Chapter 74

Celeste

Fiona was right - absolutely right. I needed to put Matt out of his misery. I just…needed to muster up the courage to actually do it.

Breaking things off with him was going to hurt both of us, but eventually we would get over it. We would have to. Matt would move on, find some other girl. And I would…

I didn’t know. I didn’t know what I would do. I was not like Matt - I didn’t have a line of people dying to be with me.

But even if I did, I wouldn’t want any of them. I liked Matt. Genuinely liked him - not just because he was the first boy to ever show interest in me. And the thought of him being with someone else…

Ugh, it didn’t matter. I would endure the pain if it meant making Matt happy. I had to break things off with him. I just…had to figure out how to do it and when.

I was dragging my feet, admittedly. It had been a few days since Fiona had told me I needed to set Matt free and I still hadn’t pulled the trigger. I kept telling myself I was waiting for the right moment, but I was starting to believe that moment didn’t exist.

Walking out of my last class of the day, I pulled out my phone, flirting with the idea of reaching out to Matt. I pulled up his text thread, seeing the unanswered texts from him that made a pool of guilt meet my stomach.

Do it. Text him. Tell him it’s over.

Was I really going to do it over text?

It wasn’t fair…none of this was, really. But if I saw him in person I don’t think there was any way I’d be able to break up with him.

Once more, I looked down at my phone, my thumbs hovering over the keyboard.

Do it, Celeste. Just do it.

“Celeste?”

The sound of someone calling my name made me stop in my tracks. Flicking my eyes up, I saw a boy running toward me, but it took me a few seconds before I recognized him.

“Alyx,” I stated as he grew closer. Upon hearing me say his name, he flashed a smile, slowing to a jog before he finally stopped right in front of me.

“Hey,” he said, still smiling. “How’s it going?”

I blinked up at him, confused why he’d approached me so suddenly. Or maybe why he’d cared to come over at all. But still I tried to smile back.

“Fine,” I replied. “And you?”

“I’m good,” he said. “Actually, I’m really glad I ran into you.”

I had to stop my eyebrows from flying upward. “You are?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, bringing a hand to the back of his head before he ruffled his hair awkwardly. “I wanted to apologize for the other night.”

“Oh,” I popped out. “Why is that?”

“I was really drunk,” he insisted. “And I feel like I was being sort of a dick. I tend to get a little bold when I drink.”

Shaking my head, I wave away his concern. “It’s okay. No harm done.”

Actually, I had been semi flattered by the things he’d said at the party. Confused, but flattered. Whether he was “bold” or not, sometimes it just felt good to be noticed.

That thought made my stomach sink, my mind straying once again to Matt and his boyish smile.

“You okay?”

Alyx’s voice snapped me out of it, making me aware of the frown I’d been wearing. I smoothed my features as I looked back up at him.

“Yeah, sorry,” I said, hoping my unbothered tone was enough to recover.

Thankfully, it seemed to be. Soon, Alyx grinned, his shoulders relaxing.

“By the way,” he started. “Weren’t you the one who found the bear in the woods? That must have been terrifying.”

I furrowed my brow at Alyx’s question. “Well…I did find something, but I don’t think it was a bear.”

Alyx cocked a brow of his own. “What do you mean? What did it look like?”

“Dark hair, glimmering eyes,” I quickly admitted, drawing on my memory as I tried to picture the animal again. “It was dark so I couldn’t see much, but it was huge. Less like a bear and more like…”

A wolf.

But that couldn’t be possible, could it? Each time I discussed the encounter and tried to explain it, claiming the creature had been a wolf seemed…insane.

Like I’d told Alyx, the creature had been huge. It had towered over me. Wolves could be big, but they weren’t that massive.

Maybe I had been wrong. Maybe it had been a bear. After all, it had been dark and I’d been terrified. My imagination could have created details that didn’t actually exist.

“I guess it was a bear,” I finished. “I couldn’t see very well…I just heard growling and saw these glowing eyes. I immediately started running.”

Alyx listened intently, nodding at my words. “Wow, that sounds scary as hell. I’m glad you’re okay. And you’re really amazing for running back to the party to warn everyone else.”

I nearly jumped as Alyx’s hand gently took my wrist, giving it a brief squeeze as he smiled.

“You saved a lot of people from getting hurt,” he said softly. “Thank you.”

A blush swiftly lifted and spread over my cheeks. I couldn’t do anything but nod at him as my voice was abruptly locked up.

It was so strange to have Alyx talking to me like that. So strange that he’d extended such kindness out of nowhere.

I had no idea what to do with it. Of course, there was a part of me that quickly grew skeptical, hesitant to believe he was being genuine. But I didn’t want to think that way.

I’d been working on myself, growing my confidence. Why couldn’t a boy want to talk to me without there being ulterior motives? Fiona would have insisted I give myself more credit.

I’d have to work on that too, but for now…I had other boy problems to attend to.

“Thank you, Alyx,” I replied fondly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “I appreciate that. But…I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“No worries,” Alyx said, continuing to smile as he pulled his hand away. “I’ll see you around. I hope.”

Again, I nodded, resisting another blush from staining my face. Instead, I turned away, heading down the sidewalk with swift steps.

As nice as Alyx’s compliments were, they only made me miss Matt more.