This is Not a Fairytale by Rachel Dean

Author:Rachel Dean [Dean, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-06T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

My Frozen Heart

"Your friend Matt tracked me down last night."

"Did he?" I asked innocently into my phone.

"Yeah. We're playing your prom in a couple weeks. Our own music, too, plus a list of approved songs Matt provided that the prom committee apparently voted on." Caleb paused. "Meghan Trainor's on it."

I laughed at the thinly veiled horror in his voice. "You telling me you're not all about that bass, Caleb?"

"I don't discriminate between bass and treble, thank you very much."

My Chucks splashed through a puddle and my socks immediately got all damp and soggy. Uncomfortable as that was, I couldn't restrain a smile.

"I talked to Ember," he said.

"Has she softened any toward my plight?"

"Not a bit. But I did assure her that, despite evidence to the contrary, she would not wake up dead one day with you as a roommate."

"How can she possibly refuse that?" I asked seriously.

"I don't know. I thought it was a pretty solid guarantee."

"Tell her I'll always put the empty milk carton back in the fridge, I'll scoop the peanut butter out with my fingers, and I will most definitely always squirt the toothpaste from the middle of the tube." I shrugged. "I feel it pays to be honest here. No need for her to go into this with unrealistic expectations."

His chuckle was warm, low, and a little sleepy. It gave me chills. Goosebumps literally popped up on my arms. I found myself pressing the phone harder against my ear, like I could merge with the signal and be transmitted right to his side.

That wasn't weird, right?

I slowed my squishing steps as school came into view. My peers milled about in groups and singles, waiting for first bell to ring. Only the too school for cool kids slipped in before the very last minute. All the rest of us were slackers.

My little eye spied Ashleigh standing off with a trio of Mean Girls. Meanie One glimpsed me from the corner of her eye and whispered to Ash. She glanced at me over her shoulder, lips thin once again and twisted into a sneer. I received the stink eye before her hair whipped the air as she jerked her head back around. She huddled with One, Two and Three and catty snickers carried over to me on the cool breeze.

There might have been a smidge of hurt there. Like, totally miniscule. Teensy-weensy. So small it wasn't even worth mentioning.

So, why the fuck was I mentioning it?

Sighing, I sank onto the second step from the bottom, feet flat on the sidewalk. My anger superseded the hurt most of the time but there were weak moments when all the anger did was slather on a sloppy coat of concealer over it.

"Harmony?" a voice murmured into my ear.

Shit. "I'm still here," I assured Caleb.

The bell rang behind me.

There was a sudden smile in Caleb's voice. "You're at school?"

"Of course. We had a deal, remember?"

"I remember." There was only a brief second when all I heard was his light breathing whispering into my ear.

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