CHAPTER 50: Evil Stepmother 2.0

Two weeks.

Two fucking weeks since I saw this school and the irksome people in it. As much as I did not want to enter the halls, my grades are unfortunately frowned upon by many, including Maddie, so that means I have to spend a ridiculous amount of time working on improving them.

Speaking of, if I see Maddie right now, she will definitely be with Shawn, Blake, and Noel. Which ultimately leads me to...

Ding! Ding!

The handsome knucklehead himself.

I take a detour from the hallways and get out from the back exit. My class is in a completely different block, luckily, so I could take the long route by taking the soccer field route. Ugh. That brings back a lot of nasty things I so don't want to remember. My hands clench as I turn to see the spot where I created a scene in front of the entire team.

Stupid Caleb. Stupid Coach. Stupid school.

And let me not even get started on the root of this entire fiasco. That girl will burn in hell. The extent to which Veronica West can antagonize me is immeasurable and she better run for her life the next time she sees me. I hope my boxing landed her in the hospital.

Damn. All this anger is turning me into Evil Stepmother 2.0.

Amidst my sadistic thoughts of the people who hurt me, a hand unexpectedly grips my wrist and pulls me, making me take a sharp turn and bump into the stone-walled back of the person dragging me.

Caleb's head whips towards me, his eyes holding desperation, and he continues dragging me to the girls' locker room.

"Caleb, what the hell?" I yelp, pushing myself back in order to resist his powerful drag but he is too strong for me and in a few seconds, we are already in the locker room. My tatty shoes scrape against the porcelain mosaic floor as I keep yelling at Caleb and struggling against his hold on me.

Bemused but still super furious at his sudden caveman actions, I break away from his grip, hurting my wrist in the process. I hiss in anger and grab him by his collar, shoving him near the wall. He grunts and stares at me, wide-eyed.

"As much as...I love this position, I really need to talk to you." He speaks out, hints of amusement clear in his eyes. My jaw clenches at his words and I shoot him an icy glare, watching his expression change from amusing to astonished and...hurt?

Ironic, no?

I step away from him and, whilst maintaining my glare, punch his shoulder.

"Listen to me, Summer." He calmly speaks.

"No! What the hell was this, Caleb?"

"You would not listen to me any other way!"

"So you kidnap me?"

"Oh, quit being a baby." He huffs and I swallow at his hurtful words. I turn away from him, suddenly remembering our alone moments together. I close my eyes and bite my lip to stop the emotions from tumbling out one by one. No amount of wheedling from his side will get me to believe any of the lies he is planning on feeding me today.

"I'm...sorry."

"I wish I could believe you." I scoff at his fake apology, turning back to glare at him again.

"You have to. What you did that day was not acceptable. That was not fair, Summer, and you know that."

"You're telling me what's acceptable? Wow. Shall I tell you what was not acceptable? The fact that you lied to me over and over again, Caleb! The fact that you would stoop so low to just win some stupid captainship of the team." I sigh as my lip begins to quiver and I lean forward and whisper lightly. "And the fact that you toyed with my feelings."

His expression softens and for a moment, the familiar melting in my heart occurs, but I quickly pull myself back and give him a cold stare. His fingers brush my hands but I jerk away from him and pocket my hands.

"Look, I'm sorry-

"You have a great way of showing it." I quip. I am not some docile idiot who would believe anything. I've been learning things the hard way for many years so I am definitely not easing into this conversation without putting up a goddamn fight.

"Would you just listen to me?" He suddenly yells and I flinch slightly, unaware of his furious side.

"I know you, okay? I know you're stubborn and hard-headed and you don't easily listen to anyone. This was the only way. You threw false accusations at me that day without even trying to know my side of the story! Is that how you define your trust in me?"

"My trust in you apparently died the day you lied to me, Caleb. And no, you don't know me. No one does." I bite back, gritting my teeth and ready to get the hell out of here. As soon as I take one step, Caleb blocks my path and pushes me to the wall, covering my mouth with his hand. My eyes widen and I squirm under his grip, still unable to push him away.

"What do you mean no one does? You roam around, acting all strong, Summer. Have you ever thought that your feelings actually come from somewhere? That you actually have a damn heart? You don't have to hide behind some stone-cold exterior. I told you this before, it is okay to be vulnerable." I stare at him, vacillating between running away from him and actually comprehending his arguments against my accusations. My languid body gives up as his words register in my mind. Those same words from that night at the lake.

Our connection.

I close my eyes which suddenly feel hot and prickly. I feel a tear roll down my cheek and I lower my gaze in embarrassment.

He sighs and rests his forehead against mine. All of a sudden, I miss his warmth, his touch, his words.

Him.

As more flashbacks return to my mind from his mere touch, my unstoppable tears continue streaming down my cheeks but Caleb's hand doesn't move away. His grasp on me is gentle now but I still do not make a move to push him away anytime soon. I think he takes a hint as he sighs and moves his forehead away to look at me.

"I love playing soccer a lot, just like you. Jason is our captain and I definitely do respect him that way, despite our silly differences when it comes to you. I would never attempt to win some stupid position in the team. I know I am a good player and I don't need that title to be known as good." He states, finally moving away and giving me some space. My gaze remains stuck on the floor at our shoes and as much as my mind spurs my legs to start running far away from Caleb, I still hold my ground and stand there, listening to him.

"And as far as it concerns Veronica," he sighs, running a hand through his hair. His musky cologne invades my senses and I swoon a little. Damn good-smelling boys. "she means nothing to me. I ended things with her and you very well know that. Why would I play around with you, Summer? What would I gain from it? Do you think Veronica helped me gain captain's title? That's a little low of you to think as well." I look back up at him again and notice the distress in his voice and expression.

"I told him no." My eyebrows furrow at his statement and he hesitates before continuing, "I told Coach that I don't want to be captain."

I gulp, his words now starting to make sense and seem truthful. Oh my god. What if I made a blunder by accusing him that way? From the looks of his face, he's obviously lost all trust in me. More tears spring to my eyes at this sinking realization and I whimper slightly, turning my gaze away from his. Even though I've been badmouthing him this entire two-week period in my head, deep down I know he is not a bloody cad who would ever lie to me.

"I know for a fact that Veronica is the one behind all this. And trust me, she will pay for this." He holds my hand and I actually let him. "Right now," he leans forward, "I just want to sort this mess out with you. You're my priority." He whispers and that's all it takes to open the floodgates.

"Why?" I start crying as I ask him.

"Because...and I will say this for the last time. Veronica means nothing to me. I don't care about her. You, on the other hand, mean a lot to me." He whispers and I swear, I stop breathing. My breath hitches in my throat as his fingers tentatively move to my face, brushing away imaginary dust on my unquestionably crimson cheeks.

"You've changed me, Summer. For the better." He leans in even further and nudges my temple with his nose. I desperately clasp on to the wall behind me, struggling to stand properly as he places a chaste kiss on my forehead.

"And before you start doubting and getting angry at yourself for doing this, don't." He lifts my chin and looks into my eyes, perusing my face so carefully as if he has the intention to capture it in his mind.

"Enough of putting away your feelings, Summer. Let them out." He leans forward and kisses my right cheek. His lips graze the corner of my mouth as he pulls back and I gasp at the tingles all over my body. A tear rolls down my cheek again and I take in a deep breath, realizing how much of a fool I've been. All this time, acting strong and unshakeable did nothing for me. It deteriorated my thinking in fact. I became so angry and vehement towards everyone that I'm slowly turning a blind eye to everything rational in the world.

Caleb's finger swipes across my cheek, wiping the tear away and he tilts his head, kissing my left cheek.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, my lip quivering in guilt of what idiocy I've been doing all along to such a person. A person who did not think twice about the harsh things I said to him before coming on to confront me, just to help me see the truth.

He cups my face with both his hands and smiles slightly. "You're forgiven." He grins and before I have the chance to say anything, he covers my mouth with his own. My shock subsides in a few seconds and I find myself kissing him back. It is fervent and absolutely delightful. My hands move behind his neck, tugging at his hair, and he grips my waist tightly.

I'm never letting you go.

We both break away for oxygen, breathing heavily against each other, foreheads touching. I smile at our moment and mentally high-five myself for finally getting that second kiss I've been yearning.

"You're amazing, you know that?" His sultry voice deepens the blush on my face and I lean forward, hiding under his arms which are encaging me.

"Are...are we okay?" Caleb asks hesitatingly, his placating expression softening my heart even more. I rise on my toes slightly and place a peck on his lips.

"More than ever." I grin and say and he envelopes me into his warm embrace.

Staying like that for a few more minutes in his arms makes me realize that I would happily stay like this for a long, long time. He makes me happy, he understands me, he knows me. What more could I even ask for? I always wanted a person like this – I looked for this in my brothers but after dad passed away, it's like we became four strangers just living in a house. All I reckon now is that I am never letting go of Caleb.

I open my eyes and my mind wanders back to Veronica. I pull away from Caleb, sadly, and clear my throat.

"What are we going to do about Veronica?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. But I'm super pissed at her trying to sabotage so much. How about I go over to her and teach her a lesson?" He clenches his jaw and I poke his nose.

"You're cute when you get all macho."

"Don't call me cute."

I grin and look at him, my hands still around his waist and his around mine.

"I think I've shown her enough violence. We need to get the truth out of her if we want Jason to return to the team. It's not like you can lock Coach in a room and kiss him until he accepts the truth." I snicker at my joke and grin at how Caleb glares at me.

"Okay, first of all, that was utterly gross. I'll pretend I did not hear that. Second, how are you going to get the truth out of her, Miss Detective?"

"We'll think of something." I ruffle his hair and smile, even though an unhealthy amount of worry and anxiety is eating away at me internally.

Veronica better have a good team of lawyers ready when I'm done with her.

***

WOAH! Done with 50 chapters and an increasing amount of readers sure is a huge accomplishment today. IALHR also ranked #1 in badboy today! Thank you to all my readers for supporting this book and giving it lots of love. I honestly have no words. I love y'all!  ❤

Anyway...I loved writing this chapter so much! What do you think about Caleb's explanation to Summer and his method of pacifying her?😉 Tell me in the comments below.

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