I Heard His Thoughts While Chasing Him For A Year Chapter 04

I Heard His Thoughts While Chasing Him For A Year Chapter 04

Zoe wanted to stay, but I made an excuse and left.

Everett followed while I requested a rideshare.

“I’m bored too,” he said after clearing his throat. “Want to share a car?”

“We’re going in opposite directions.”

“Same direction.”

The answer came too quickly.

“Don’t you live in West Briarhaven?”

“I’m going to my uncle’s. He lives near you.”

“Okay.”

Without hope left, I no longer felt shy sitting beside him. We rode in silence, but his thoughts filled the car.

[Coward. Why can’t you say anything?]

[This is so frustrating. You only know how to look cold.]

[How long are you going to keep acting before you get anywhere?]

Anger simmered under my skin.

I had once filled every silence, and now that I stopped, he called me a coward. I had chased him while he ignored me, yet withdrawing annoyed him too.

The contradiction made me furious because I assumed every complaint was about his own inability to approach Zoe.

I did not realize the coward he was insulting was himself.

I was already working hard to look unaffected. Somehow he had seen through me.

I asked the driver to stop early so I could walk and clear my head. Everett got out too.

He did not explain why. He simply matched my pace, close enough to catch me if I stumbled and far enough to maintain his indifferent performance.

We followed a quiet path under the moonlight.

Walking beside my former crush still made my heart race.

Then he ruined it.

“Bring me a breakfast wrap tomorrow. Add an egg.”

I stumbled in disbelief. Everett caught my arm and pulled me against him.

The faint scent of gardenia surrounded me.

Maybe the night made me reckless. I rose onto my toes and kissed his cheek.

Everett stared.

[AAAAAAAAAA!]

His mental scream snapped my judgment back into place.

I ran.

When I looked over my shoulder, he still stood in the same protective pose like a statue.

I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Everett’s face.

Eventually, I dreamed he kissed me. I woke with drool at the corner of my mouth and a wet pillow.

The embarrassment was unbearable.

I needed to remove the problem completely. I decided to distance myself from both Everett and Zoe for a while.

I would focus on grades and college applications. Neither of them would keep scrambling my thoughts.

The decision felt dramatic, but I had spent too long building my day around Everett.

If I wanted to stop liking him, I needed mornings, study sessions, and walks home that did not include him.

When Zoe heard I was determined to attend Eastbridge, she assumed I was doing it for Everett and supported me enthusiastically.

I did not bother explaining, but I gave her one message.

“Everett wants a breakfast wrap with an egg.”

“Why would I care?”

The next morning, I walked to school alone and saw Everett waiting at the gate. I tried to circle around him.

“Tessa, where’s my breakfast wrap?”

My heart climbed into my throat. For a second, I thought he meant to confront me about the kiss.

“I don’t owe you breakfast.”

I added, “Zoe is behind me.”

I thought acting distant would make Everett see me as less annoying.

But without me, Zoe barely spoke to him. His thoughts buzzed through my head all morning.

[She’s ignoring me. This hurts.]

[She must be upset. She even walked to school alone.

So brave.]

[I need to be brave too. I’ll ask what’s wrong and fix it.]

[Come on, Everett.]

I nearly sprayed water across my desk.

After class, he called me into the hall and demanded, “Did you and Zoe have a fight?”