Between the Teeth by Taylor Fitzpatrick

Author:Taylor Fitzpatrick [Fitzpatrick, Taylor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

David had never realised being ignored could feel so loud. He’s constantly aware of the weight of Robbie not talking to him throughout the short trip, though it’s an absurd feeling, considering Robbie’s sitting four rows back and wouldn’t have been able to talk to him regardless. Maybe it’s Oleg sitting beside him, the quiet of him compared to Robbie’s typical chatter. Maybe it’s just the guilt.

On the charter to the hotel, Robbie walks past David without looking at him, and when they get out at the Marriott, Matthews and Whelan both seem to be giving David looks. Not glaring, exactly, but not just looking either. It feels a little like high school, except the looks are different. A little like high school, except in high school he hadn’t really had, well – in high school if anyone ignored David, it wasn’t something he noticed. Certainly not something that made him feel like he does now, heavy, like there’s lead in his stomach.

David goes straight up to his room after he gets his keycard. He’d look for Robbie’s, talk to him, but he still doesn’t know what to say. Besides, Robbie shares a room with Matthews. Does Matthews know what happened? That was probably what the look meant – that Robbie told him about it. Robbie always has had a big mouth.

David immediately tries to shove the thought down, feeling awful for thinking it. That’s precisely what David did with Kiro earlier, wasn’t it? What friends are for, or whatever the saying is. What Robbie was trying to do with him, but David guesses he messed that one up. Robbie probably wouldn’t want to talk to him even if Matthews weren’t there. David can’t blame him.

Kiro’s been sending him supportive texts throughout the day, and David doesn’t want to tell him, but he thinks they might be making him feel worse. You can do it! is not something that feels good to receive when he’s fairly positive he can’t. It also doesn’t help that whenever he gets a text from Kiro, he's illogically hoping for one from Robbie. Even more illogically, there’s a split second every time his phone vibrates when he thinks it might be Jake.

David leaves his phone on the bedside table and lies down. He tells himself he just needs five minutes and then he’ll get up, because he’s being self-pitying, and no one likes self-pitying people. Even Kiro doesn’t, David bets.

His phone buzzes once, and he shuts his eyes, ignores it until another buzz follows, then rolls to sit up. Apparently Kiro is able to tell David’s being self-pitying even from another city.

did u want to talk? he sees instead. Not Kiro — Kiro uses full words. Kiro is in David’s phone book under Volkov, Kirill, and texts from him come up under a name, not a number. Kiro has the same area code, though, a familiar one, followed by seven digits David could probably recite in his sleep.

Unnecessarily, there’s a second text following it, saying its jake.

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