Beautiful Mess (30 page)

“Ambria!”
Cole yelled, but she slammed the door on his pleas.  Trying to ignore the
pain and desolation in his voice, she walked into her house without a glance
behind her.  She shut herself in her room and spent the rest of the night
alone with her tears.

The
next morning Bri was all cried out, and all out of anger to sustain her. 
She was left feeling raw, sad, and empty.  She walked around school
feeling like a hollow shell of herself.  She didn’t feel like talking, and
when her friends asked what was wrong, she couldn’t tell them.  It was one
of those days she wished she’d stayed home in bed.

Cole
looked like he was in just as bad shape as she was.  He had dark circles
under his eyes, like he hadn’t slept at all last night.  Bri thought
Cole’s obvious misery would make her feel better, instead it just made her feel
worse.  But, her pride refused to let her cave.

Trey
tried to apologize to her in History, but one withering glare shut him up and
sent him sulking back to his desk.  It made Bri feel marginally better
that Trey at least felt a little bit bad about what had happened.  But she
still questioned how genuine he really was.

Cole,
on the other hand, didn’t try to talk to her at all.  He just followed her
with his sad, pleading eyes wherever she went.  She hated to admit it, but
his pain and sadness were breaking her heart almost as much as his betrayal
had.  And this made her angry, and then just sad, because she didn’t have
the energy to be angry anymore.  She was emotionally exhausted.

After
school, she slowly made her way to her locker.  She began pulling out her
books, when Trey approached her.

“Hey
Bri,” he gave her a sheepish grin.

She
stifled a groan.  “What do you want?”  She said flatly.  She
didn’t even have the energy to be rude.

“I,
um, just wanted to say I’m sorry.  You know, for yesterday.”

Bri
arched her eyebrow disbelievingly.  Trey let out a huff.

“I
shouldn’t have left you on the side of the road, okay?  It was wrong, and
I’m sorry,” he finished quietly.

“Really?” 
She was surprised at his apparent sincerity.

“Forgive
me?”  He smile up at her through his lashes.

“Whatever,”
She replied noncommittally and turned back to her locker.

“Good!”
Trey beamed.  “So, there’s a party this weekend, and I was thinking that
we could go together.  As friends.”

“Trey...,”
Bri put a palm to her head and squinted against the headache she felt coming
on.

“What? 
It’s not a date or anything.  I just thought we could be friends.” 
Trey kept his stupid grin in place, as if that would convince her to agree.

Taking
a deep breath, she turned to face him.  She had no more patience, and
realized she needed to be very clear, or he’d keep pushing.

“No
Trey, I don’t want to go to the party with you,” she said calmly but
firmly.  “I don’t want to do anything with you.  I don’t want to hang
out, I don’t want you to call.  I don’t want to be your friend, period.”

Trey’s
face darkened.

“Are
you shitting me?” he yelled.  He grabbed Bri arms roughly and shoved her
back against her locker, knocking the breath out of her.  His voice rose,
resonating through the now quiet hall.  “I apologize, even though you
totally deserved being stranded like the spoiled little brat you are, and you
still treat me like this?  What the hell?”  Bri could see Trey’s
anger escalating, and fear shot through her.  “Who the
hell
do you
think you are?” he snarled, giving her a vicious shake.  A gasp of
surprise and pain escaped her as her head struck the lockers behind her. He
leaned in closer, glaring into her eyes, and her heart began pounding in
trepidation.

“Get
your hands off her! 
Now
!”  Cole’s voice rang out through the
hall, cold and dangerous.  Trey’s head snapped up, and relief flooded
through Bri.  She turned her head and saw Cole striding angrily towards
them.  At the look on his face, though, Bri’s relief turned to
dread.  Cole looked murderous as he stared down Trey.

“Cole? 
What are you doing?  This isn’t your problem.”  Though his attention
was turned to Cole, Trey didn’t loosen his hold on Bri.

“I’m
going to give you exactly three seconds to let her go, before I make you,” Cole
returned darkly, stepping right up to Trey.

Seeing
the expression on Cole’s face, Trey released Bri’s arms.  She edged back,
out of Trey’s reach, exhaling the breath she’d been holding.

“Good.” 
Cole didn’t relax an inch.  “Now, get out of here.”

“What
the hell, man?”  Anger and confusion fought for dominance on Trey’s face. 
“What’s your problem?”

“My
problem is I’m tired of watching you be a douche bag, and pretending I’m okay
with it.  I’m not like you, and I’m done pretending I am.”

Trey’s
eyes flickered between Cole and Bri for a moment, before understanding finally set
in.

“Is
this about
her
?” he motioned to Bri incredulously.  “I thought you
said you didn’t care about this one?  That you weren’t at all interested?”

“I
lied.”  Cole’s eyes narrowed dangerously.  “And if you ever come near
her again, I swear you’ll regret it.”

Trey
actually looked hurt for a moment, before his rage kicked back in and took
over.

“So,
that’s how it’s going to be, huh?  We’ve been friends for years, and
you’re going to let some cold, pathetic little
nobody
come between
us?  After all I’ve done for you, man, you’re going to throw it all
away... for
that
?” Trey snorted derisively at Bri.  “I hope it’s
worth it.  She’s nothing but a cold hearted bitch, who’s only good for one
thing.  But I can guarantee she won’t give it to you.  Good luck with
that.”

Cole
pulled back quickly, and punched Trey in the face.  Bri covered a shriek
with her hands as Trey fell to the floor.  He scrambled back a few paces
before climbing to his feet.  He looked at Cole with unadulterated hatred.

“That’s
it, man,” he spat at Cole.  “I’m done with you.”  Trey turned and
stalked off down the hall.

Cole
let out a breath, and his shoulders relaxed slightly.  He looked at Bri,
his gaze still intense.

“Are
you okay?” he asked softly.

Bri
could only nod at him.  His eyes flared as his chest rose and fell. 
They remained frozen, eyes boring into each other, until suddenly Cole pulled
her to him.  His lips crushed hers, begging, demanding that she let him
in.  Bri couldn’t help but respond.  She had no anger left, only a
deep, yawning sadness that Cole’s kiss eased. 

“Please
tell me I’m forgiven,” he pleaded against her lips.  Bri threaded her
fingers through his hair and nodded.

“Never
again,” he looked deep in her eyes.  “I swear, I’ll never leave you behind
again.”

Bri
gave a small sob as she nodded, pulling his lips back to hers.  They stood
there kissing, until reality crushed down on her and she remembered where they
were.  She pulled back with a gasp and looked around.  Sure enough,
everyone in the hall had stopped what they were doing and were staring at her
and Cole.  Embarrassment flooded Bri’s cheeks.  Catching her chin,
Cole turned her back to face him.  Her eyes found his and he gave a small
smile.

“Ready
to get out of here?” he asked softly.

Nodding,
Bri grabbed her bag and closed her locker.  She then took Cole’s
outstretched hand and they walked side by side out of the school.

“I
have a little time before basketball practice,” Cole said as they reached Bri’s
car.  “Can I come over?”

“Yes,”
she finally managed to find her voice.

“I’ll
meet you at your place then.”  He kissed her tenderly on her forehead and
headed off to his motorcycle.

As
Bri drove home, the enormity of what had just happened began to dawn on
her.  Her shock had begun to wear off, and she was slammed by a variety of
emotions as she replayed what happened in her head.  She was still reeling
when she walked into her quiet house.

Cole
pulled up a moment later.  Bri let him in, and then automatically headed
for her bedroom.  She sat down on her bed, still a little dazed. 
Cole closed her door, and leaned against it.  He seemed to have calmed
down on the way over.  His anger was gone, replaced by a nervous
hesitancy.

He
ran a hand through his hair and asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Um,
I’m not sure,” Bri looked down at her hands.  “I’m kind of a jumbled mess
of emotions right now.”  She looked up at him.  “How’s your
hand?  Do you need some ice or anything?”

Cole
gave a small laugh.  “No, it’s fine.  Thanks, though.”

They
stared at each other for a minute, an awkward silence filling the room.

“Bri,”
he finally spoke, “did you mean what you said earlier?  That you forgive
me?  Because I can’t take you being mad at me anymore.  It’s killing
me.”  He looked at her with desperate eyes.

She
thought about it for a moment.

“Yes,”
she responded honestly.  “I forgive you.  I’m not even mad
anymore.  I’ve been miserable all day, and I’m tired of feeling like
this.”

“So,
we’re okay, then?”  Cole looked like he was too afraid to hope.

“Yes,”
Bri smiled genuinely at him.  “We’re okay.  Just don’t ever do that
again.”

Cole
gave a relieved laugh and swept over to her, pulling her up into his arms.

“I’m
so sorry,” he repeated, his face buried in her hair.  “I promise, it’ll
never happen again.”

“Okay,”
she nodded, squeezing him back.

“And
I swear, if Trey comes near you again, if he even looks at you funny, I’ll beat
the living hell out of him.”

“Okay,”
Bri half laughed.  Then she remembered what Trey had said about her, and
her stomach turned.  “Cole, if I ask you something, will you be honest
with me?”

He
paused a moment before replying.

“Always,”
he promised.  He pulled back to look at her.  “What is it?”

Bri
stepped away from him and sat back on her bed.  She stared down at her hands
in her lap, feeling tears start to threaten.  She took a deep breath.

“Do
you think I’m cold?” she asked softly, feeling incredibly vulnerable, and a
little afraid of the answer.

“What?”

“Trey
said that I was cold, that I was incapable of feeling anything.  Jeremy
had said something similar to me.  I’m starting to wonder if they’re
right.”

Cole
let out a breath and kneeled in front of her.  He forced her chin up to
look at him.

“No,
you’re not cold.” 

Bri
opened her mouth to protest. 

“No,
you listen to me, Ambria,” he cut in intensely.  “You are one of the most
warm, loving people I know.  You are deep, and complicated, and maybe a
little hard to get to know, because you keep everything bottled up inside,” he
smiled, “but there is nothing cold about you.”

“But...”

“Trey
and Jeremy are grade-A assholes who only care about themselves and what they
want.  They wouldn’t know real emotion if it punched them in the
face.”  Cole smiled as Bri laughed.  “Seriously, they didn’t get what
they wanted and tried to make you think there was something wrong with you for
not giving it to them.  That’s all. 
They
are the ones with
the problem, not you.  They don’t know anything, and they certainly have
no idea what a wonderful, kind person you are.  So forget about them,
okay?”  He held her eyes, and when she didn’t respond, he pressed, “Okay?”

“Okay,”
she conceded and smiled.

Cole
leaned in and kissed her lips lightly.  Bri felt a huge weight leave her
chest, and she felt lighter than she had for a while.

“Besides,
there’s no way a cold hearted bitch could kiss the way you do!” he
teased.  She laughed and pushed him. 

Cole
glanced at the clock and frowned.  “Well, I’d better get going.”

“Wait,”
Bri started to panic.  “What about what happened in the hall?”  He
looked confused.  “We kind of outed ourselves in front of half the
school.”

“Oh,
yeah.”  A huge satisfied grin spread across his face.  “So?”

“So...?”
she raised her eyebrows.

“So,
we’re together and everybody knows it,” he shrugged.  “Is that a problem?”

It
was Bri’s turn to beam.

“No,
not at all!”

“Good! 
I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”  He leaned in and gave her a slow lingering
kiss goodbye, leaving her breathless.  “Bye, Bri,” he murmured against her
lips.

“Bye,
Cole,” she returned, and pressed her lips to his once more. 

Of
course there would be some fallout to deal with at school tomorrow, but Bri was
excited to finally be out of the shadows.  The two of them didn’t have to
hide any longer.  No matter what they had to deal with, it was worth it.