Ice Cold - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

It was only a minute later that Landon stomped out of the front door of his house, his bag slung around his shoulder, glaring at my car with his hair hanging down in front of his eyes. He opened the door, threw his bag in the backseat, and got in before slamming the door shut and pulling his seatbelt on.
I knew he was going to be moody when I showed up at his house, and that was part of the reason why I did it. There was something so entertaining about how easy it was to rile Landon up. He reminded me of Fox in that sense, but then I looked at him with his face turned in a frown, his jaw clenched tightly and how that squared his jawline, and I wished I hadn't thought of my brother in that moment at all.
I was treading on dangerous territory with Landon, and I didn't know why I had even cared to see him so angry with me, why it made me want to see him all the more. It was sickening and wrong, yet I wouldn't let myself feel shame over it.
"How did you even know I'd still be home?" Landon grumbled, looking down with his arms crossed over this chest.
"Because I knew you'd be contemplating texting me all day because you really don't want to take the bus, and it seems like you don't want to ask the Hansons for help," I started, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel. "But you have too much pride to text me for a ride, so I made the decision for you while I was feeling generous."
Landon shook his head. "You're so fucking weird."
I shrugged. "Maybe, but you're desperate."
He glared at me as I shifted the car into drive and pulled away from the curb. My book playing softly was the only sound in the car. Landon must not have had the energy to make a big deal out of it, but I found it hard to concentrate on the words with him letting out sighs of annoyance every few seconds.
I paused the book without saying a word, but that only caused him to let out another sigh.
"Seriously?" he asked.
"What?"
"We're going to sit in silence, again."
"I can't listen to my book with somebody making so much noise in the passenger seat," I told him. "I'm surprised you're not fogging up my windows with all your heavy breathing."
Landon gaped at me, then shut his mouth before opening it again to speak.
"You are insufferable," he said.
I let out an impressed hum. "I'm surprised you know that word."
"I'm surprised I got in this car with you again."
"I'm not. I knew you would," I said. "However, you were quick to leave when I saw you at that diner."
"Just shut up." He said it without any conviction in his voice.
of me felt like he wanted me to say these things that made him feel bad about himself, like it was a form of punishment he put himself through for what he had done in the past. I didn't know whether to indulge in it or not give him what he wanted.
We sat in silence for the rest of the ride. Once we got back into the city, I had Landon give me directions to his dorm building
"I think I know why you left the diner so quickly the other night." I said it because I couldn't help myself, because some twisted part of me needed to see his reaction.
"Turn left and shut up."
"You feel guilty for whatever you did to Elijah. You can't even look at him and you don't want to be confronted by him or Fox. So, you ran."
He didn't answer me. He just clenched his fists and his teeth, like he was holding back a hard punch and his sharp tongue.
"Because you know you hurt them for nothing other than being exactly what you are," I continued as I pulled up to his building. "And you beat them with the thought that if you hurt them enough, it would change something about you and it didn't. You're just the same with more guilt."
I parked the car, turned to face Landon, and at the last second saw a fist coming for my face just before it made contact and sent me jolting backward.
I barely had time to register what had happened before Landon pulled his bag from the backseat and got out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him.
Once I came to my senses, I touched my face where he had punch me and winced in pain. Then I laughed.
And even though it hurt my face to do it, I laughed all the way home.
**
Landon Reilly
My knuckles felt like they were splitting from how hard I had hit Wren, but when I looked down at them the skin was just red, not broken. I cursed at myself as I flexed my hand. He had gotten under my skin, but I had become too angry and that wasn't supposed to be who I was anymore.
of me felt like he deserved it. He only said those things to make me angry. But I also knew it only made me angry because it was all true. It didn't really matter. I shouldn't have punched him, no matter what he said or how angry he made me.
I was still flexing my hand and looking down at it when I opened the door to my dorm room. When I entered the room and looked up, I saw my roommate Kyle with a girl on top of him and quickly averted my gaze.
"Oh shit. Sorry Landon," Kyle said, sounding embarrassed. "I should've put a sock on the door or something."
It really wasn't that big of a deal. It was just shocking to walk in on.
"It's fine. I'll go," I said, turning to leave without looking up at them.
"Wait," the girl said, causing me to pause my movements. "I know you from somewhere."
I looked up and immediately looked down again when I saw that she had turned to face me, topless. I heard her get off the bed and saw her bend down to pick her shirt up off the floor. Only after she had a shirt on did I look up again.
"The other night," she continued. "At the bar. I was with Wren. He brought you back to his place."
I frowned at her. Little did she know that I had just been with Wren and he made me so angry that I lashed out.
"You probably don't remember at all," she said. "You were pretty blacked out."
"Yeah, I don't remember," I muttered, hoping to ending the conversation with that.
"Well, I'm Stella," she said. "And if you ever want to go out with a group of people who won't leave you drunk and alone, you should come with us. Wren said he knew you from home."
"Sort of."
Stella smiled and looked back at Kyle.
"You should both come out with us this weekend," she offered. "It's a fun time."
I was about to deny her when Kyle spoke up.
"Sure," he said.
"Perfect! I'll text you," Stella said, grabbing her phone and keys from his desk and making her way toward the door. "Bye!" And with that she walked by me and out the door and I shut it behind her.
I stood in silence for a moment, not daring to look over at Kyle.
"Sorry, for uh, walking in," I said, looking down at the floor.
"It was my fault. We had already hooked up, we were just going for another round," Kyle said. I looked up to see him shrugging from his bed. "It's not a big deal."
All I did was nod and go over to my side of the room. I threw my bag onto my bed and started unpacking my things, my knuckles stinging any time something brushed against them.
I forced myself to take deep breaths, hoping to rid myself of the anger and embarrassment I had felt in the last ten minutes. My therapist wouldn't be happy to hear that I had punched some dude who had just driven me home, but I hadn't seen her since I started school and I hadn't made an appointment with the school's counselor like she had asked me to.
Even without having seen my therapist for a while, I knew she would encourage me to make amends with whoever I harmed with my anger.
So, on Monday morning toward the end of my run, I walked into the coffee shop nearby with the expectation of Wren being there. He was there, but to my surprise, he wasn't in his running clothes.
Instead, Wren sat at a corner table with his eyes focused on his laptop. He wore a dark brown crew neck sweatshirt with BROWN written across the chest in white letters and light denim jeans that were cuffed at the ankle.
He didn't look up from his laptop as I walked further into the coffee shop and stood by the counter.
"Can I get a large hot coffee with oat milk?" I asked the guy at the counter. "And... whatever he gets?" I looked back toward Wren, pointing back at him with my thumb.
"Wren?" the guy at the counter asked. I nodded and he put in the order before asking for my name.
I waited until my name was called with the coffees before heading over to Wren's table and standing in front of him. It took him a moment to even notice I was standing there, but when he looked up at me, I finally saw the bruise on his cheek where my fist had been.
"Here," I said, shoving the coffee toward him and awkwardly looking away.
I heard Wren laugh as he took the cup from my hand.
"You bought me a coffee?" he asked. "How chivalrous."
I glared at him as he took a sip of the drink.
"And you knew my order. How nice."
"That's for punching you," I told him in a low tone.
"What, are you in anger management or something?" he asked. "They say you have to balance out your anger or something?"
He smiled over the rim of his cup, knowing he was just angering me again. He was the most infuriating person I had ever met. My anger made him giddy, like it was the most pleasant thing in the world. No normal person worked the way he did.
"Just shut up," I said, turning to walk away.
"Wait," Wren called out. I turned back to him again. He stared at me with a serious expression, like he was analyzing me all over again. "Come sit."
"What?"
"Sit," he said, gesturing toward the empty seat across from him. "You can't run back to campus with a coffee. Sit down."
I looked around the small coffee shop, and enough, every seat was taken in this place besides the one directly across from Wren. I slowly sunk down into the chair, keeping my eyes down at the drink in my hand as I sat across from Wren, who was still staring at me.
Wren let out a laugh and the sound grated at me. His laugh was pleasant, but always mocking.
"I'm actually happy you punched me last night," Wren said after a few moments of silent staring.
My head shot up to look at his smirking face, my eyes widening and my hand tightening around my coffee cup.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I spat.
"I deserved to get punched," he said. "Good for you, sticking up for yourself."
I gaped at him. Wren had to be the most confusing and disturbing creature I had ever come into contact with. There was no way he was actually sane.
"You're crazy," I said, letting out a heavy breath.
Wren just shrugged and looked back down at his laptop, reading through something on the screen.
"Are you going back home this weekend?," Wren asked, not even looking up from the screen. "Or are you hanging out with those assholes who left you last time?"
I scoffed. "That's not of your business."
Wren glanced up at me over the laptop screen.
"Doesn't seem like a grand idea to keep going out with the friends that leave you drunk and stranded at a bar, but I know you're not bright."
I rolled my eyes. "Those aren't my friends. And I don't go out. Especially after last time."
Wren blinked and I started to feel uncomfortable under his stare.
"So you don't have any friends?"
"No." And I didn't want any.
"At all?"
"No."
Wren started to look confused, like he was tearing through his brain to come up with some sort of explanation and falling short.
"You're closing people off," he finally responded.
I let out a long sigh. "Can you not analyze me right now? Remember how well it went last time?"
"But you regret that," he said, gesturing toward the coffee I bought him as a peace offering.
"That doesn't make me any less likely to punch you again."
"Well, that isn't going to deter me."
I let out another sigh and placed my face in my hand, trying to breathe slowly to keep myself from getting angry.
"Fine, yes, I have no friends and I spend most of my time alone in my dorm room," I told him. "You're right. I close people off and that's how I want to keep it. Is that what you want to hear? You're right?"
Wren frowned at me and it occurred to me that I'd never seen an expression quite like this on his face. It was like he was upset, confused, and disgusted all at the same time.
"Why am I feeling bad for you?" he asked, though it seemed more like he was asking himself that question. "I don't feel bad for people."
"Okay," I said, standing up from the table. "I'm leaving."
Wren nodded. "Thanks for the coffee. I'm sure you'll be feeling the need to get me another one soon enough."
I didn't even acknowledge that as I scurried through the coffee shop and walked out the door. When I discretely looked through the window at Wren, he was already looking back at his laptop, furiously typing away.