"I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain. Now the day bleeds into nightfall, and you're not here to get me through it all. I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug. I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved." —Lewis Capaldi.

••

The ride to Homewood is quiet, and Blaze seems to be lost in his thoughts while he maintains his focus ahead of him. He has become unresponsive once again, and it's scary how you can miss someone despite them sitting right next to you. I miss his smile, his laugh, his awful singing, his bad dancing, and his flirts. I miss everything.

It would be better to maintain my distance, but it's driving me mad the way he's been recently avoiding all possible conversations with me and how he's acting as if I am non-existent half of the time. I should try to break the ice because the silence is driving me crazy, and I am not sure how much more of this I can take.

"Uh, thanks for dropping me there," I mutter cautiously. "You never had to, but you did. And thanks for also staying with me...and driving me back."

He says nothing. He just rakes his fingers through his strands, and the bruises on his hand catch my attention again. Reawakening my worries.

How did he get hurt? Was it from beating Kite? I hate when he does immoral things or gets hurt because of me. I don't deserve it.

"Blaze...why is your hand like that? How'd you get hurt?"

"Don't worry about me."

I sigh. I cannot handle this constant animosity between us. The fact that he stayed with me at the clinic made me think that he was finally going to forgive me; why is he still so distant and unresponsive?

He is really hard work. I should commend his dad for handling him for so many years; I would have already lost my sanity.

"You should get it dressed—"

"That's not your business."

"It is..."

"It is not; mind your own business, Harmony."

"Why are you still being like this?" I frown. "I just got checked out, and I am still a virgin, so stop being so mean, Blaze."

"Harmony, I am obviously not in the mood to talk; you should just get the fucking message."

"Don't swear at me, Blaze."

"Then stop talking to me, yeah?"

My eyes sting, and I shift them to the window, so he won't see how hurt and vulnerable I am right now. This boy is driving me insane.

"You can let me out. I will walk back."

He hisses but is still driving as if he didn't hear a word I just said.

I shoot him a glare. "You can let me out, Blaze."

He glances at me with a hard expression, then back at the road. "You think I really wouldn't let you out? I will leave you on this damn street, Harmony."

"Then do it. I rather walk back alone than to be around you and this behavior."

The car comes to a sudden, screeching halt, that if I weren't strapped down, I'd go flying through the windshield. I glare at him while he clenches his teeth, keeping his dark eyes in front of him. "Fine. Goodbye."

I hold back tears and unsnap the seatbelt without hesitation. I get out of his car and close the door. His eyes are focused ahead, seemingly with no remorse, while he steps on the gas and speeds away without another word or glance.

What a jerk and I thought he was finally becoming human again; I guess I was wrong. The street is quiet and lonely, and I suck up the tears while I begin my journey in the direction of Homewood. The day is windy, but luckily, it isn't raining like earlier so I will manage a walk back to school.

A lot of thoughts are dancing through my head while I trod along the cemented sidewalk. I didn't want to lie to him, but I was scared he would hate me. Ironically enough, the result is still the same despite my failed efforts. He detests me more than anything in this world now, and the look of distaste he constantly throws my way is like a constant pierce in the heart with an ax. I know that maybe I will never gain his trust back, and that's a lot more painful than a punch in the gut.

A tear escapes and slides down my face. God, having feelings sucks. At this point, I wish I had the inability to feel love. I would be fine without it since it causes me this much turmoil.

Suddenly, I notice a white Mercedes speeding towards me from a distance. When it gets closer, I realize it is Blaze's, and I wipe my eyes quickly, so he won't realize that I have been crying over him like a pathetic schoolgirl.

He comes to a stop at my feet and rolls his window down to peer out at me. "Get in the car."

His tone is much softer than it had been before he left me, but I don't need his pity. I have been waving my white flag all day, but he didn't seem to care. His words kept wounding me, and he didn't seem sorry about them either.

I frown and look away. "I am fine."

"Harmony."

I pretend he isn't talking while continuing my expedition ahead, and he curses something under his breath and opens his door. He's in my path in a swift, hindering my footsteps while he glares down at me with sharp eyes. I see how his pupils dilate when he notices I've been crying, and I steer my face away and try to move around him when he grabs my arm. "Get in the car."

"I am fine." I pull my hand back. "The school is right up the street."

"Harmony, don't be so stubborn for once. Get inside the car. You're always making things so complicated, hence why we are in this position."

"I am making things complicated? Blaze, you let me out of your car, on the street, then you drove away, leaving me there."

"Harmony, you're the one who insisted on getting out of the car. And if I had left you, I wouldn't be here now, would I?"

I glare up at him, and he sighs and pulls my hand to the passenger's seat of the vehicle. He puts me in before closing the door and getting around to his side. He fastens his seatbelt. "You cry a lot; you know that, right?"

I look out the window and wipe my eyes.

"If a boy lets you out his car, then you just tell him to fuck off. Don't cry; you have nothing to cry for...you aren't the wrong one."

He sighs, then steps on his gas and drives off.

~