a comfortable silence, our steps making the only noise along the pavement. Most of the sports cars, trucks, and minivans that make up our parking lot have already left. Only about one third remains, and as we near my brothers parking space, I notice that his truck is not a part of that one third.

"That idiot left me." I sign in disbelief.

"Not exactly." West says, leaning against a random minivan.

I laugh at how foolish the picture is. West Love, the well known bad boy delinquent, wearing his famous leather jacket and deep smirk, leaning against, of all things, a minivan covered in bumper stickers.

"And what exactly are you laughing at?" He asks, raising an amused brow at me.

I shake my head and avoid his question. "Nothing."

His lips lift into a small grin as he watches me cover my mouth in an attempt to conceal my light laughter.

"So why did my brother leave me stranded at school?" I ask, biting my lip to prevent more giggles to escape.