Fragile Little Things ?

38 give in

“Kat,” I say, “You promised that I would have the first option to get the shop.”

“Indigo.” She sighs. “Let’s be realistic for a second. It was a pipe dream. You’ll only have enough money to buy the shop in around ten years. I can’t wait around for you.”

Technically, she isn’t wrong, but I thought I’d have a few years left to save up.

Even if she’d given me more warning, there wouldn’t be much I could do to get that amount of money.

“Thanks for telling me, I guess,” I mutter, steadying my voice as I close the door behind me. I feel my throat clog up, and tears rise to my eyes, but there’s no way I’m giving her the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

Picking up my bag, I sling it over my shoulder and head back to campus for my anatomy lecture. But I’m not paying attention. All I think about is the shop. It’s the only job I liked that was near campus and home, that gave me the opportunity to be involved in the acquisition of the shop that once belonged to my grandmother.

I wonder if I’ll still be able to keep the job. If not, I guess I can always just beg Mae to ask her uncle for a position at the ice cream shop. I wouldn’t even mind a night shift.

The professor drones in the background about what research and work we have to cover before the next lecture and dismisses us.

I head to the local cafe. The plan is to get something to eat while I attempt to work through some assignments. If I go home now, I’ll think about it all day and that’s the last thing I want.

Settling with a sandwich, muffin and coffee in a corner table and I crank my laptop on and push through the work. But someone grabs my shoulder and spins me around, giving me a heart attack.

I’m left staring up at the familiar green eyes, framed by dark hair.

“Kade.”

How could I forget? This was his favourite cafe. In my aim to avoid the places I’d find Jem, I forgot to avoid the places I’d find Kade. He’d bring me to this place often when we were together.

He’s wearing his navy hoodie with Columbia written across it. I spot his friends behind him in the booth on the opposite side of the cafe. He drops his hands and tucks them into his pockets. “Can we talk?”

Apprehension settles in my stomach. The last time I saw him, he was leaving my apartment with a bloody nose. It took two weeks for the bruises he left on my arm to fade. Granted, I bruise easily, but he knew this and still gripped my arm and refused to let go.

He slides into the seat opposite me. “Where’s your boyfriend?”

When he sees my expression, he stops and stares at me, tilting his head to get a good look at me. “He broke up with you, didn’t he?”

I say nothing. My silence is enough of an answer for him.

Then he leans forward in his chair. “I miss you, you know. I’m sorry about how it all went down.”

He leans forward. “I’m here, and he isn’t. I’ll always be here.”

I clench my jaw and stay silent. And then it comes. The million dollar question.

“Would you ever give me a second chance?”

I take a breath, meeting his gaze.

“The girl you knew and the girl I am now are two different people. Before, I might have gone back to you. Now?” I pass him an empty smile. “I love Jem, and I have no intention of getting back with him. What makes you think I’ll go back to you?”