The Innocent by Zoe Reed

Author:Zoe Reed [Reed, Zoe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781546671671
Published: 2017-05-28T22:00:00+00:00

*

The bell for the end of fourth period rang, and because nobody was letting me be alone and Luna had a research project to work on, I was going to be spending the next few hours with Abby. We were supposed to meet in the courtyard at the middle of all the education buildings, so I headed that direction the moment I left class. I could see her on the opposite end of the snowy terrace when I got there, but I stopped at the beverage cart to buy two cups of coffee before crossing over to where she was sitting.

“Hey,” I said, dropping down next to her because it was the only spot of bench on the round table that didn’t have snow on it. She passed me the same nervous smile she had that morning before not looking at me for the entirety of first period, and then her hazel eyes wandered to the second cup I’d set down. I pushed it toward her. “I bought you coffee.”

A crease formed between her eyebrows as she eyed the cup in confusion. “You… bought me coffee?”

“Yeah,” I answered, and she kind of just stared at me, waiting for an explanation or context or something to let her know why when I’d never done it before. “Um.” I chewed the inside of my lip. I hadn’t felt this awkward with her since we first started talking, and it seemed mutual, but I couldn’t spend the day with her without clearing the air. “Okay, we haven’t talked all weekend, and I kind of got the feeling like you were avoiding me in history this morning. Maybe because you think I’m upset about what happened in the gym the other night, but I’m not, so,” I gestured to the drink, “coffee.”

The crease between her eyebrows deepened as she glanced between the drink and me. After a while, she laughed, sounding somewhat relieved. “Let me get this straight,” she said, “what happened at the gym… happens… and you bring me a peace offering?”

“I mean, it’s not really a peace offering,” I said, my cheeks tinting with self-conscious heat, which only made Abby’s smile grow wider. “I just didn’t want things to be awkward because we’re friends now,” her lips pursed to try and contain a grin, “and what happened wasn’t really your fault and I know that and stop laughing, don’t make me regret this.”

“I’m sorry,” she chuckled, briefly grabbing my shoulder with both hands in amused apology. “I’m sorry, it’s just that when you do stuff like this, it’s hard to believe I was ever afraid of you, you’re such a-” My glare cut her off because I knew exactly what she was about to say. Softie. Or marshmallow. She’d probably heard Kyla say it about me, and she snickered and then cleared her throat, saying as seriously as she could, “Never mind.” I rolled my eyes, and a few silent moments passed while she pulled the drink in front of her, clutching it in her hands to soak in the heat.

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