Fallen Crest High (Fallen Crest High #1)(90)

"It's where the media geeks hang out."

"Won't they need this room?"

"I don't care. They won't come in until we're done."

And with those words, an awkward silence fell over us. I looked at him, he looked at me. Neither of us spoke. So I slumped down on some couch. When did the media geeks get a couch for their room? Then I stopped caring as Adam cleared his throat and fiddled with his thumbs.

"Just say what you need to say, Adam. We can leave as soon as you're done."

He expelled a deep breath. "That's the thing; it's harder to do this than I thought it would be."

"To do what?"

His eyes found mine and pierced me. "To apologize. I've been trying to do it all week, since Tuesday, but I couldn't muster the courage."

"You need courage to be nice to me?"

He laughed. "I need courage to humiliate myself for you again."

I frowned. Humiliate?

He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed at his jaw. "Look, I'm real sorry about everything that's happened. I've been a huge ass and I know that doesn't even cover how I've been towards you."

I looked away. Did I want to hear this? Then I sighed. It didn't matter. Here it went…

He continued, "You know that I liked you, I still do if I'm being honest. When I found out that you were tight with the Kade brothers, I went crazy. I was jealous and I was a prick and you have every right to never talk to me again. I was acting like a spoiled douchebag who didn't get his prize."

I looked down. "I think that's putting it mildly."

He chuckled. "Yeah, probably. Look, Mason had every right to knock me out. I said something horrible about you to him."

My head jerked up. "What'd you say?"

He choked on his next words. "What? He didn't tell you?"

"No, he didn't so you tell me. What'd you say?"

He grimaced. "I'd rather not."

"Adam."

"You're going to hate me even more now. I thought you knew."

I couldn't ignore how he kept looking at the door. "Adam. Speak now."

He groaned and messed up his hair. "Oh—fine. I might've mentioned something about if he was dropping off his whore…or something like that. I'm not sure what word exactly I used, but it wasn't a nice one."

I swallowed a lump of coal down my throat. "And what'd he say in return?"

"Besides the punch? He might've said something like I looked pathetic, I'm not sure. That whole day was jumbled up to me. I was stupid that day, real stupid. I deserved what happened to me."

"You deserve to get hit again, if you ask me."

He grimaced. "I know and I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. My dad asked me what I said to piss off Mason Kade. When I told him, he said the same thing. He said I was being stupid and then my mom told me I was acting like a spoiled brat."

"Why were you? I never told you I was going to date you."

"See, that's the thing." He sat on another couch and cursed when a bunch of cords obstructed his way. He shoved them aside. "I thought maybe you didn't want to date me because you weren't over Sallaway. I thought you needed time and I was going to try and give that to you. I wanted to give that to you, but then I saw how Kade handled you. Literally handled you at their party and I went crazy. I couldn't believe that ass—" He stopped as he saw my face. "I'm just real sorry. I am, Sam. And I'd really like for you and me to be okay. I know Becky's been hammering at my ass since day one with you. She won't let it go."

"So are you here for me or for her?"

"Both," he groaned. A grin slipped past his lips. "Miranda is livid with me. She wanted to upstage you, but the whole thing between me and Mason made it impossible for her to do what she wanted. I kept telling her it wouldn't work. You wouldn't care."

"What was she going to do?"

"I'm not sure what it was, but she was sure you were going to get mad."

"How would you know I wouldn't care?"

He threw me a look. "Because you don't care about anything. It's your ammo. You don't give a damn and no one can touch you because of it."

I folded my arms over my chest. "Really?"

"Yeah. I think that's why you go on those long runs, so you don't feel anything."

My foot twitched as he said that. Since Mark told me about the party, I was planning on going for a run as soon as I got home after school. Being numb got me through every day. Why mess up a good thing?

"So…are you still pissed at me?"

I started laughing and once I started, I found that I couldn't stop. I bent over and continued to laugh into my knees. My shoulders were shaking so much. Then sobs started to come and I couldn't stop them either.

"Sam?"

I couldn't respond. Tears flowed freely down my face, but I kept laughing. They started to blend in a form of hiccups that my body kept bursting out with.

"I'm really confused. Are you okay?" He sat beside me and I felt his hand touch my back. He jerked it up right away, and then touched between my shoulder blades again. "Are you okay?"