Distraction (Westbrook Series Book 1) (38 page)

I let out a deep groan, as I scoot my body as far away from Peter as I physically can. He doesn't seem to be fazed in the slightest.
Jerk
. He is too busy chatting with my mom to notice my discomfort.
Even if he did notice how miserable I am, he'd probably just get off on it
.
That's how twisted he is
.

I'm anxious for Kyle to return, so I can sandwich myself safely between him and Mom.
Where is he?
I scan the aisles and the back of the church until I spot him standing over in the far corner of the cathedral. I'm surprised to see Georgia next to him, her arm linked with his.
He brought her to church? Well, that sure is an interesting development.

I keep glancing back at them nervously. They better hurry up and get over here before the service starts, or I will be stuck sitting next to Peter. I want to gouge my eyes out when I see them settle into an empty pew at the back of the church.

After staring at them relentlessly for what feels like days, Kyle finally looks at me. His eyes dart between Peter and me, before he starts chuckling to himself.
He knows how much I despise Peter
. I try to tell him to get his ass over here by making my eyes really big, but he just looks away and starts talking to Georgia, as if he never saw me.
He is so dead
.

I am just about to excuse myself to use the restroom, so I can return late and be forced to slip into one of the back pews, when Trevor walks up.

"Laila,
there
you are. I've been looking all over for you." Trevor is standing in the aisle, peering over our pew. "Oh, hey Peter," he adds casually.

I look at him, completely baffled.
What am I missing?

"Well, are you coming, Laila?" he asks me. He looks back over his shoulder. "Come on, my mom and dad are saving us a seat on the other side." He nods his head in their direction a few pews up from where Kyle and Georgia are sitting
. I seriously want to throw my arms around Trevor's neck and kiss him right now
.

"
Right
. I almost forgot," I play along. "Sorry, Sanchez. I promised I'd sit with the Maddoxes today. You should stay here, though. My mom is
more
than happy to have you join her," I say in a sickly sweet tone. This time I wink and flash him my best shit-eating grin.

I don't even pause long enough to see his reaction. I am too worried that Mom will suddenly jump in and force me to stay. Luckily, she is too busy chatting with the family sitting behind us to even notice.

The organist starts playing the opening processional, right as Trevor and I shuffle into the pew with his parents. Mrs. Maddox smiles at me warmly and squeezes my hand, to let me know that she's glad that I am joining them.

"I owe you big-time, Trevor. How did you know?" I whisper, as we scoot across the bench. He leans in so close to me. His hot breath on my ear is making me shiver.
Good Lord, he smells delicious. Did I mention he is wearing a white button down today? Is he trying to torture me?

"Patterson, you could not look more miserable there, sitting next to him. You don't even try to hide how much you hate him, do you?" he asks with a coy, sexy smile.

I simply shake my head.

"I couldn't let you suffer through the whole service like that. Plus, that guy is such a
tool.
" He shakes his head with disgust, but I can still see the faint evidence of his dimples, as if he is trying not to smile.

The service seems to fly by. I really enjoy sitting next to Trevor. He has an amazing voice and he doesn't hold back like most people do when they are singing at church. I could probably listen to him sing for days and never get bored. Both of his parents are good singers, too. I've always wanted to be able to sing really well. I'm not terrible, but I certainly won't be landing any lead roles in the spring musical, either.

Trevor and I file out of the sanctuary as fast as we can, hoping to lose Peter in the crowd.

"I'll meet you in the closet. I'm just going to snag some cookies and something to drink from the lobby. Do you want anything?" he asks me.

He's going to hide out with me in the closet again?
This really shouldn't make my heart race, but I'd be lying if I told you it didn't.
Avery is your best friend, Laila
.

"No, I'm good. Thanks," I respond, willing my cheeks to remain pale. This never seems to work, but I still try to anyway.

I make my way over to the coat closet and discreetly slip inside. I look around at the clusters of empty, wire hangers scattered across the rod. There is a single ray of light sneaking through the partially open blinds from the tiny window that is high on the opposite wall. It is illuminating a perfect little path in the otherwise dark closet. The triangular ray reveals a thick cloud of lively dust particles that are hovering in the air, reminding me just how unused this space is in the summer. I'm going to have to find a new hideout when the weather changes this fall, and people start wearing coats again.

I find an old, tattered pew cushion on one of the shelves, and pull it down for us to sit on. I was so preoccupied with Trevor during the service, I had almost forgotten about Sam. I take a deep breath as the pain inside tugs at me, reminding me of our break-up.

I am more than relieved when Trevor returns. For some reason, it is easier to forget about everything when he's around. His beautiful, dimpled smile and emerald eyes are just the distraction I need right now.

He hands me a small paper cup filled with what appears to be pink lemonade. He sets a plate piled high with an assortment of cookies directly in front of me, before he kneels down beside me.

"I know you said you didn't want anything, but I got you a drink and brought extra cookies, in case you change your mind."

I look at the plate doubtfully. My stomach is too raw right now to eat anything. "Thanks, but I'm just not hungry."

"Are you sure, Patterson? I mean, just
look
at these." He picks up a cookie and holds it in front of me. "These are not your
run-of-the mill
store bought vanilla wafers or Hydrox Cookies. I'm pretty sure these are the
real deal
.
Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
." I laugh at the way he makes his voice sound like a voice over from a movie trailer.
I must admit they do look good
.

"Anyway, I didn't want to be teasing you by eating them right in front of you, and make you regret your decision to not have any. That just seems cruel. Plus, you need something to wash the cookies down with. I just hope you like good old powder-made, pink lemonade," he says while pointing to the cup he just handed me.

I shake my head and laugh. "Thanks. You are too funny, Trevor," I say weakly, while tucking my legs under me.

I appreciate the fact that he is trying to cheer me up. It makes me wonder if Avery told him about Sam and me. She doesn't really know that we’ve officially broken up, though.
I am dreading that phone call
.

"I try," he says, flashing me one of his double-dimple, faint-worthy smiles. The butterflies are fluttering around in my stomach again, kicking up with them a fresh dusting of guilt.

"So, what's new with you, Patterson?" he asks, before chomping into one of the cookies.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I really don't want to discuss my break-up with anyone, much less Trevor. It's almost as if I keep it all to myself, I can pretend that it didn't really happen. It’s as if saying it out loud will some how solidify everything.
I realize this isn't logical, but I'm acting as if it were.

When he looks at me again, his light-hearted expression instantly falls. "Hey, what's
wrong?
" he asks, while setting his half-eaten cookie back down onto the plate.

I was sure that after last night, I could not possibly shed one more tear, but I can already feel the liquid pooling in my eyes. I swallow hard and open my eyes, hoping the tears do not escape.

"Seriously, Laila. What
happened?
Did I say something
wrong?
" He looks completely baffled.

"No, Trevor. It has nothing to do with
you
. I'm sorry. I'm just really emotional right now."

His eyes flicker with concern and he bites his bottom lip. "Well, you know you can talk to me, right? I know I'm not Avery, but I've been told I'm a pretty good listener," he offers.

The barrier that was holding everything back before is suddenly broken, and the stream of tears that follow, are almost a relief. Sometimes, holding onto all of that pain hurts more than the pain itself. You have to release it, so you don't end up drowning in it.

He scoots over closer to me, and wraps his strong arm around my shoulder. I wipe my face with my hands several times, but I can't keep up with the endless flow of tears. I'm about two seconds away from full-on sobbing. I'm thankful I opted to skip the make-up part of my getting ready routine this morning. Otherwise, my face would be a complete train wreck.

"Laila, whatever it is, it's going to be okay." He wraps his other arm around me, and pulls me against his chest. I can feel his hands gently massaging my tense shoulders.

"I wish I believed that," I say with dismay. I sigh once before unloading on him. "Kyle caught Sam and me . . . kissing in my room." I force the words out. He doesn't need to know
everything
we were doing. I wait for him to respond, but he doesn't say anything. He just squeezes me into a tighter embrace, and rubs light circles along my back.

"I've
never
seen Kyle that mad before, Trevor. I really thought he was going to
kill
Sam." I find it surprisingly easy to talk to him, once the words start coming out. I am staring at the crinkled, white cotton fabric of his shirt, and breathing in his intoxicating scent.

"Well, yeah. I'd probably be the same way if I found out one of my friends was making out with Sasha," he starts to say, before he realizes how it must sound to me. He sighs and shakes his head, as if he is chastising himself. "I'm sorry, Laila. So, what did you guys tell him?" he asks, without releasing his ironclad grip on me.

"It was
so
bad, Trevor. I doubt he and Sam are even speaking to each other now. I wouldn't be surprised if Sam is forced to take a bus back to school today. That is how completely mad my brother is at Sam."

"It'll probably just take some time for him to get used to he idea. Once Sam proves to him that he isn't just screwing around with you, it'll be fine," he says reassuringly.

I know he isn't trying to rub it in, because he doesn't even really know that we already broke up. Still, hearing him say this makes me almost lose it. The sobs are getting to the point where I should be mortified that Trevor is even in the same room with me. I not only have tears spewing out of my eyes uncontrollably, but there is also this disgusting stream of snot that seems to be hell-bent on flowing from my nose, no matter how many times I swipe at it.

He hands me a napkin so I can wipe my face, but I've already soaked through his shirt.

"It's not going to be fine, Trevor. He . . ." I sob again into my napkin, as I try to choke out the words. "He broke up with me," I finally spit out the rest of my sentence in between gasps.

"
What?
" Trevor looks genuinely shocked by my confession. "Why would he do that?" he asks, while scooping me up so I am now cradled in his lap. He gently pushes me off of his chest just enough, so he can look me directly in the eyes.

The moment his green eyes connect with mine, I shut my eyes and bury my face back into his damp shirt. I can't talk to him with those piercing eyes fixed on me. It's like they are reaching right through me, deep down into my soul, where I have been trying to bury all of this pain.

"Kyle is his best friend."

"
So?
You were his
girlfriend,
" he says sharply. His hand is still stroking my back affectionately.

"You have to understand that Sam has been so close to us for so long now, he is practically part of our family. I think that makes it even harder for Kyle to accept." I'm not sure why I feel like I need to defend Sam to Trevor, but I do.

Trevor is shaking his head repeatedly, as if he isn't buying my excuses. "It doesn't matter. It's still not right."

"I just wish Sam would have given it some time, instead of just ending things with me so abruptly. I know it isn't what he wanted to do. It's what he thinks he
should
do. Kyle made him feel immensely guilty for everything."

Trevor sighs and rubs his temple. "I just don't get it, Laila," he says, while shaking his head. "You should be
angry
. This is
bullshit
."

"I
am.
I am
so
angry with Kyle right now, Trevor. He ruined
everything.
"