Chapter 48: I Miss My Friend

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: I Miss My Friend

The campus coffee shop was incredibly loud on a Tuesday afternoon. The line stretched all the way to the front door. The smell of roasted espresso and burnt sugar filled the air.

Leo stood near the pickup counter. He checked his phone for the fourth time. He was just waiting for his iced tea. He wanted to grab his drink and go hide in the library.

"Excuse me."

A soft voice pulled his attention away from his phone screen.

Leo looked down.

Daisy was standing right next to him. She was holding a massive iced coffee with extra whipped cream. Her curly blonde hair was piled into a messy bun. She looked entirely out of place in the chaotic shop. She smiled up at him.

"Hi, Leo," Daisy said brightly.

Leo blinked. He forced a polite smile. "Oh. Hey, Daisy. How are you doing?"

"I am doing great," she said. She shifted her heavy camera bag higher on her shoulder. "I am actually heading to the pitch later to test out some new lenses. I want to get better action shots. Are you training today?"

"Yeah," Leo nodded. "Coach is running us into the ground since Captain went to Florida. The defense drills are brutal."

"I bet you are doing amazing," Daisy encouraged. She looked entirely sincere. Her honey eyes were wide and focused completely on him. "You really hold the defense together. Everyone says so."

Leo shifted his weight. He rubbed the back of his neck. He felt incredibly awkward. She was sweet. She was very nice. But he just did not feel anything. His chest felt completely hollow.

"Thanks," Leo said. "I am just trying not to mess up."

"You will not mess up," Daisy smiled. She took a sip of her drink. "Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe..."

"Leo."

The voice was sharp. It cut right through the loud chatter of the coffee shop like a knife.

Leo completely froze.

He turned around slowly.

Chloe was standing near the condiment station. She held a black coffee in her hand. She wore her usual leather jacket and a fiercely cold expression.

She stared right at him. Then she looked at Daisy. Her eyes narrowed into tiny, dangerous slits. She looked like she wanted to set the coffee shop on fire.

Leo felt his heart jump into his throat. He had not spoken to her in days. He had avoided her perfectly.

"Chloe," Leo said. He instinctively took a step toward her.

Chloe scoffed loudly. She did not say hello. She just looked at him with absolute disgust.

"Do not let me interrupt," Chloe said flatly. Her voice carried over the noise of the espresso machines. "You clearly have a very busy schedule."

She turned around and pushed the heavy glass door open. She marched right out into the sunny courtyard.

Leo panicked.

"I have to go," Leo blurted out.

He did not wait for his iced tea. He did not even wait for Daisy to finish her sentence. He just bolted for the door.

"Chloe, wait!" Leo called out.

He jogged out into the bright afternoon sun. He dodged two students holding skateboards. He finally caught up to her near the large stone fountain in the center of the quad.

"Chloe, stop walking," Leo pleaded. He reached out and gently grabbed her arm.

Chloe spun around instantly. She ripped her arm out of his grip.

"Do not touch me," Chloe snapped. Her voice was loud. A few students nearby turned their heads to watch.

Leo stepped back immediately. He held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay," Leo said quietly. "I am sorry. I just want to talk to you."

"We have nothing to talk about," Chloe said. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She gripped her own sleeves until her knuckles turned white. "Go back inside. Your new fan club is waiting for you."

Leo let out a frustrated breath. "She is not my fan club. Her name is Daisy. She is a freshman photographer. We were literally just talking about football."

"I do not care what you were talking about," Chloe lied. Her jaw was clenched so tight it looked painful. "You can flirt with whoever you want. I told you I am not interested. It is none of my business."

Leo stared at her. The familiar sting of rejection hit him right in the chest again. He hated that she could hurt him so easily.

"I was not flirting," Leo said firmly. "I was just being polite. She said hello to me."

"Polite," Chloe repeated. She let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Right. You are just polite to every girl who bats her eyelashes at you. You literally fall in love with anyone who pays attention to you."

"That is not true," Leo argued. His voice rose slightly. "Why are you doing this? Why are you always so mean to me?"

"I am not mean!" Chloe yelled. "I am honest! I told you exactly how I felt at the stadium. I told you we were not dating. But you just refuse to listen."

Leo looked at her. His chest heaved. He felt entirely exhausted. He looked at the girl he had spent three months texting and laughing with.

"I listened," Leo said softly. "I heard every single word you said. I know you do not like me."

"Then why are you following me?!" Chloe demanded. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears, but she refused to let them fall. "Why do you keep looking at me like that? Why do you keep acting like a sad puppy every time I walk into a room?"

"Because I miss my friend!" Leo shouted back.

The courtyard went completely silent.

Chloe stopped yelling. She stared at him, her eyes wide.

Leo breathed heavily. He dropped his hands to his sides. All the fight completely left his massive frame.

"I miss my friend," Leo repeated quietly. His voice cracked. "I miss eating lunch with you. I miss you stealing my hoodies. I miss texting you about stupid video games. I miss laughing with you."

Chloe did not say a word. She just stared at him. Her hands gripped her coffee cup tightly.

"I know you do not want to date me," Leo said. He looked down at the concrete pavement. "I got the message, Chloe. You made it perfectly clear. But you completely cut me out of your life. You act like I am a disease."

Chloe swallowed hard. She looked away. She watched the water falling in the fountain.

"You made it weird, Leo," Chloe said softly. "You told people we were together. You told Mason. You told Jackson."

"I know I messed up," Leo admitted. He looked back up at her. His dark eyes were full of raw, honest pain. "I thought you liked me. I was stupid. I read the signs entirely wrong. But I am trying to fix it. I am trying to give you space."

"It does not look like you are giving me space," Chloe said coldly. The walls went right back up. "It looks like you are just finding someone else to follow around."

Leo felt a sudden, sharp flash of anger. He was trying his best, and she just kept kicking him.

"Daisy just said hello to me," Leo said sharply. "I cannot control who talks to me. And honestly, it is nice to talk to someone who does not look at me like I am garbage."

Chloe flinched. The words hit her physically. She took a tiny half step backward.

Leo realized what he said. He sighed, rubbing his face with both hands. He felt terrible, but he was also completely drained.

"Look," Leo said tiredly. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. I saw you in the coffee shop and I just wanted to say hi. But clearly, you still hate me."

"I do not hate you," Chloe whispered. Her voice was incredibly small.

"It feels like you do," Leo said.

He did not try to step closer this time. He just stood there for a long moment, waiting to see if she would drop the wall. He waited to see if she would finally stop pushing him away and just talk to him like a normal person.

Chloe looked at him. She saw the exhaustion in his eyes. She saw the genuine hurt.

But the fear inside her was too loud. The fear of getting attached. The fear of losing control. The fear of ruining things.

Chloe hardened her expression. She lifted her chin, putting the sarcastic, untouched mask right back on.

"I have to go to class," Chloe said flatly.

Leo stared at her. The last tiny spark of hope in his chest completely died out. He finally realized she was never going to let him back in.

"Right," Leo muttered. He nodded slowly. "Have a good class, Chloe."

He turned around. He did not look back. He walked away from the fountain, heading toward the athletic dorms.

Chloe stood alone in the courtyard.

She watched his broad shoulders slump as he walked away. She watched him disappear into the crowd of students.

Her hands shook. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

She had won. She had successfully pushed him away again. She protected herself exactly like she always did.

So why did she feel like she was completely falling apart?

Across campus, Audrey was sitting in the library. She stared at her open laptop. She was trying to write her tactical breakdown for the upcoming playoffs, but she could not concentrate.

Her phone buzzed on the table.

She picked it up.

Mason: How is the article coming?

Audrey smiled. She immediately texted him back.

Audrey: Terrible. I cannot focus.

Mason: You need a break. Go get coffee.

Audrey: I do not want coffee. I want my center-back to come home and tell me what the defense is doing.

Mason: Six months, Ellis. You have to survive without me.

Audrey sighed. She missed him. She typed a reply, but before she could hit send, another text popped up on her screen.

It was from Chloe.

Chloe: I messed up.

Audrey stopped. She stared at the message. Chloe never admitted she messed up. Chloe never showed weakness over text.

Audrey: What happened?

Chloe: I yelled at Leo again. He was talking to Daisy. I got mad. I pushed him away. I think he is actually done with me this time.

Audrey closed her eyes. She leaned back in her hard wooden chair. They were an absolute disaster.

Audrey: Where are you?

Chloe: In my room. I do not want to talk.

Audrey: I am coming home.

Audrey packed her laptop into her bag. She slung it over her shoulder and hurried out of the library. She knew Chloe was terrified of her own feelings. She knew Chloe pushed people away before they could leave her. But Leo was different. Leo was completely loyal.

Audrey jogged across the quad. She had to fix this. Because if she let Chloe keep building that wall, Chloe was going to lose the best guy she had ever met.