28. Oakley

28

OAKLEY

We're getting close to winter break, which means finals. For the life of me, I can't concentrate. I miss Loren, which is ridiculous since I left him like an hour ago.

I'm feeling whiny. If I open my mouth, I know my tone is going to be pathetic. On the verge of throwing a tantrum and I'm not even sure what I want. I want finals to be over. I want to be cuddled. I want, I want, I want.

Sighing, I look up from my textbook and glance outside. Arizona almost always has nice weather. It's hotter than Anaheim because there's no ocean but I don't hate the temperature. It's dry, which I really like because it's much better for my hair.

A knock on my door has me twisting in my chair. My door is open and Briar stands in the door. "Hey," he says.

I smile. "Hey."

"Studying?"

"Pretending to. You?"

He huffs. "Same. Want some company?"

Turning my desk chair, I nod and he comes in, dropping into the comfy one in the corner.

"What subject?" he asks.

"Right now, ancient cultures. I swear I know this, but I keep thinking I'm going to panic and freeze up."

He groans. "Tell me about it. I've taken the online practice test for my first final like eight times and though I've scored high enough to account for error, I'm not convinced it's telling the truth."

"Finals should be illegal. The amount of stress it puts on us is ridiculous."

Briar chuckles. "No Loren today?"

It's difficult not to smile at the mention of Loren. I glance at the door as Brek walks by, but he just meets my eyes and keeps walking.

"Is he being weird lately or is it just me?" I ask, frowning.

"It's not just you, but it's more obvious when you're home."

"Great."

"Albrecht!" Briar calls. "Get in here and gripe about finals with us."

I hear Brek curse as he always does when we use his full name. Something drops and he swears again. Briar chuckles.

A minute later, he's standing in my doorway, giving Briar an irritated look.

Briar grins. "Come on, sweetcakes. Commiserate with us."

Brek scowls but steps into my room. There's a textbook in his hand, though I'm looking at the back of it so I can't see what subject. He takes a seat on the floor, leaning against the bed.

"The others still at school?" I ask.

"Levis is with Brianna," Briar says. "I think Honey Bee is working out her frustrations as well."

I roll my eyes.

"No idea where Haze is. I think his last class ended the same time mine did—an hour and a half ago—so… gym? He must do something to keep up that bulk."

"He could be like Brek and naturally toned," I suggest, looking at Brek.

He raises his eyes to mine and gives me a weary smile.

"Okay, seriously. Why are you being so weird lately? And apparently more so when I'm here. What's up with that?" I ask, crossing my arms. "What did I say or do to upset you?"

Brek shakes his head. "Nothing," he mutters.

"Really? In that tone?"

"What do you want me to say? Glad you're finally home? Although can this really be considered your home since you haven't slept here in like a month and most of your clothes are missing?" he snaps.

"You're upset that I'm not here much?" I ask.

"Why did you move in if you're just going to move out with the first boy?—"

"Ouch," I say at the same time Briar cuts him off with, "Stop."

My stomach turns sour as I stare at him. He's never purposefully said hurtful things before, so this is really kind of… out of left field.

"That's really rude," Briar said. "No need to be a dick and definitely no need to spew some bullshit that you know isn't true."

Brek doesn't answer. He's not looking at me, but staring at my door.

"I didn't move in with him," I say, "but yes, I brought some of my clothes because it's silly to take a shower in the morning and put on dirty clothes. But I'm here every day. I see you here every day. And for the record, he's the second boy who showed me attention. Not the first. That would be Daniel/Jason, remember?"

He still doesn't answer. When a minute goes by in weird silence, I ask, "Do you not like Loren for some reason? Is that what your problem is?"

"He's… He gives me a bad feeling," Brek mutters.

"Because he's a sociopath," I admit and both guys look at me. Brek's eyes get wide, but Briar just stares as if he's waiting for me to tell him I'm joking. "He's naturally different from everyone else because he doesn't compute like the average person. Most of the time, he reads the tone of a conversation based on cues and emotions he doesn't experience. So yeah, maybe he gives you a weird vibe."

Silence fills the room.

"I thought there was a personality thing with him," Briar says after a while. "I thought maybe a mood disorder or something."

I shrug. "It's not a secret so much as it's not something he advertises. Personally, I love that he doesn't pretend to be like everyone else. As someone who's had to pretend to fit in for most of their life, I know how exhausting that is."

Briar nods. "Absolutely."

"You're dating a sociopath?" Brek asks. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"So is riding a bus. I'll take my chances."

Briar laughs.

I'm not sure which is more awkward—Brek staring adamantly at the door as he refuses to look at me or the way he's staring at me now, like I'm out of my mind.

"I don't really care if you don't like him," I admit quietly. "Everyone else seems to, so this is a you problem. If you had legitimate concerns as there were with Daniel/Jason, I'd definitely listen; I've learned my lesson and won't ignore all my friends when you're telling me there's something wrong. But everyone else likes Loren except you. And you've been acting really weird, so I definitely think there's something up with you, not Loren."

"Honey Bee didn't like him for a while either," Brek says defensively.

"She didn't," I agree. "But that's been cleared up and she likes him just fine."

"Why didn't she like him?"

"I'm not giving you more ammunition for whatever mood you're in, so don't worry about it."

Brek tries to hide his scowl.

"Where is Loren?" Briar asks.

I shrug. "At home, probably. He was helping his father with something in the backyard this week. Which, by the way, is a construction site. The house isn't haunted. It didn't sell because there was a huge foundation issue between the pool and pool house that inspections kept showing and it was way overpriced on top of that. That's why it sat empty for so long."

"That's an expensive piece of property to let sit empty for so long," Briar says. "Talk about a waste of money."

"I guess when you reach a certain number of commas in your bank account, it's not that big a deal," I suggest, shrugging.

The afternoon remains quiet and somewhat awkward with Brek resolutely not speaking to either of us, though he doesn't get up from the floor. Every time Loren comes up, he scowls and stares into his textbook.

When Haze gets home, Briar heads downstairs to check where he's been, which leaves me and Brek. It's not at all uncomfortable.

He continues to ignore me, so I roll my eyes and face my desk again. Eventually, he gets up. I tell myself to just let it go, but when he reaches the door, I spin around.

"Can't you just be happy for me?" I ask. Brek freezes in the door mid-step. "I'm happy, Brek. I'm really happy. Loren treats me so good and he cares about me. Why does my being happy make you so unhappy?"

His shoulders rise and fall. He's quiet for so long I don't think he's going to respond.

"Maybe he's not the right person for you," he says quietly.

What?! What does that even mean? "Okay, well… shouldn't I get to figure that out on my own? Because maybe he is."

Brek inhales. I don't miss the subtle shaking of his head. "Yeah. Fine." And then he walks out.

Did Loren threaten him? Is he scared of Loren? Is that what this is about?

Or maybe he wants Loren? Hmm. Yeah, I could see that. Except not really. Brek is straight.

Turning back to my desk, I pause. But is he straight? I've never even seen him with a girl. Or a guy. I've never seen him show interest in anyone.

Shaking my head, I try to focus on my studies again. Thankfully, I'm saved from that torture for too long when Loren comes to the front door to take me home.