“What? What more do you want?” she yelled at him.
“I want you to stop and talk to me,” Cole huffed back, equally confused and frustrated.
“You want me to talk to you? Fine. Let’s talk. Maybe we should talk about how completely mortified I am right now. How I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to show my face at school again. Or maybe you want to talk about how I can’t believe you would put me up on display like that. Or how I’m so angry right now, I don’t know what to do with you!”
“Bri, I’m sorry! I didn’t think you’d get so upset!”
“So tell me, Cole, how did you think I would feel?” she asked dangerously.
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Happy maybe? Flattered?” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
“You thought I’d be happy?” Her anger boiled over. “You put me up on display like some sideshow freak! You made me look like I’m some lost, broken person you needed to fix. You assumed you knew how I felt, and then put it out there for everyone to see and laugh at. I am the farthest thing from happy right now! I feel totally exploited and betrayed! I feel violated! Hell, I couldn’t feel more exposed if you’d had me up there naked! What were you thinking? What was even the point of all this?”
“I was trying to show how love changes us, makes us better,” he sighed, sounding defeated.
“Love?” she scoffed. “And what would you know about love?”
Cole glanced up at her, sharply.
“I know more than you think. I was also trying to show you how I really feel about you, how much I really care about you.”
Bri just shook her head, cynically.
“I love you, Ambria,” his eyes pleaded with her. “That’s the point. That’s what I was trying to show you. I love you. I love you so much, I can’t even think straight! I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything!”
Bri was so shocked and astonished by his declaration, she couldn’t speak. She hadn’t expected to hear those words from him. For one blissful moment, she let his words, and what they meant, rush through her. But then, reality came flooding back. She felt something twist in her heart, before her anger kicked back in.
“That,” Bri pointed back to the school behind her. “That is not love. It’s obsession.” Serena’s words echoed out of her mouth, and Bri felt sick. Cole looked like he’d been slapped in the face.
“You betrayed me, Cole,” she said softly. “You violated my trust, and my feelings, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you.”
“Bri, no!” Cole’s eyes widened in fear. “I don’t know how I screwed this up so badly, but I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Bri! I’ll do anything to make this up to you, to make it right. Just, please, give me a chance!”
“I’m sorry, Cole, but it’s too late.” She moved to walk past him, but he reached out and grabbed her arm. He gently, but firmly, turned her to face him.
“No. I love you. I’m not letting you walk away that easily. I understand I made a mistake. But, it was a mistake, Bri. I didn’t do this to hurt or humiliate you. I just wanted to show you how much you mean to me. How I can’t imagine my life without you.”
A lump formed in Bri’s throat, preventing her from speaking.
“Yes, I see now that the way I chose to prove this to you was wrong. Believe me, this all played out very differently in my head when I planned it. It was a very, very bad idea. I see that now. But to say that you can never forgive me? Why? Why are you fighting...?” he trailed off, looking at her like he’d just figured something out. “You’re scared,” he said softly. “That’s why you’re pushing me away.”
“What? I am not scared,” she protested.
“Yes, you are. You’re afraid of how you feel about me.” A triumphant light shone in Cole’s eyes as understanding set in. “You love me. You love me, and it scares you to death.”
“I do not love you.” Bri replied sharply. She was getting tired of people telling her how she felt.
He didn’t seem to hear her. Or if he did, he didn’t care.
“I knew it. I knew something was wrong. You’ve been so distant for the past couple weeks. You’ve been trying to push me away, and I couldn’t figure out why.” He looked at her, a cocky smirk on his face. “Now it all makes sense.”
Bri felt her blood boil as her anger surged.
“I am not in love with you!” she practically yelled. “In fact, that’s the reason I’ve been pulling away. I can’t return your feelings, Cole, and I never will. That’s why I‘ve been distant. We are going off to different schools, to different lives, and I thought it’d be best to put some space between us before you got your heart broken.”