20. What He Wants
When Libra had gotten home from the Library earlier that day she had decided not to tell Sophia about what had happened. Instead she locked herself in her room and wrote it all on a piece of paper which she later ripped up and threw away. It took her a long shower and a carton of ice cream before she had officially calmed down and could function as normal. Laura had thought she was a threat to her and that she wanted Dillon somehow but she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out why she thought this. When they had showed up at the café Libra had kept her distance and not even spoken to him, so where did she get off thinking she wanted him?
Sophia was studying late with some of her new friends and Libra had a night off from working at the café and since Jack was working she had no one else to talk to, well she did have Dr. Fine but this didn't seem like his expertise. Libra picked up her phone and called the only person she knew would pick up right away â her mother.
She hadn't spoken to her mother since she'd arrived here so it was about time. Dr. Fine had spoken to Paula, her mother, several times to inform her that her daughter was doing alright so she wasn't kept out of the loop. The reason for Libra's absence in her mother's life, as of late, was because she knew as soon as they spoke she'd miss home like crazy. Paula and Libra had always been closed and especially since Arturo's, her father, murder. Even when Robert came in to the picture Paula always made sure that Libra came first and now since the incident they had found themselves clinging to each other more than ever.
"My angel, you're finally calling me!" Her mother exclaimed when she answered the phone, no greetings or nothing. Libra smiled and felt the tears coming already.
"Hi mom," she said and took a seat on her bed for comfort, "I've missed you like crazy."
"I hope so because I've been worried sick about you. Dr. Fine says you're doing alright which makes me happy, but you know how I get when you don't call me." Paula's voice was breaking and Libra could hear she was crying subtly. This is why she hadn't called yet, because she couldn't stand to hear this.
"Well I'm fine so there's nothing to worry about. Although," Libra bit her lip and hesitated for a moment.
"Although what, honey? Is something wrong?" Only mother could escalate her worries in the matter of seconds and it made Libra giggle. Her mother had always been like this and somehow it wasn't until Libra had left for college that she found it endearing.
"It's just this guy..." She started reluctantly but as soon as she heard her mother relax she continued, "He used to go to North Haven with me and now he's here...and he's being so nice to me. I shouldn't trust him mom, but for some reason I find it difficult not to â maybe he's changed."
"Remember what I told you after your father's death and Robert came into the picture, you were so cautious around him and so hesitant, I told you to always give people an opportunity to be nice to you."
Paula's voice was warm when she spoke and Libra continued to listen to her mother give her advice on Dillon. She told her to give him a chance to prove himself and that someone's true intentions always get revealed in the end. Libra clung to those words desperately as they ended their phone call and she sat in silence pondering over what they'd said. Eventually she decided to take things as they come and allow Dillon the chance to prove himself the best he could, then she spent the rest of the evening finishing her assignments.
Sophia had returned home later that evening and they had shared a meal, caught up on some meaningless gossip before each of them returned to their bedroom for the night.
Libra recalled being woken up by her phone making that loud hallow sound, informing her she's got a text message. She rubbed her eyes and unlocked her phone to reveal who it was and to her surprise she read it was from Dillon.
Are you awake?
And shortly thereafter the other text message came:
I'm outside your door and I really have to talk to you. Please come outside.
Now here she was, standing in front of Dillon Holden wearing her pajama top and a pair of jeans she found on her floor. Confused and slightly disheveled from being ripped out of bed but still curious about him. He looked like a mess where he was standing, panting, his swollen lips with a slight redness to them and his breathing was shaky. She had asked him what he wanted but had gotten no response from him, instead he was standing with half open mouth just looking at her.
"Please tell me you're not on drugs or something becauseâ"Libra groaned as she spun a wild scenario of Dillon being high on some type of substance.
"No drugs or alcohol involved here, I promise. I just really want to talk to you about what Laura did today and try to explain why she would say that." Dillon cut in quickly. He looked like he wanted an invite but he was sorely mistaken.
Libra gestured for him to start talking because she wanted to go back to bed and go to sleep. Perhaps she'd wake up in an hour or two and realize this was all a dream or a nightmare â either way she wanted to be in bed. She studied his swollen lips and concluded that the redness came from a lipstick, seeing as it was smudged, and not from his lips being slightly swollen. He had been at someone's place and it would most likely be Laura's â and after he finished with her he had decided to come here. Everything about Dillon was a contradiction in her eyes now and her mother's words faded back into her head.
"Laura had no right to threaten you like she did or even imply anything when it comes to us, we're just friends. I had a talk with Laura just now and she won't be bothering you again, I promise that." Dillon sounded tired as he spoke and rubbed his eyes with his lower palm while he waited for her reaction.
Libra didn't know what to respond to his statement. Even if he was right, Laura shouldn't have spoken to her like that, there was no reason for him to explain all this to her. Why was he fighting so hard to be her friend? Was his guilt over his former bullying days troubling him that much these days? An uncomfortable feeling grew inside her chest, a feeling she had never had before but desperately wanted gone. It bothered her that she was more focused on who he had kissed than what Laura had said.
After a while she opened her mouth to hint to him that she was about to speak, "Thanks for talking to Laura but you didn't have to explain this to me in person, you could've just texted." She mumbled and tugged at her pajama top while her cheeks blushed. I can't believe I'm standing here in my pajama top.
Dillon minimized the distance and hinted at a smile when he saw Libra's eyes widened at his move. She sucked both her lips in not to gasp out loud. He smelled sweet, like a woman's perfume, but she ignored that and focused on his chest. She wondered how it looked without a shirt on and if it was a soft as she assumed it would be. Libra knew Dillon had a good body, she'd seen it in high school like everyone else, but he hadn't been this close then.
"Maybe I wanted to come here, maybe I wanted to see you and talk to you in person. Have you ever considered that I actually like spending time with you and would like us to become friends?" He challenged her with his words and Libra didn't know how to respond.
Dillon Holden, her high school bully, wanted to become her friend now. She struggled to see what they had in common and also what his sudden interest her was coming from. She knew nothing about her inside was different so it had to be her recent change of clothes and her new interest in makeup. He thinks I'm hot and wants to be friends with me now that I look decent enough to befriend.
"Why now? We went to the same school for years and never once did you want to be my friend, so why now? Is it because I changed my clothes a-and my hair..." her words failed and she bit her lip in silence. He was not going to put her through more tears, not in college!
"Libra, no it's not about yourâ"
"I don't believe a word you have to say right now," Libra said angrily, "especially not with smudged lipstick on your face." With her heart beating dangerously fast she stepped away from Dillon and turned around to go back inside.
Dillon spun her around to face him again with his eyes focused on her lips and his panting continuing on. Now they shared a look of confusion and Libra hated that she was frozen in front of him. Small little butterflies had been born in her stomach and for each second they were multiplying.
"I'm not dating Laura nor do I want to." He stated and with that he released her. Libra became standing in silence in front of him for a few seconds before she hurried back inside and shut the door.
Her heart was hurting inside her chest when she climbed under her covers and tried to fall back asleep. If Dillon didn't want Laura then who did he want? And why the hell did she care? Could it be because she secretly wanted it to be her...?