I was behind Reiner, and it was difficult for me to read his emotions without being able to see his face clearly. Was it true that the two of them were going to get married soon?
“Go home, Rachael. We’ll discuss this later. From now on, please don’t approach Natalia ever again,” Reiner said and even I could tell that it wasn’t just a request. It was an order.
Rachael seemed like she had many things that she wanted to say but had decided to hold her tongue. She looked from Knight to me before her gaze returned to him and she nodded her head in understanding.
“Are you going to drive her back?” Rachael asked.
“Yes,” Reiner replied.
Rachael nodded her head a few times as she let Reiner’s words sink in. I pitied her and I could tell just how hurt she felt. Reiner didn’t seem inclined to say anything else. After a short uncomfortable period of silence, Rachael turned on her heels and walked away from us. Reiner watched her walk away before turning around to face me. For some reason, it felt like I was also in trouble and here I thought that I was the victim.
“Let’s go to the car,” Reiner said flatly before walking ahead of me.
That alone was enough for me to figure out that he was mad at me too. Reiner never walked away from me like that, and he would always hold my hand when he picked me up. We would walk to the car together side by side. Clearly that wasn’t going to happen today. Rachael may have lost more points than I did but the event that just transpired also caused me to lose some in Reiner’s favor. Why is life so difficult?!
Reiner drove the car in silence while I wrecked my brain thinking of what I should say to him. For the life of me, I didn’t even know what I did wrong and why he was acting like this towards me. Fine, I guess I did sort of lie to him about the reason why I had to stay back. Letting him see Rachael and me together wasn’t exactly part of the plan.
“Umm…sorry for not telling you beforehand. Rachael…she turned up at the bar today and said that she wanted to talk to me…” I started to explain.
I glanced over at Reiner and his cold and emotionless face as he continued driving in silence with his eyes glued to the road ahead.
“Honestly, I was curious to see what she wanted to talk to me about. I…wanted to know more about your relationship with her…” I admitted weakly.
“Then you should have asked me,” Reiner replied sharply.
He was right but I didn’t think that he would tell me anything even if I asked. Reiner never told me anything before. He just wanted to keep everything a secret from me.
“I didn’t think that you would tell me anything even if I asked…” I said defensively.
Reiner was silent for a moment as if he was thinking of what he should say to me or how much he should tell me. I gave him the time that he needed. I’ve waited a long time already so a bit more time wouldn’t hurt.
“I apologize for Rachael’s aggressive behavior. She’s normally not like this,” Reiner finally said regrettably.
I had to say that I didn’t like what he just said at all. Why was he acting responsible for her actions?
“Why are you apologizing for her?” I asked.
“She’s normally a sweet girl. She usually doesn’t act unreasonable like this…” he continued calmly.
“That’s not what I was asking. I’m asking why you were apologizing in her place. Why do you have to sound like you’re responsible for what she did?” I asked as my voice got audibly louder.
It annoyed me and it frustrated me that he was acting as if he wanted to protect her. There was a connection between them that I didn’t understand, and I didn’t like it one tiny bit.
“It’s partly my fault that she’s become like this, so I do feel responsible,” Reiner admitted.
He sounded tired like this had been a problem that he’d been dealing with for some time now. I understood that every guy came with his own baggage and set of problems, but I didn’t understand his deal with Rachael at all.
“She mentioned that she’s your childhood friend…” I said, hoping that he would tell me more about their relationship.
“She’s right. Our fathers were very close friends, and we spent a lot of time growing up together. Her parents visited our house often and she would come along with them. She’s like family,” Reiner explained smoothly.
She’s like family?
The way he said that with a tender note in his voice really hit the wrong nerve in my system. If I had to pinpoint the exact reason why what he said bothered me, it was probably because it made me feel like an outsider that would always be excluded.
“Don’t make that face,” Reiner said as he reached out a hand and began stroking my hair comfortingly.
“What face?” I muttered without hiding my displeasure.
Reiner didn’t reply to me, but he did let out a small laugh like he was somehow enjoying my reactions. On my end, I had absolutely no idea what he found so amusing in this entirely messed up situation. Sometimes, like these, I thought that it might be better for him to quickly marry her so that we could just go our separate ways. He’s really not playing fair, and I was starting to get mad at him for real.
Due to the traffic-free road, we arrived back at my place in no time at all. Reiner parked the car before walking over to my side to open the passenger door of the car for me to get out. I didn’t mind opening the door myself; however, I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to even move my arm to open the door. I just sat there as I thought about how to get Reiner to explain everything to me before my own jealously would eat me up from the inside and drive me insane. That is, if I wasn’t already in an insane state already.
–To be continued…