Page 54 of Reaching Hearts
Chapter Thirty
Annie
Corridor Tile: flashing by my feet. Heart: confused and aching. Smile: gone. gone. gone.
Iknow I have to confess who I am to him. I have to. Before it’s too late. But what if it’s too late already? What if he doesn’t forgive me? Things are calm now. Rebecca must have left, because he’s not acting like she’s coming back, or like she might walk in at any moment again. I have to assume she’s gone. For good? I hope so, but that would be wishful thinking. She doesn’t look like the type to just give up on anything. A head held that tall spells pride. I know women, they can be mean. Sophia consistently and deliberately ate at the connection Christiano and I have, all the years I was with him.
But Brendan seems relaxed. It feels like we finally have some time to just be us, to get to know each other. He likes me. It’s all over his face. He’s smiling like he used to when he was in those first years of college – when he was with Sara and he was happy. It’s that same carefree, unguarded, happy smile I just saw on him, only this time that smile is for me. I can’t believe it, but I saw it with my own eyes and everything inside me is saying that what I’ve always hoped, is really happening!
What if my confessing takes that smile away? I can’t do that! I just can’t.
It would break my heart.
Looking up, I gasp to see Mark walking toward me with a look of concern. “Hey, I remember you. We met… you were working… at that new place.”
We stop and I nod and say, a bit nervously, “Le Barré. Yeah. That’s me. I’m Annie.” Before I can stop myself, I ask, “And you are?”
He holds out his hand. “I’m Mark. Brendan’s roommate.”
Shaking his hand, I push my hair back from my forehead, totally aware I’m digging myself deeper into the abyss. “Oh. Mark. Nice to meet you. It’s good to… yeah.”
His light brown eyes search my face. “You were there when Brendan got shot. Are you okay? I don’t know what went down. I was just headed there to see him.” He points in the direction of Brendan’s room and we shift our bodies.
“Yeah. It was the night you came in. You haven’t heard?”
His hands push into the pockets of his gray jeans and he shakes his head, a thick chunk of his sand-colored hair falling over his forehead. “No. I just found out. I’ve been calling Brendan, but…”
“He didn’t have his phone,” I offer, wishing to escape, and speaking quickly. “Yeah. I know. He just got it back… but I’ll let him tell you the story. I was just going to the bathroom, but… I think I’m going to go get some coffee, too. Could you tell him for me that I’ll be back in a little bit?”
Mark’s eyes flicker, understanding instantly I’m leaving to give them catch-up time. “Yeah, I’ll tell him, Annie. Thanks.”
I clap my hands together and bounce on the heels of my flats. “Great. Okay. Great. I’ll be back then. Nice to actually meet you… Mark.”
We keep going in the opposite directions we were headed and I mentally kick myself. Hey Mark, I used to sit next to you in Art History, but you wouldn’t know that because I sneered at you whenever you looked my way. Why? Because I thought you were a womanizing creep. But I guess I had you pegged wrong. Sorry about that.
Yeah, I’ll just turn around and tell him that right now.
Oh man.