After Reading My Boyfriend’s Mind, I Dumped Him for Good Chapter 03
Atticus’s frown deepened. “No.”
No new thoughts surfaced.
I didn’t know if that was a relief or a disappointment.
Just like he’d done so many times before, he quietly pulled an iced coffee from his backpack and handed it to me.
Then he swept the floor, grabbed my backpack, and walked out of school with me.
The silence between us felt strangely unnatural.
Normally, I would’ve been bouncing around him the whole walk home—telling him how handsome he looked, rambling about everything that happened in class.
Then, when he least expected it, I’d slip my hand into his and watch his ears flush red as his grip tightened around my fingers.
But today, all I felt was a heavy ache in my chest.
“What’s wrong with you today?” Atticus spoke again. He seemed on edge.
The usual indifference in his eyes had been replaced by a layer of barely contained frustration.
“Nothing.”
Another stretch of silence.
Then I asked, “Atticus, does waiting for me after school every day ever get annoying?”
But there was so much more I wanted to ask.
Had it annoyed him—back when I chased after him so shamelessly?
When I held his hand, kissed him, clung to him every single day—had all of that annoyed him?
Atticus shook his head.
But at the same moment, his thoughts drilled into my ears.
[God, I hate this. Why’s she asking?]
So it really was hatred.
I reached over and took my backpack from his shoulder.
Even my smile felt hollow.
“Okay.” I paused. “But honestly? I’m getting a little tired of it.”
If he didn’t want to admit the truth, then I wouldn’t ask anymore.
His entire body stiffened instantly. He stared at me in silence.
“And you don’t need to wait for me after school anymore.”
I patted him on the shoulder. “Just go home earlier.”
Then I turned and walked away.
After a long moment, someone grabbed my wrist. I looked back.
Atticus’s face had gone slightly pale. His eyes were locked on mine.
“I can keep my distance.” His voice was strained. “You go your way. I’ll go mine.”
[So annoying. I hate this so much.]
Atticus really was a fraud.
Before, I had thought he liked me but pretended not to.
Now I realized he didn’t like me at all, yet somehow acted as though he couldn’t bear to let me go.
I suddenly felt like I couldn’t understand him anymore.
“Whatever.” I pulled my hand free.
The sound of footsteps followed behind me, never too close, never too far away.
They stayed there the entire walk home.
When I reached my front door, I instinctively turned around.
In the past, this was always the moment when I would throw my arms around Atticus and plant a loud kiss on his cheek.
“See you tomorrow, cutie!”
Every time, he would immediately glance around, terrified that someone might have heard me.
Looking back now, maybe I had been forcing that on him more than I wanted to admit.
I just raised a hand and waved. Then I stepped inside.
As the door swung shut, I caught one last glimpse of him.
For just a second, it looked like the light in his eyes had gone out.
