Chapter 3
1 awkwardly forgave Andre and decided to go with him to get a jacket, planning to grab some dinner at the mall. Just then, Sherry came back.
I casually put the bottle of mineral water she handed me on the table. “Sherry, we’re heading out for dinner. Why don’t you come with us?”
Andre emerged from his room wearing a jacket, bypassing Sherry to stand next to me without saying a word. Sherry’s cheeks had a slight flush to them.
“No, you two go ahead,” she said. “I’m treating our class fitness captain to dinner tonight.”
Andre looked down as he zipped up his jacket, hiding his expression. “Why?”
Sherry seemed unfazed by his cold tone. “I fainted in gym class last time because of low blood sugar, and he carried me to the nurse’s office. I’m treating him to thank him.”
Andre pulled the zipper up to his chin and scanned Sherry, a chilling smile creeping onto his face. “Sherry, besides causing trouble, what else can you do?”
Sherry’s face lost all its color in an instant. Not wanting their conversation to escalate into an argument, I quickly grabbed Andre’s hand and headed for the door. “Okay, bye Sherry. We’re off.”
The smell of grilled fish wafting through the air didn’t seem to pique Andre’s interest at all. He picked at his food for a couple of bites and then just stopped.
I bit my fork and blinked. “Andre, don’t you like grilled fish?”
“Nope, I do,” he replied flatly. “Just not very hungry.”
Since he wasn’t eating much, my appetite dwindled too.
I picked at my meal a bit more before wrapping things up quickly.
I had planned to stroll around some more, but Andre said he was tired and wanted to head home.
He typed one-handed on his phone, probably messaging someone, a hint of restlessness visible on his face.
“Want me to drive you home?” he casually asked.
I shook my head, smiling with my eyes narrowed. “If you have things to do, just go. Don’t worry about me.”
He put his phone away, giving my fingers a light squeeze. “I’ll head out first.”
He boiled a cab, moving a bit urgently. I thought about it and decided I’d check out the mall a bit more.
But as soon as I took a few steps, I tripped on a step and twisted my ankle.
swelled up like a balloon, clearly sprained. After several painful tries to stand, I had no choice but to call Andre. He had just left a few nutes ago, so I hoped he wasn’t too far away.
After three unanswered calls, I stopped trying. I sat on the step in silence for about ten minutes, and once my ankle felt a little better, I shuffled over to the roadside to catch a cab home.
But after I got home and applied some medicine, it still throbbed painfully for a long while.
Chapter 3
I mindlessly opened social media to distract myself.
Three minutes ago, Sherry made a post.
“A Night of Despair: My brother suspects I’m dating secretly, so he dragged me away from the hot pot restaurant and lectured me for half an hour. I ended up in tears, but to cheer me up, he took me out for BBQ. On the way home, I tripped, and even though my arm just scraped a bit, he insisted on dragging me to the hospital. Please take this overprotective brother away from me!”
I read Sherry’s post over and over. So that was why he had rushed off-he was worried about her dating early.
It was 10:30 PM when Andre texted. “Did you call because you needed something?”
Finally, he had time to check my three missed calls. I opened the chat but hesitated to type anything for a while.
After some time, my phone screen dimmed automatically. I shoved my phone under my pillow, turned off the light, and closed my eyes to sleep.
The next morning, I replied, “I’m fine now.”
Andre didn’t respond again.
Sitting quietly on my bed with my messy hair, I took a moment before burying myself back under the covers.
I knew Andre didn’t really like me, and this situation should have been expected.
But somehow, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness wash over me.
