58. Ollie

As I walked into the building, I caught sight of Ms. Melrose slipping out of Headmaster Bradford's office. Her shoulders curled in on themselves, and her eyes stayed on the floor. Dread pooled in my gut as I looked from her to the office and saw Ryde and his mom walking out.

I glanced back down the hall and saw Ms. Melrose hurry into her office and close the door behind her.

What had Ryde done?

His mom kissed him on the cheek, to which he rolled his eyes, and she walked past me out of the building, not even giving me a second look. This was all a game to her, a power play to show who ruled the school. And Ryde? He was no different.

Why didn't he seem bothered as he sauntered toward his locker? The confident walk that used to be so attractive to me now made my lip curl. What had happened in that office? How could he be so carefree?

Ryde preferred we communicate by text when we were at school to maintain his privacy, but to hell with that. He clearly hadn't kept Ms. Melrose's privacy or my dad's.

I walked straight up to him and tapped his shoulder, harder than I meant to. "Ryde, can I talk to you?"

The friends he was already flanked by laughed, joking about why a sophomore would be talking to a senior as popular as Ryde.

He played right into the act, shutting his locker and grinning at his friends like he couldn't believe it either.

Rolling my eyes, I walked away, going into the boys' bathroom. There was a person in the stall, but I banged on the door. "Out."

A freshman came out looking surprised and left without washing his hands. Gross.

Then Ryde came in, looking pissed, and said, "What the hell, Lee? I thought I said not at school!"

Well, I wasn't the only one who was ticked off. "What were you doing in the office with your mom and Ms. Melrose?"

His shoulders stiffened, confirming my fears. I felt cold, like icy acid was dripping over my skin, ruining everything exposed to Ryde.

"I thought I asked you not to tell your mom about my dad and Birdie!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, so now she's Birdie? I thought you were pissed he kept it from you? Serves him right for keeping secrets."

My mouth fell open, and I wanted to scream. I didn't know who the hell this pompous ass was standing across from me, but it wasn't Ryde. It wasn't the guy I'd spent hours with locked in the A/V room, sharing secrets and kisses.

"It wasn't your secret to tell," I said.

Ryde shrugged. "It's done, Lee."

"That's it?" I stammered. "You destroy our guidance counselor's life and probably ruin my dad's chances with her and all you can say is ‘it's done'?"

Ryde rolled his eyes and started to walk out of the bathroom. "I don't have time for this. I need to get to class."

I grabbed his shirt, not finished yet. "Birdie was the only one who advocated for your education and the one who cared enough to keep us a secret from your parents and mine." I studied his face, seeing the contempt there. The utter lack of guilt. "You don't care."

"I don't," he said. "I only care about you." He leaned closer, almost pressing his lips to mine, but I stepped back.

His eyebrows drew together. "What the fuck?"

"You can't just kiss me and fix this!" I hissed.

"What are you saying?" he demanded.

"You ruined lives, Ryde. And all you've been doing is playing with mine." I lifted my middle finger and held it up. "Fuck you."

I walked out of the bathroom and left him in my past, exactly where he belonged.