The First Aider

22 ~ Back To Square One

"So you quit because you had a crush on one of the boys and didn't want to have to deal with the fact that you liked him but he liked someone else."

Taylor nodded, her eyes beginning to sting with embarrassment.

Her mom let out a soft chuckle. "Was it Nasir Mirza? Damsa's son?"

Taylor's gaze snapped up. "How did you know that?"

"Something Damsa said yesterday about Nasir being upset, and then you were never good at hiding your face."

Taylor's face was a hot pink colour. "WAs it that obvious?"

Her mom laughed. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him that he was an awful human being and that he should fuck off."

She sighed. "That doesn't seem like you."

Taylor nodded. "It was a spur of the moment thing. I was pissed off at him, wrongfully so, I know he is allowed to like other people and it's horrible and awful of me to want him, but still."

Her mom hummed and grabbed Taylor's arm, pulling her to sit on the bed next to her. "So you don't want to be on the team anymore because you'll have to face the awkwardness and the fact that he didn't want you."

Taylor swallowed a lump in her throat. "Yeah. Please don't tell Uncle, because then somehow, or someway, the team will find out about it, and I can't face that embarrassment. It'll spread around the school so fast."

"I won't tell your uncle. I'll just tell him that you can't do it anymore, and I'll make something up."

Taylor nodded her head and hide her embarrassed face. "I know it's horrible of me to want him like that, and I feel so bad about what I said, but I just don't know what to do. I can't fess up now, it would make everything so awkward."

Her mom hummed. "I believe in you, and I'm proud of you. Do what you think is best."

~~~

"That is a massive bag of popcorn," Taylor peered into the cart at the four-kilogram bag of popcorn kernels that her mom had just heaved into the cart.

"Well, between you and Jacob, you eat more of it than ends up on the tree, so don't criticize me for getting the big bag when you know perfectly well that you are going to eat most of it anyway."

"Touche," Taylor responded, grabbing a bag of white sugar and putting it in the cart with the rest of the groceries.

"Grandma and Grandpa are super excited to see you both."

Taylor smiled. "I am too. It's been way too long."

Her mom nodded her agreement and pushed the cart down the baking aisle a little bit more. "Come on, you should make some sort of sweets for Grandpa, maybe those chocolate haystacks. He likes those."

Taylor nodded. "We need oatmeal then."

"It'll be in the cereal aisle, grab a large bag."

Taylor gave her a thumbs up, before digging her hands into the pockets of her winter jacket and turned, walking down the aisle and over a few aisles, ducking into the cereal aisle, only to promptly walk into someone and their eggs.

"I'm sorry," She said, glancing up to look at who she had bumped into. Her awkward smile dropped into a frown.

Nasir was looking down at her, surprise on his features. He stepped back a bit to create more of a distance between them, albeit, it wasn't much.

She ducked her gaze and made to move around him, but he quickly stepped in front of her again.

"Please, move." Taylor snapped, trying to get by him.

Nasir shook his head, his hair moving slightly. "No."

Taylor glared at him, crossing her arms. "I don't want to talk to you, just let me get my oatmeal and leave."

Nasir shook his head again. "No, I want you to tell me what is actually wrong. We were completely fine, and obviously something happened in the day and a half between Macbeth and practice, and I want to know what the fuck I did because it obviously upset you."

"You didn't do anything," Taylor lied. "I just had a realization."

Nasir huffed, and Taylor winced. He looked hot when he was annoyed. "You bite your lip when you are lying."

Taylor hadn't even realized she was doing it, and she quickly stopped. "Fine, maybe I am lying, and maybe you are just an asshole."

Nasir inhaled deeply, and Taylor scrunched her nose up to stop the blush that was rising. He looked pretty cute when he was annoyed too.

"I don't know what the fuck I did to you, but I don't want you to hate me without me at least knowing why. Let me make it up to you."

"No," Taylor hissed. "I don't want anything else to do with you, that's why I quit the team, now seriously, just leave me the fuck alone."

Nasir scoffed in disbelief, anger in his eyes. "Fine, if you want to be the unforgiving bitch, go ahead, but seriously, at least know I tried to make it better."

He turned, carrying away the carton of eggs that Taylor had nearly smashed towards presumably whomever he was here with.

Taylor sighed, letting out a small sad noise. Now she just felt guilty for being cruel and lying to him. At least now it sounded like he was done trying to make it up to her.

The only problem was, she couldn't help the guilty feelings that were rising in her chest.