Passionate Exchange

Chapter Sixty-Four

I stare at Penny in shock that she's standing in front of me. I know Brody said I needed to give her some time, but I didn't think he meant three days. I assumed some time meant a couple of months, maybe even until I had to leave for London. I didn't expect it to be as short as three days.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Just because she stood up for me doesn't mean she's ready to forgive me. Have I spoken too soon? Now that I've said it will I really have to wait until I go back to London? I cross my fingers, hoping that I haven't jinxed it.

Penny potentially forgiving me isn't the only shocking thing that's happened today. She stood up to Scarlett! Scarlett's been getting under her skin for a lot longer than I've been here and the one time that she stands up to her is to protect me. I pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming, scrunching my eyes closed. Once I open them again her face is still in front of mine.

"I don't think we should talk about this here," She tells me. I nod in understanding. The school isn't exactly a private place. Not to mention people will be rushing out of the cafeteria soon to head to their next class. I wouldn't even be able to hear myself think. "Do you want to skip the rest of the day?"

"That's probably a good idea." I agree, pushing away from the locker. "Wait, where's Brody?"

"He stayed up all night watching cooking videos. When I went to pick him up this morning, he said he was too tired to function." She reveals. That sounds like something he'd do.

*

Instead of going back to the house as I expected us to, we arrive outside of an empty park. There's two swings on the left, a slide on the right, and a bench in the middle. That's it. Penny steps out of the car, taking a plastic bag with something in it with her, and I follow suit.

"I used to come here when I was a kid." She tells me when we sit down on the bench. "It helps me feel more relaxed."

She takes a can of something out of the bag and opens it before gulping a mouthful of it, wiping her sleeve across her lips. "I don't think I can say what I have to say without this. Do you want one?" She pulls another one out and offers it to me.

I know what it is from the smell of it. I also know that I shouldn't accept her offer. I've never consumed a drop of alcohol in my life, who knows how I'll be when I do. But there's a part of me that wants to take it to forget everything that's happened recently. The frost covering the ground only reminds me of that night with Archer. I don't want to remember that. I take it out of her hand and drink some.

It burns my throat as it goes down causing my eyes to water. "This is disgusting," I state before drinking some more.

She laughs at my reaction, bringing her can up to her lips. "I know it is."

"Do you actually like drinking this?"

"No, but it helps to get out things you don't want to say." The conversation turns serious, and I wait for her to continue. Maybe I could have used some of this when I didn't want to tell her what was going on with me and Archer. Maybe then I could have avoided all of this. "I'm sorry for reacting the way I did." She apologises.

I shake my head, shocked at her words. "No, I should be the one apologising. You did nothing wrong."

"I had no right to react the way I did. It all happened so fast; I didn't think I just acted. I was so angry you lied to me that I just lost it."

I play with my fingers and stare off into the distance, avoiding eye contact with her. I focus my gaze on the leaves of the tree swaying in the wind on the opposite side of the road. I can't help but feel guilty for lying to her, hearing her say how mad it made her feel only causes my guilt to grow. It was never my intention to make her feel that way. I expected too many things at once. It all came back to bite me in the ass.