My Night Breeze (The Breeze Series) (22 page)

Stephen went
over to the counter, scooping up a few cookies with a spatula before bringing them over. Double chocolate chip cookies stared her in the face, and even though she was still mad, she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing one to nibble on. It was as delicious as it smelled, warm and gooey. Stephen and Chris joined in on the snack.

“My favorite type of cookie to butter me up?”

“Every little bit helps,” Stephen said hopefully.

“Plus
, they’re tasty,” Chris added with a smile.

“That
they are.”

“So
, are you all right?” Chris asked.

Audra sighed
, still slightly annoyed but nodded.

Lying on her bed, she read her assigned chapter in a novel for English class. Most of the books had been interesting and sucked her in, allowing her to lose time and wanting to read again. This one seemed to be one of the few that had left her uninterested and struggling through each page. It made calling it an early night sound like heaven.

What time should I come get u?
Mateo texted.

Is 7:10 ok?

I’ll b outside,
he responded.

R u doing
hw?

Did it already, U?
he asked.

Working on it. Hating it.

Science?
he asked.

If it
was I’d save it for the morning.

The sound of foot
steps coming up the stairs made Audra sit up. Leaving her phone behind, she went into the hall. Jim had just reached the top when she waved him into her room. Once he was inside, she shut the door behind him for further privacy. He could take this badly, but if she worded it just right, maybe, just maybe, this would be okay.

“What’s going on?”

“I won’t be riding with you in the morning. I have a project that I have to work on.”

“How
are you getting to school?”

“Chris is picking me up early with Stephen. I need all the help I can get.”

“Oh, all right…you sure you don’t want me to drop you off early then?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks
, though.”

Jim shrugged as he exited her room. She quickly shut
the door as her shoulder slumped in relief. She was all set, but Mondays were never easy. It was something she had been struggling with since the beginning of the year. Maybe starting it off with Mateo would be a positive change. She picked up her phone to check her texts and chuckled.

Just ask & I’ll help.

I’ll remember that. C u in the morning,
she texted.

Night.

*****

The quiet in the hallways were enhanced while walking with him. The lights appeared a tiny bit brighter and the walls a bit wider. Even still, she could feel his arm constantly brushing hers as they continued her routine lap around the building. They didn’t hold any type of conversation, but that was nothing new.

While finish
ing the upstairs lap, Ryan spotted them and joined in on the silent walk. The only person missing would be Stephen; then again, she didn’t really want to spend her morning with him. The feelings of betrayal hadn’t lessened in the least. She knew how to be civil and could manage that much, but who could blame her for wanting to be around Mateo that much longer?

Once reaching the bottom of the
stairs, Molly quickly distracted Ryan from the routine. Audra smirked inside noting how much attention Ryan gave to her friend. One glimpse of Mateo’s expression showed it was clear that he had caught on as well. They continued the walk, rounding the corner towards her locker where she came to an almost complete halt.

“Hey, we missed yo
u this morning,” Tobias welcomed.

“I was busy
,” she shrugged.

“Yeah
, Jim said.”

A cool breeze wafted
down the hall from an open door sending chills down her arms. She leaned unconsciously against Mateo, who stayed by her side. The warmth of his body started to warm her up, but she noticed that that’s all there was. When she looked up at him, his attention was strained on Tobias.

She was frustrated
enough with the whole situation Tobias had put her in, but she wasn’t even thinking about how Mateo would feel. Worry started to creep in about what he might do. He was livid about what Valerie had done to her. There’d be no way that he would let this go. Audra grabbed onto Mateo’s bicep, tugging for his attention.

“Not now
,” she whispered. Mateo glared in response, but she continued, “Please.”

Tobias took
in the gesture, unsure of what was going on. He lifted his eyebrow in question to her. This wasn’t the time or place to discuss everything that she wanted to; she’d have to wait until later on. Audra shook her head at Tobias in response. Annoyed, Mateo unhinged her grasp and headed towards homeroom. A lump lodged in her throat at his departure.

“What’s that about?”

“We’ll talk later, but I have to go,” she said hurriedly.

Audra chased
after Mateo into the homeroom, finding him near the windows. His hands gripped the sill while his head hung down, the tension obvious from his stance. She hesitantly went over to his side, keeping silent in hopes that he wouldn’t cause a scene. When he looked over noticing her form, he blew out the air from his mouth in a rush.

“You followed me?”

“I was worried.”

“About me? Audra
, he did this to
you
!” he practically shouted.

“Please
, don’t do this. Not here and not now.”

“Don’t what? Defend you? You want me to wai
t until he tries again?” he asked, anger slipping out.

“Whoa! What
’s going on?” Stephen interrupted.

Stephen made
a point of stepping in between Audra and Mateo. The gesture meant more to her than the words. Even in the distress of their friendship, he willingly put himself in the way to protect her. Even so, she did her best to defuse the situation once again.

“Stephen, we
’re just talking. Can you please give us a minute?”

“Yo
u’re sure?” Stephen asked in disbelief.

She nodded and kept quiet until he walked
over to their desk, but she knew he was keeping an ear and both eyes on them. Audra took a step closer towards Mateo making clear eye contact.

“I know that you care about my safety
, but you can’t start fights in school. You can’t put yourself at risk of getting into trouble.”

“Audra, I care about you. I do. But you’re just going to let it go. You said so yourself, ‘they’re all you have
.’”

A strange boldness bubbled
up from her throat. “I have you…don’t I?”

The strained tension seemed
only to ratchet up after the words slipped out of her mouth. The boldness didn’t recede as she continued to search his face and eyes for confirmation. Mateo seemed to do the same, swallowing hard. She mentally begged him to agree; pled for him to say something.

He opened
his mouth only to close it again. Her heart started to beat frantically as the boldness finally started to dissipate. Mateo reached out and hugged her close. She tried to catch her breath, but it was difficult. It physically hurt trying to suck more air into her lungs. The feel of warmth started to engulf her completely, knowing it was coming from him. His lips lightly grazed her ear.

“Yeah, you do.”

Audra pulled away with a smile plastered on her face. Even he couldn’t hide his own smile at the admission. She went over to her desk as he went to his, but she could feel his eyes on her. The sight of Stephen didn’t even slow down her mood. In fact, it only widened her smile as she plopped down beside him.

“Something you want to tell me?”

“No, not really,” she said.

“You’re together. I can see that now. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We’re not. He just watches my back is all,” she smirked.

The bell rang sending all the students out into the hallways towards first period. Mateo hung just outside the door, waiting for Audra to walk out. An instant smile graced her lips at the sight of him as he joined her side. How was it that he could bring such simple happiness out of her? It was almost disarming how relaxed she felt while with him.

When they arrived at his art class, he placed
his hand on her lower back to keep her walking. She lifted her eyebrows in question and his infamous tiny smirk came out.

“I’d like to walk you to your favorite class.”

“Ugh...don’t remind me.”

“It c
an’t be all that bad,” he laughed.

“Oh
, trust me. It is.”

Audra kept
her arms tightly wrapped around her books for self-control. The feel of his hand still on her back caused her to walk stiffly, just so he wouldn’t remove it. If it were possible, she’d find a way to bribe him to sit through the awful class just so he wouldn’t stop touching her. Helping her understand the gibberish of the subject wouldn’t hurt either.

Glimpsing Jim’
s usual walk down the hall sent unease in her stomach. She’d rather not deal with her brother or the nonsense that came with him. And since he hadn’t seen her this morning, she held a small amount of hope that she could stay out of sight. Audra made a point of straying towards the outside of the hall. Mateo followed her path without noticing, which made it easier.

Keeping her head down, they manage
d to go by Jim without a second thought or look. Mateo rubbed his hand up and down her back, the tension obvious to him. As they approached the door, she turned to face him and was pleasantly surprised when he stepped in closer, using his hand to keep her in place.

“The group is going to the Cotillion, even Ryan is coming. It’d be lame if you didn’t.”

“Oh, no. Has Chris gotten to you, too?” she inquired.

“No, why?”

“He’s been kind of weird about it. Sounds stupid, but he kind of scared me,” she admitted.

“It doesn’t sound stupid
. Tell me what happened.”

“It wasn’t just one thing. I’ve already made up my mind that I’m not going to the dance. But he has been pestering me about it. Telling him the truth kind of freaks me out.”

Mateo narrowed his eyes in response. “I’ll keep an eye out, but don’t let anyone intimidate you.”

“Not even you?”

“I’m not intimidating…just persuasive,” he smirked, leaning in closer, backing her against the wall. “Do you have plans the night of the dance?”

Audra
shook her head, speechless. She was almost positive that he could feel the heavy pounding of her heart. Her breath became shallow as his head slowly lowered towards her, leaving them eye level for once. His lips parted slightly allowing the gleam of his piercing to increase her heartbeat that much further.

“
Then we’re going out that night. Just you and me.”

“Okay
,” she squeaked.

The pounding in her chest didn’t lessen as he turned towards his own class. It didn’t lessen once she walked into her own. It didn’t lessen as the class began and the teacher spoke. And it didn’t lessen while she flipped through pages, completely los
t on the subject matter. She had a date. An actual date! And it was with the one person who could make or break her heart.

Audra tucked
her hair behind her ears while doing the morning lap with Stephen. Riding in with Jim and Tobias was slightly awkward especially with Tobias wanting to bring up a conversation that couldn’t be had in front of Jim. To be honest, she didn’t think she was truly ready to have it. Mateo was right—she would end up forgiving him and letting it go, but maybe holding off on the conversation would have a positive effect after all.

Spotting Chris caused
a grin to spread on Stephen’s face. Chris joined the routine with a grin of his own; that should have been her warning.

“Tickets are on sale f
or the Cotillion,” Chris advised.

“I’ll buy m
y ticket at lunch,” Stephen said.

Audra stared
straight ahead, not wanting to say anything.

“When a
re you buying yours?” Chris asked forwardly.

“I’ve been thinking…”
she started but bit the bullet. “And I’m not gonna go.”

“What?
You have to go!” Chris complained.

“No, I don’t.”

“It’s all right. We’ll take pictures for you to see, won’t we?” Stephen said.

“It’s not al
l right. We’re all going together, supporting Molly. You don’t want to be there for her?” Chris questioned, irritated.

“She’ll understand if I don’t go.”

“Chris, back off,” Stephen said.

Audra walked
down the hall but raised voices start to ricochet against her back. Turning, she noticed Chris yelling in Stephen’s face. A small crowd started to gather around them, but more people started to collect on the sides. Stephen said something that she couldn’t hear and stalked off in her direction. Chris’s stare found her, piercing her harshly.

Fear began
to collect inside; however, Stephen grabbed her hand, tugging her toward the stairwell away from the crowd. His face was red with obvious frustration, and it only spurred further fear. Stephen wasn’t a good enemy to make, and this was all over the stupidest thing. Why did her presence at the dance mean so much? It didn’t add up.

“Stephen…
talk to me.”

“We
’re done,” he said.

“Us?”

“No, of course not. I just told him it was over. He has been acting so different even when he said he would try. I can’t take his angry fits anymore,” Stephen admitted.

“Why did he flip out?”

“I don’t really know. He said he wanted us all to be together at the dance, but it makes no sense. I really care about him, I do. But he needs some sort of anger management therapy,” he commented.

A strange thought po
pped into her mind, but she knew it wasn’t the right time to bring it up. She followed Stephen into homeroom, only then noticing the tears forming in his eyes. Wrapping her arms around him, she held him closely letting him get it out. Breaking up was hard, but it didn’t have to be forever.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I thought things were getting better, Audra. He was coming around, spending time with me and baking for me,” he admitted.

“Can I talk to him for you? Maybe I could say something that will get him to change.”

“I don’t know what else to do,” Stephen said, his voice breaking a little.

Audra glanced at the clock noticing there was at least fifteen
minutes left before the bell rang for homeroom. She got up and rushed to the door only to be stopped by Mateo. He assessed her mood quickly and lifted a brow in question. She grabbed his hand and headed upstairs with him, but Chris was nowhere to be found.

Mateo checked
the bathroom by the stairwell and nodded that Chris was indeed inside. She looked around quickly and hid behind Mateo’s body, slipping into the bathroom. Sounds of a soft sob echoed off the walls. She gritted her teeth as she looked towards the only stall occupied.

“Chris?”

“Audra? What are you doing in here?” he asked.

“I needed to talk to you
. Please come out.”

She heard
the squeak of the toilet roll dispenser, a soft blow of a nose and a flush before he stepped out. His red, bloodshot eyes stared back at her with an added red nose. While on the hunt for him, the words had swum around her mind on what she needed to say. This was the only way he’d hear her and know that she was being completely serious.

Chris went
over to the sink, washing his hands, but she didn’t walk near him.

“I have the right to not want to go to the dance if I choose. You can’t force me to go
, but there was no reason for what happened. Why did you flip out?”

“Molly has been having a hard time lately. She didn’t want to be the only girl in our group going. And
I had this feeling that if you didn’t come, she wouldn’t either. And it’s her senior year; she should be happy and making memories,” Chris admitted.

“You could have told me that instead of trying to force me. She could have told me that
too, but that’s the problem. No one is communicating with each other. I don’t even know how that small disagreement blew up you and Stephen.”

“It’s my own fault.” He rubbed
a palm down his face, brushing a few tears away. “You walked off, and I tried to go after you, but he wouldn’t let me. It got bad then.”

“I can’t fix this. Only you can. Start with an apology and then work from scratch. Stephen doesn’t forgive as easily as I do.”

Chris looked into her eyes. “I am sorry. I just lost it for a minute.”

“Don’t apologize to me
. You didn’t break my heart.”

Knowing time was limited
, she left it at that. As she slipped out of the door, Mateo nodded towards the stairwell, and they made a hasty retreat back to homeroom. They only just stepped inside as the bell rang. She looked toward her seat but found Stephen missing; he wasn’t in the classroom at all. Audra grabbed her stuff, placing it on the empty desk next to Mateo.

Af
ter the announcements, she filled him in on the start of the day. He didn’t make any comments either way, but he was bothered by the drama of it all. Things should be getting easier knowing that winter vacation would soon be releasing them for a while. Maybe it was the toll of being cooped up together for too long, who knew?

“Chris was doing it for Molly?”

“Yep. He didn’t want her to be alone and sad. I totally understand that, but his actions…”

“She won’t be alone
,” he said.

Audra tilted
her head in question and he chuckled softly. “This is between you and me. Ryan is asking her out.”

“Oh
, wow. That’s great!”

“Yeah
, so it wouldn’t be a problem. Molly would have him, Stephen would have Chris and…”

“And?”

“That’s it,” he finished.

She bit
the inside of her cheek. If she were going, it would have been like a triple date with her and Mateo. The only good news was that they had their own plans for that evening, which in her mind still sounded like a date. Mateo nudged her shoulder until she looked up at him.

“What are you thinking about?”

“What you’ve got planned for that night?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

“You mean you already know?” she asked again.

“A surprise
, I said.”

Even she could
feel the gleam in her eyes, excited with the prospect of an evening alone with him. She searched his face for clues causing him to laugh. He mimed zipping his lips and throwing the key away. She smiled widely, nudging his shoulder back but enjoying the anticipation.

Audra tried not to worry about the study group session after school, but as the clock ticked away, the worry grew into anxiousness. She lucked out not having to deal with English or math homework tonight. The only bad part was that a test was set for Friday in her most hated subject. Hopefully, things would run smoothly enough that she would be able to get some studying in and not playing referee between her friends.

Stalling th
e trip to the library, she headed to her locker, putting away the assignments and books that she didn’t need. As she began to close the locker, a shadow appeared against it. The sight of Stephen hadn’t surprised her; she nudged his shoulder before heading in the direction of their destination. Words weren’t needed to understand the stress going on within him. This would be an adjustment for the entire group.

Stephen would
n’t slow down, holding his head up in semblance of being okay. Audra supported him, following close behind. The seating arrangement had been changed. Whether it was deliberate or not, at least it wouldn’t cause more tension. Chris was sitting next to Molly with Ryan on the other side of her. Mateo sat across from Chris leaving the two remaining seats open so that Stephen could sit farther away from Chris but still have her next to him.

She dropped
her bag on the floor beside the middle seat. Stephen pulled out his assignment to work on giving the most minimal ‘hi’ possible around the table. No one really blamed him, but Audra felt bad for Chris. She made an effort to make eye contact with him before she pulled out her own history assignment to work on.

The table stayed
pretty quiet while everyone worked on different assignments, the fun of it all clearly missing. The tension between fleeting looks was only more obvious with the lack of acknowledgement of it. It did help Audra focus on her assignment, swiftly getting it accomplished. As she pulled out her science book and notebook, a few chuckles escaped.

She glar
ed at Stephen playfully causing him to grin. Molly chuckled even louder until Mateo nudged her shoulder and the rest of the table broke out in laughter. Audra pouted her lip at them.

“Thanks a lot
, you guys.”

“
Sorry, it’s habit,” Stephen said.

Mateo leaned
into her ear. “Should I let you fend for yourself on this one?”

“I do have a test on Friday…”

Mateo smirked as he tugged her book over, dissecting each section to make it easier to explain. She made sure to write extra notes down the sides with his examples to go over later on. While she jotted notes down, she noticed Ryan whispering to Molly causing her to smile in response. Glimpsing Chris working through his assignment without a companion made her feel slightly bad.

It wa
s none of her business to butt into their relationship or lack of—it just seemed like a waste of the months that they were together, all because of miscommunication and stupid comments. Stephen was a pushover; he was in love with the idea of love and second chances. He was busy trying to lick his wounds and pretend that he was all right when the truth was obvious. If Chris really wanted back in, he wouldn’t have to do much, but he would have to do something drastic. She could already feel herself being dragged in.

“Audra?”

She glanced up at Mateo, realizing she spaced off. “Sorry.”

“You must b
e a boring tutor,” Ryan chuckled.

“Did you ev
en pass this class?” Mateo quipped back.

“Boys
, boys, don’t start a macho match,” Molly said.

Audra used
the end of her pen to tap Mateo’s cheek until he focused on her. “I’m ready.”

He smirk
ed as he leaned closer instructing her on the rest of the subject until time ran out. They all collected their belongings and left in a trudging group down the hall. Mateo stayed by her side, which delighted her, but seeing Stephen by himself left sadness in her chest. She held his hand tightly, passing along her feeling for him through it.

*****

With a scarf wr
apped around her neck, she walked down the sidewalk with only the lampposts as her guiding lights. The wind whipped sharply at her face, but she pushed through knowing her trip was short. When she spotted the house, she broke out into a sprint up the path with a quick push of the doorbell.

“Oh
, hello, Audra. Nice to see you, sweetheart,” Stephen’s mom welcomed.

“Hi
, Mrs. Matters. Is Stephen busy?”

“Never too busy for y
ou. Come right in.”

Audra walked
into the living room, but his mom pointed upstairs. She nodded, going up to his bedroom, knocking on the door.

“What is it?”

“I missed my boyfriend,” she replied saucily.

The door opened
to Stephen’s surprised face. “Oh, yeah?”

“I felt the need to check in. How goes it?”

He shut the door behind her as they both sat on the bed. She unraveled her scarf in the warmth of his room. Stephen ran his hand through his shaggy hair, but the bags under his eyes expressed his true feelings. Helplessness surrounded her; unable to fix it but unsure if it was worth fixing. From the despair on Stephen’s face, she’d risk it just for him to smile.