Hate That I Love You

Chapter 12: Waiting Game

Chapter 12: Waiting Game

(Kael’s POV)

I should’ve just gone home.

Standing outside Draven’s apartment, I kicked at a loose pebble on the porch and sighed. The windows were dark, and there wasn’t a single sound coming from inside. No music, no muffled voices, nothing.

I glanced at my phone again. 6:47 PM. Still no messages, no missed calls—just the same empty screen staring back at me. I said we’d meet here at seven. He said he’d be here.

I shifted on my feet, my mind still replaying the awkward scene in the hallway earlier. I didn’t know much about that girl, Sera, except that she had that too-perfect, too-polished vibe that screamed trouble. And judging by the way she’d been clinging to Draven and throwing around all that emotional drama, I guessed they've been together for a year or two.

I’d overheard enough to piece together that she was his ex.

What I couldn’t figure out was why Draven had just… let her corner him like that. He didn’t seem like the type to get pushed around, but maybe I didn’t know him as well as I thought. Not that I really knew him at all.

I sighed again and shoved my phone into my pocket, glancing at the empty street behind me. I could’ve just texted him. Or, better yet, I could’ve just bailed and let him wonder where I was for once.

But here I was. Still standing on his porch like some i***t.

Why? I didn’t know. Maybe because after the hallway mess, I didn’t want to go home feeling like I’d run away. Or maybe because, deep down, I hated the idea of leaving things unfinished. We had a project to work on, and I wasn’t about to let him screw it up just because his ex liked to make scenes in public.

Yeah. That was it. I wasn’t waiting for him—I was waiting for the project. For the grade. Nothing more.

At least, that’s what I told myself.

I sat down on the steps of the porch, folding my arms across my knees and telling myself I’d give him five minutes. Five minutes, and then I was out of here.

But five minutes turned into ten. Then fifteen.

The sun dipped lower, and the air started to cool. I pulled my hoodie tighter around me, shivering a little as the breeze picked up.

“Where the hell are you, Draven?” I muttered under my breath, scowling at the empty street.

I checked my phone again. 7:04 PM. Still nothing.

I should just leave. I should. But for some reason, I stayed. And it wasn’t stubbornness exactly—at least, not the kind I understood. It was more like… I didn’t want to leave yet.

Not until I knew why he wasn’t here.

The minutes dragged on, and my irritation grew. I shifted positions, sitting cross-legged on the steps, then leaning back against the wall. My eyelids felt heavy, but I forced them open, tapping my fingers against my knee to stay awake.

The porch was cold. The air was colder. And the longer I waited, the more frustrated I got—at Draven, for making me wait… and at myself, for waiting in the first place.

He’s probably not even coming, I thought bitterly.

I didn’t even know why that idea bothered me. It wasn’t like I cared. Not really. He could do whatever he wanted, and it wouldn’t change anything.

And yet… I stayed.

I leaned my head against the wall, my arms wrapped tightly around myself to block out the cold. My body ached from sitting in the same spot for so long, but I was too tired to move.

Just five more minutes, I told myself. Five more, and then I’m out of here.

But my mind drifted, half-lost between sleep and wakefulness. Somewhere, in the back of my head, I thought I heard footsteps. But I was too far gone to care.

When I woke up, everything was blurry. The world tilted slightly as I blinked and tried to focus.

And then I saw him.

Draven.

Standing right in front of me, his face twisted in something that looked a lot like… anger.