***Tristan***
Sierra’s smiling face was a sight as she laughed at something Reggie said to her. Tristan watched her from a distance and felt his heart constrict. She laughed and joked with her friends, but there was a new sadness to her that wasn’t there before and Tristan was sure he was to blame.
He would do anything to fix this. So the question was, what did she want? He wished she would just tell him. He did handle this right from the beginning, but she was making this a bigger deal than it had to be. He wanted to give her space, but he was tired of not talking to her.
He moved away from the wall he leaned against and approached her cautiously.
~~~~~~~~Sierra~~~~~~~~
“Here he comes,” Tia whispered. Sierra turned around to see, but Tia stopped her. “No, don’t look. Be cool, like you’re too busy to notice him.”
Sierra groaned. So many rules.
Sierra was sitting next to Tia in the cafeteria with Reggie and Tony seated across from them. Her fight with Tristan happened yesterday, but it felt like it’d been an eternity. She felt bad for the way she talked to him, but she was so mad. And hurt. What else was he keeping from her and why would he think that keeping secrets was okay? He was the experienced one. He was supposed to know better.
Sierra was pretty sure Tristan knew he messed up. She wanted to forget the whole thing but Tia told her that he’d never learn if she kept making things easy. Sierra was realizing that doing things her way wasn’t working so she decided to let Tia convince her to try her way for a change. After assuring Sierra that she knew what she was doing and thanking her for recognizing her genius, Tia quickly planned this whole big scheme with phases. Sierra was currently in phase one, affectionately dubbed, “The Silent Treatment”.
Sierra was banned from having any contact with Tristan until he came groveling back and apologized and promised to do anything to make it up to her. Oddly, her plan was working. And if Tristan was who Tia had pointed out was heading her way right now, then that meant they were about to move into phase two, “Make Him Beg”.
Sierra wasn’t thrilled about the idea of manipulating her boyfriend, but she was willing to try something different, no matter how ridiculous.
Reggie raised his brow at Tia’s whispered advice. “Sierra, why are you listening to her. If you don’t want to talk to that asshole, then don’t. Just say the word and I’ll get rid of him, but don’t be on that typical girl bullshit. You’re too smart to resort to playing games.”
“Whatever, Reggie. What the hell do you know?” Tia chimed in. “When was the last time you even had a girlfriend? With your desperate ass.”
“Yo, what is your problem, T?” Reggie asked seeming annoyed. “You’ve been on my case since yesterday. You have something you wanna say to me?”
Tia leaned across the table and got in his face. “You think I don’t know what you’re up to, Reggie? Do you seriously think anybody believes you told Sierra what you saw because you’re her friend? We’re not stupid.”
“Wait, how the fuck is this my fault? That loser did this to himself.”
“And poor, innocent you had nothing to do with it, right?”
Tony jumped up and moved to sit next to Tia. “Whoa, baby, lay off him,” he said pulling Tia back into her seat. “He did the same thing you would have done.”
Tia rolled her eyes and turned away. She’d had an attitude with Reggie since Sierra told her what happened. Tia was sure Reggie told her just to sabotage her relationship. Sierra could see why she felt that way, but it didn’t make sense. Reggie waited to say something, he didn’t even want to tell her, so it didn’t fit that he did this on purpose.
Reggie turned back to Sierra. “You know I didn’t tell you about this to hurt you, right?”
“I know,” Sierra said and she meant it.
“Oh my God, Sierra, open your eyes.”
“I see where you’re coming from, Tia, but at the end of the day, Reggie’s right. This isn’t his fault. Tristan was the one meeting with his ex after school. Tristan was the one who kept it from me.”
“I can’t believe you’re siding with Reggie,” Tia accused.
“You’re supposed to be her friend and you’re trying to help her stay with a dude who doesn’t respect her enough to tell her the truth,” Reggie said. “Sierra, you deserve better. You don’t have to put up with this when so many guys would jump at the chance to date you.”
“You mean guys like you?” Tia commented.
Reggie didn’t say anything but the irritation was obvious.
“Babe, come one. Chill out,” Tony coaxed.
“I’m just speaking the truth,” Tia defended.
“Yeah, we get it, but this isn’t about you.” Tony replied.
Sierra appreciated having Tony there to calm Tia down. She appreciated that Tia had her back on this but she believed that Reggie did, too. It seemed like everyone around her couldn’t get along and she was so tired of the fighting.
She wanted to turn around to see Tristan, so she did. The world seemed to move in slow motion as he walked toward her. He looked really good, as usual, but there was something dejected about him. Their gazes met and he gave her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. She got to her feet and met him halfway. Tia was going to be mad at her for straying from the plan, but it was just for today. She missed him so much and not talking to him was getting old fast.
“Hey,” he said when she reached him.
“Hi.”
“Can we talk outside?” he asked.
Sierra nodded and followed Tristan into the hallway. Tristan led her to a deserted spot by the stairs. He leaned against the railing. Sierra stood next to him with her back against a nearby wall.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Fine,” she answered. Tristan hit her with searching eyes.
“That’s good. I wanted to make sure since you haven’t been taking my calls.”
“I didn’t feel like talking,” she lied.
They became silent. Where it used to be comfortable, it was now awkward and painful. She thought he was going to apologize or do something special to show he was sorry. She was disappointed to realize he actually had nothing to say.
“Did you want something?” she asked.
“Do I need a reason to talk to you?”
“Yeah, Tristan, you do.”
The look of hurt and confusion on his face filled her with guilt and that wasn’t fair. She was the one who should be hurt and he should be feeling guilty. This was exactly why she didn’t want to play games. It confused things.
“You’re still mad,” he said.
“I’m not angry with you anymore. I’m sad and I feel left out. Before we started going out we used to talk about everything. You said you told me things you never told anyone. I miss that.”
“We still have that. I made mistake, Sierra. A stupid mistake. You know you don’t have anything to worry about with Jessica, or any other girl.”
“You don’t tell me anything, so how would I know that?” she questioned.
He pushed off the railing and took a few steps toward her. He stopped when he saw her take as many steps back, away from him. Keeping her distance was important if she was going to stay firm. His face fell and that’s when she knew he didn’t get it. He was hurt that she wouldn’t let him comfort her and that’s how she knew for sure that he didn’t understand what she needed from him. He thought he could fix everything with a hug or a kiss but that wasn’t going to be enough this time. She was done making everything easy, she was done ignoring her needs and wants to keep him happy. She wanted to be happy, too, and just being with him wasn’t cutting it anymore.
He said he loved her, but how can you love someone and keep part of yourself hidden away? There was so much she still didn’t know about him and it was obvious now that the topic of Jessica was off limits. Why was that? Why couldn’t they talk about her? Why was she a such a big secret?
“Why don’t you ever talk about Jessica?” she asked.
“You want me to talk about my ex with you?”
“Do you talk about her with anyone? Jason, even?”
“No, why would I?”
“Why not? Your ex-girlfriend cheated on you with your best friend. I don’t think that’s something you should keep inside.
“I don’t need to talk about Jessica. That part of my life is over.”
“If it’s really over then why can’t stop fighting with Chris? Why not tell me about seeing Jessica after school that one day? Actions speak louder than words, Tristan, and your actions say that Jessica still means something to you.”
Tristan ran his hands over his hair. “I am really tired of you bringing up Jessica. You’re starting to act insecure just like her.”
Sierra suddenly felt cold. He was criticizing her? Why was he being so defensive? He was the one who messed up! Sierra was over this. She was so over it! She stomped away from the wall she was leaning against and came to a stop in front of him.
“What are you so afraid of, Tristan? Would it kill you to admit that you’re not completely over Jessica? That you’re using me to get over her?”
“I’m not – ”
“Shut up,” she cut him off. He had his chance. “Have you considered that maybe Jessica had a reason to be insecure? I’m beginning to think she did.” He stepped forward and Sierra placed a firm hand on his chest to keep him where he was. “I tried to be there for you. I put up with so much for you. My father can’t even look at me right now because of you! And none of that would bother me if you would show me that we’re in this together, that if it came down to it, you would fight for me. But all you do is lash out when things don’t go your way and I’m tired, Tristan. I’m so tired and drained and I deserve better. I asked you to prove that you mean what you say, give me some sign that when times get tough, I can count on you to be there. No more storming out of my house because we disagree and no more childish fights over a girl you claim you don’t care about. All I wanted was a gesture. You can’t even do that.”
“Stop making this about me.”
“Isn’t everything about you? How much you’re hurting? How hard everything is for you?”
“That’s not fair.”
“There’s nothing fair about this,” she muttered.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jessica and I'm sorry that you feel threatened by my past, but what do you want me to do? You signed up for this."
"So, this is my fault? I can't believe you."
Sierra turned to walk back in the direction they came. Tristan followed.
“You’re just going to walk away?”
“Give me a reason not to.”
He hesitated.
Sierra felt tears sting her eyes. She never would have hesitated for him. She walked faster.
“Are you going to continue the swimming lessons?” he blurted.
She hadn’t thought about it. Right now, all she knew was she couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him in or out of the water.
“I don’t know,” she answered.
“I want you to. It’s important.”
He was right. She had to continue, but it didn't have to be with him.
“Someone else can teach me.”
“Wait, please,” Tristan said. His voice held a hint of desperation. He grabbed hold of her and turned her to face him. He paused when he saw her eyes. He lifted a hand to brush a tear that had escaped. She turned her head to avoid the touch. His hand fell back to his side. “I know you’re mad and I know I’m doing this all wrong but don’t do this to me. I need to be the one teaching you. Swimming is our thing.”
“It was our thing.”
She pulled out of his grasp and walked back into the cafeteria leaving him in the hall.
-----------------
A/N:
The drama never ends and I wouldn't have it any other way! Happy endings are overrated, no? Who am I kidding, I love happy endings but I think it's more rewarding when it's earned!
I had planned for this to be the last chapter and that's why this took so long, but I didn't realize how much of the story I still had left. I had to break the chapter up and do some serious revisions. I hope you enjoyed and stay tuned!