The Bad Boy In Pajamas

Chapter 26: Maybe One Day, But Not Now

Special thanks to carbenicillin for the current cover. I love it :)

Chapter 26: Maybe One Day, But Not Now

Monday morning, I was greeted by the last person I wanted and anticipated to see.

He was leaning against my locker, obviously waiting for me. All of a sudden, my heart pounded in my chest as a mix of emotions swarmed inside me. By just seeing his face, the pain surged through me again and again and it sure hurt like hell.

I thought about turning around and pretending I didn't see him but decided against it.

I honestly didn't have any clue on what to do and doubted if I could still hold myself together when he's already in front of me but I remained collected. I mean, he probably didn't know that I know already and that made things more complicated. I bet he's gonna act like the usual sweet boyfriend he normally is and think that I'm clueless about his true feelings for me and Sarah.

Well too bad, because I'm about to give him a reality check.

"Carli," he said when I was close enough. Hearing his voice made me want to go crawl into a corner and cry because it reminded me of everything we used to be.

It was painful but I held myself together.

Not bothering to look at him - which might confuse him as to why I'm acting cold and snobbish - I told him in the coldest tone I could muster, "Can you please move away from my locker? I need to get something and you're standing in the way."

I could tell he was reluctant but thankfully, he complied. I quickly took my books and then slammed my locker door shut, completely ignoring his presence.

"Carli," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

To say I was surprised was a vast understatement. I didn't know how to react so without thinking it over, I spun and turned to face him, but didn't dare look at his face. He probably noticed the perplexed look on my face so he took the opportunity to explain.

"I know you heard everything, " he said, almost apologetically. "Chase told me."

Chase what? Upon hearing that, I immediately felt a pang of anger until Zach spoke again.

"He's really mad at me," he said. "He said I'm an idiot, an asshole and a worthless jerk rolled into one - and he was right."

That moment, I couldn't help but look at Zach's face and instantly gasped when I saw a large bruise on his cheek. I looked him in the eye and without saying anything, he understood what I was trying to say to him.

"Yeah," he said once again. "Chase gave me that. I couldn't blame him though. That's not enough punishment for hurting you."

At that, tears began forming in my eyes. The hurt, the pain - they were still fresh, and seeing Zach right now made forgetting a lot more difficult to do.

And Chase, why is he doing all this to me? What have I done to deserve all this from him?

"I know I was a dick for doing this to you Carli. I know I screwed everything up, but I didn't intend for things to turn this way. Believe me, I didn't mean to hurt you -"

"But you did it anyway," I spat harshly.

"That's why I want to say sorry. I know that was a pretty dick move I did that night but I don't know, it just happened so fast -"

"Then why did you wait until now? If you're really sorry, you should've seen me personally and took the courage to explain your faults. Maybe I might've understood and who knows? I may have forgiven you already even though it's hard. But the problem with you is that you're such a big coward."