Five seconds later
“Bella, get your foot out of my face!” Connor yelled as he swerved the car.
“Never!” I cried out.
A minute later
“I’m sorry, officer, it won’t happen again,” Connor said with a sigh.
The officer nodded, giving me a “weirded-out” look before walking back to his car. Once he had driven off, Connor turned to me.
“All that because you didn’t want to listen to country music?” he asked, talking to me like I was a little kid.
I shrugged. “I hate country music. Accept it.”
“You bit me, then dove in front of the radio like a protective mama bear!” Connor cried out, staring at me in disbelief.
“Meh.” I shrugged.
“Bitch.”
“Hey!” I snapped, glaring at him.
“Meh.” Connor shrugged, starting the car and pulling onto the main road.
I turned away to hide the small smile on my face.
Connor
“Meh,” I said, a smirk on my face.
I watched as she turned away, trying to hide the smile on her face.
“You hungry?” I asked her, waiting for the light to turn green.
She turned, looking at the clock. “Yeah,” she said, smiling.
It was already eleven, and because I skipped breakfast, I was pretty hungry.
“I know the perfect place.”
Bella
“McDonalds?” I said slowly, staring at Connor in dismay. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“What?” Connor asked innocently, amusement shining in his eyes.
I frowned and crossed my arms defiantly. “I can’t believe you took me to McDonalds,” I said, looking out the window.
“Is someone disappointed?” Connor asked in a baby voice.
I frowned and glared at him. “Of course not. This isn’t anything special so I didn’t have high expectations, or anything for that matter,” I said, opening the car door. I smirked when I got a glimpse of Connor’s annoyed expression as I shut the door and walked to the entrance of the fast food place. As we stood in line, I noticed a lot of people glancing at him and me.
“What’s everybody looking at?” I asked curiously, looking back at Connor.
He looked around before a smirk appeared on his face. “I look hot and you look like a hobo,” he said, grinning like the asshole he is.
I frowned and looked down at the baggy t-shirt and sweatpants I was wearing, and then at the nice button down and dark jeans he was wearing. For some reason, I burst out laughing, which caused a group of middle-aged women to start glaring and whispering.
“Would you shut her up?” one of them asked Connor bitterly.
I stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow.
“You do know you’re in McDonalds, right?” I asked her, loud enough for everyone to hear.
She stared at me in confusion and nodded her head.
“So what gives you the right to judge me?” I asked, venom lacing my every word.
Her eyes widened and she just stared at me, completely speechless. I smiled and walked back to Connor, all eyes on me. Connor was grinning, amusement shining in his eyes.
“I already ordered. Let’s sit,” he said, guiding me to an open booth. He placed the tray down in front of us, his eyes never leaving mine.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“I’ve never seen a girl bitch off to someone at McDonalds,” he said with an amused smile.
I laughed and looked around. Most people had gone back to their conversations, except for the group of ladies who were now watching me.
“So which one’s mine?” I asked, looking down at the tray.
“Here,” Connor said, handing me some fries and a burger.
I raised an eyebrow as I looked at the rest of the food on the tray.
“You’re going to eat all that?”
He looked down and shrugged. “Yeah.”
“How are you not fat?” I asked as he stuffed his face.
He shrugged and swallowed.
“How are you not fat?” he asked, grabbing his second burger.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I chewed my fries.
“You eat like a pig,” he said as if it was obvious.
I frowned as I swallowed and looked down at my half-eaten burger.
“No, I don’t,” I said, glaring playfully at him.
He scoffed, “You ate nearly four pieces of pie at the coffee shop, and I’ve never seen you being picky during lunch at school.”
I frowned and looked at him.
“If I didn’t have a crazy fast metabolism, I guess I would be morbidly obese,” I said thoughtfully, grabbing more fries.
Connor burst out laughing, leaning forward and clutching his stomach. I grinned and finished my burger, leaning back in satisfaction.
“You’re different,” Connor said, pointing at me with a fry.
I raised an eyebrow and let out a small laugh.
“Thank you?” I stated hesitantly.
“It’s a compliment,” he said with a shrug, his eyes twinkling.
And we ate in comfortable silence for a few more minutes.
“Ready to leave?” he asked, picking up the tray.
“Yeah.”
Once we got in the car, Connor got a phone call. He glanced down at the screen before answering.
“What’s up, Matt?” he asked, confused. “Wait, what?” he paused, and then added, “No!” He glanced at me and sighed. “She’s right here.” He rolled his eyes and handed me his phone.
“Uh, hello?”
“Bella Brown, where the hell are you?” Jess’ shrill voice rang through the phone.
I winced and yanked the phone from my ear.
“I thought you said it was Matt!” I hissed angrily at Connor.
He held his hands up in surrender, looking guilty.
“Jessica, calm down,” I said slowly as I brought the phone slowly back to my ear.
“Are you high or something?” she snapped.
“What? No! Why would you say that?”
“Well, that would be the only explanation as to why you’re with Connor Michaels right now!”
I frowned and glanced at Connor, who was now watching me carefully, waiting for my response.
“Calm down, Jess. I’m fine. I needed a day off, that’s all,” I said, trying to keep the annoyance out of my tone.
“What about your date with…?”
“Bye, Jess!” I snapped, hanging up. I turned to give the phone to Connor, who now looked pissed.
“Your date with…?” he asked as his eyes narrowed.
I rolled my eyes and handed him the phone, looking away.
“Just drive,” I muttered, staring out the window as he started the car.
Connor
Bella is incredibly bipolar. One second she was joking around, and the next, she was giving me the cold shoulder. Somebody’s certainly contradictory. I’ve never been patient, and she was really testing my limits.
And a date with Liam? What was she thinking? When I called her “different,” I meant that she was interesting. Something about her made me want to get to know her better. And whether she liked it or not, that was exactly what I was going to do.
Bella
I could feel Connor looking at me every now and then, and it was bothering me… a lot.
“Would you stop that?” I hissed, turning to face him.
“Stop what?” he asked innocently.
I gritted my teeth and turned away, balling up my hands into tight fists.
“Mood swings?” he muttered, turning onto an empty street.
“Asshole,” I muttered.
Connor glared at me before he made a sharp left turn and pulled over. I saw his hands tightly grip the steering wheel, anger rushing through him.
“What the hell is your problem?” he asked through gritted teeth.
I frowned and looked away, ignoring him.
&
nbsp; “Answer me!” he snapped, slamming his hands on the steering wheel.
I jumped at the noise, fear beginning to fill me. “Stop yelling,” I mumbled, avoiding his eyes.
“No! I won’t stop yelling because you’re pissing me off all the time. What the fuck is wrong with you?” he snarled, shaking slightly.
My heart was pounding hard, and I did the only thing that came to mind—I ran.
I unbuckled myself and flung open the door, sprinting off to the side. I must be in a park, I thought to myself as I continued to run. Connor was scaring me and I had to get away. If I didn’t, I was going to break down and tell him everything—something that I just couldn’t do. I ran around the playground and into a woodsy area. I came across a bench and a table that was flanked by a couple of trees. A perfect place to think.
I knew it was stupid to just run off like that, but after my breakdown this morning, I didn’t know what else to do. I don’t know what it is, but when I’m around Connor, I couldn’t control my emotions—especially the feelings that would run through me. As awful as it sounds, he reminded me of Sam. Well, the version of Sam that I loved. I know that a lot of girls love the kind of guy that is sweet and caring—the perfect gentleman. But for some reason, I was always into the bad boy—the one who was tough yet funny, caring but not sickly sweet, and had that sexy personality. Sam was all that—“was” being the operative word.
It all began when Sam started drinking. It was during that time that he became more sexually demanding. I remember the first time he hit me. Well, every time he did, the memory and pain became embedded in my head. Anyway, we were at a party and he had been drinking a lot, but he claimed that he was fine. I remember him taking me into an empty hallway, away from everybody else. We started kissing when his hands started to grope me. At first, I was okay with it, but then he slipped one of his hands down my shirt and under my bra. I was fifteen at that time, so I panicked and pushed him away. I could remember vividly the look on his face after I pushed him away—unadulterated fury.
The next thing I knew, I was crumpled on the ground with a throbbing cheek. I felt as if a car had hit my face. But like I said, I was fifteen. I was too stupid and naïve to leave Sam.
So the beatings continued until the car incident. That time, he accused me of flirting with another guy, and I ended up being abandoned by the side of the road with a concussion, two broken ribs, a black eye, and a broken arm.
“Bella?” I felt a hand on my leg, causing me to let out a startled shriek as my eyes flew open. I looked up to see a worried Connor crouching down in front of the bench.
“Why are you crying?" he asked, his hand stroking my cheek.
I instantly pulled away and brushed the skin under my eyes.
Awkward!
“I—I—I’m fine,” I stammered, my whole body trembling.
Connor scoffed, straightening up. “No, you’re not,” he said, looking down at me.
I looked away, taking deep breaths to calm myself down. “Yes, I…”
“You were being bipolar and then you sprinted off to God-knows-where. And then I found you crying and curled up on a bench in the woods. So, really, continue with your bullshit and tell me that you’re fine. It's entertaining,”
I looked up at him, wondering. “Why do you care? Huh?” I snapped, standing up.
“I…”
“No,” I snapped, cutting him off. “You have no right to act like I need to tell you anything. I barely even know you.”
“Well, that’s what we were supposed to do today!” Connor snapped in defense.
I barked out a short, sarcastic laugh. “You took me to McDonalds,” I hissed out, getting in his face.
“I’m sorry, okay? I’m not good at this,” he sighed, looking down.
I hesitated for a moment. Did he just say he was sorry? Wait. This is Connor.
“I wonder why,” I said sarcastically.
His head snapped up and he glared at me. I could see the annoyance and anger in his eyes.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, his tone low and dark.
“You’re not good at actually getting to know girls because you never had to! All you do is fuck around. Honestly, I doubt… no, I know that you never talk to a girl unless you wanted to fuck her afterwards.”
I was breathing heavily after my little rant. Then, I watched as Connor narrowed his eyes.
“You know nothing about me,” he spat out, turning to leave.
“Look who’s running off now,” I said, anger fueling my courage to speak out more.
Connor whirled around, nearly knocking me over. “Oh, so now you want to bond and shit?” he asked, leaning down.
I willed myself to not cower away, like I oh-so-badly wanted to do.
“I don’t see why I have to tell you all these things about myself when you won’t do the same,” I snapped, crossing my arms.
“I’m not the one who turned into some psychotic demon this morning,” Connor stated.
I flinched. All previous steam from my anger was completely lost.
“What was that all about?” Connor snapped, not noticing my uncomfortable silence. “Well?” he asked, raising his voice.
I flinched again, backing away slightly. This time Connor noticed and he frowned.
“You act like I’m going to hurt you,” he whispered, looking at me with a hurt expression.
I stared at him in surprise, guilt building up inside me.
“Why do you always do that?” he asked, his voice soft, almost pleading me to tell.
I was so tempted to just spill out everything right then and there, but I couldn’t trust him.
“Connor, I can’t,” I said quietly, staring at the ground. I numbly pushed past him and headed back to what I hoped was the general direction of the car.
“But you’d tell Liam.”
I should have ignored that and continued to walk away, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.
“What makes you say that? Huh? Why would you even care if I did?” I snapped, turning around. I managed to hold my ground as Connor advanced on me.
He only stopped when he was right up in my face, causing me to tilt my head up to look him in the eye.
“You say you won’t tell me because you barely know me. So what’s your excuse for Liam? You barely know him, but from what I’ve heard, it seems you two have gotten pretty close.”
“Maybe because despite what you say, Liam is a good person. I would tell him things because he actually wants to get to know me, not just so he can get in my pants!” I snapped, glaring at Connor.
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted to get to know you, too? That maybe, just maybe, there was a slim chance that this wasn’t all an act?” Connor asked, his tone surprisingly calm. His questions took me by surprise, leaving me speechless.
“But… well… if you really wanted to get to know me better, why take me to McDonalds?” I asked.
Connor sighed and looked away for a moment before looking back at me.
“I told you, I’m not good at this.”
“Well, whose fault…?”
“But, I put myself out there!” he said, cutting me off. “Look, it’s obvious that I’m not good at actually getting to know someone, even I knew that. But I took a chance with you. I know it was an awful attempt, but you can’t act like I never tried.”
Now, I was really speechless. I watched as Connor looked down, trying to hide the light blush that crept on his cheeks. So many questions were running through my mind that even I didn’t know how to respond.
“This is a waste of time. I’m sorry for making you ditch school. It won’t happen again,” he muttered, turning away. I was about to reach out to stop him, but found myself stopping and pulling back. I mean, what was I going to do? Hug him? So I just sighed and followed him to the car.
Over half an hour long of the most uncomfortable silence in the world and he never once looked at me, not even a sly glance! No, perhaps it was just me. I
kept looking at him, unsure whether I should try to start a conversation or not. After he parked his car in the driveway, he unlocked the front door for me so that I could grab my clothes from the dryer.
Why am I being such an idiot? I asked myself as I walked into the laundry room. Connor Michaels put himself out there for me, and I couldn’t even mutter a “thank you”? I scolded myself as I grabbed my clothes and headed back downstairs.
Halfway down the stairs, I realized what I had to do. I could feel the butterflies build up in my stomach as I slowly made my way out the door.
“Here are your keys,” Connor muttered, tossing the keys at me.
I caught them, thankfully, but remained standing where I was.
“You can leave now,” he said slowly, staring at me as if I were a "special" person. I frowned and glanced back at my car. But I needed Connor to take me home! I watched in horror as he turned to walk back to his house.
“But I don’t know how to get home!” I said in a rush, hoping that he would turn around.
“What?” he asked, turning around.
Yes! I cheered to myself.
“I don't know how to get back to my house from here," I said awkwardly, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Good luck, then,” he dully said, turning back.
“Wait!” I cried out.
He froze, but didn’t turn back.
“Please, Connor,” I pleaded softly, gripping my clothes tightly in my arms.
No response.
“Please?” I asked, my voice weak.
Nothing.
I sighed and turned back, heading towards my car. My keys were ripped from my hand as I held them out to unlock my car.
“I’m driving.”
I quickly nodded, hiding the smile that so badly wanted to spread across my face. We drove to my house in silence. In fact, the only sound that could be heard was of me stuffing my clothes in my bag.
“Thank you,” I mumbled as I got out of the car.
Connor simply nodded as he got out tossing me my keys.
“How are you…?”