AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I touch my fingers to the note in my pocket, holding onto that assurance with everything I’ve got. Thank you thank you thank you.
Please please please.
My phone rings. I check the number before answering it. I’ve had non-stop phone calls from reporters and paparazzi and media people who want my story. As soon as that photo of us went viral, the whole thing completely blew up.
I just hope Elias has some sort of buffer from it. I hope he’s okay.
It’s not Elias’s number but it’s got the same area code. I answer it on the first ring. “Hello?”
“Is this Zara?”
“Yes.”
“Zara, it’s Bo McCabe here. I’m a friend of Elias’s.” Bo McCabe. Elias mentioned him. A friend from home. Another quarterback, famous for bringing a game to a standstill to stare up at the girl the Jumbotron had zoomed in on. He couldn’t stop staring at her and everyone was looking for her because he’d been saving himself for true love and there she suddenly was. The hashtag #JumbotronAngel was trending for weeks.
And now there’s a new one. #SaveElias
I think I like Bo’s hashtag better. Save Elias from who? Me?
“Is he okay?” I ask. Please be okay.
“I wondered if you could come out here to Michigan.”
“I…yeah, of course I can. When?”
“The funeral’s tomorrow and he’s talking about leaving directly after it so he can see you. But I think he needs more time. To decompress. He’s been sort of…manic. Could you come tomorrow afternoon and maybe spend a couple of days with him here? It might help him clear his head so he can figure out how to handle everything that’s happened. I think it would help.”
“Of course I’ll come.”
“Great.” He sounds relieved. “What’s the name of your dorm?”
“It’s Carrington Hall.”
“I’ll send a car to pick you up at ten o’clock and take you to the airport. A private jet will be waiting for you. And then a driver will bring you to Elias. Can you be ready by ten?”
First a Corvette Stingray and now a private jet? I sometimes forget that these elite players live in a different world. “Yes, I’ll be ready.”
“Thank you, Zara. He’s going to be very happy to see you.”
24
I land at the small Michigan airport and, just like Bo said, there’s a car waiting for me. Not just any car. A sleek black stretch limo. I’m kind of wondering if this is really necessary but I’m too strung out to give it too much thought. The chauffeur takes my bag and opens the door for me.
Wow.
Two full sized couches face each other and there’s a table, small fridge and tinted windows, including one that separates the driver from the back seats.
I check my phone. As I was waiting for my flight to leave, I sent a message to Hannah. She’s heard about what happened, of course, and she’s frantic with worry and with a rabid need to know what’s going on. She’s left me dozens of messages. She even threatened to come home. I told her I’m okay, that I broke Rule Number One, that I’m on my way to Michigan, and that she absolutely shouldn’t come home right now. I told her not to worry about me, that I’ll call her and tell her the entire story as soon as I get a chance. I can only hope it has a happy ending.
I also sent a text message to my dad, telling him I was leaving and I wasn’t sure exactly when I was coming back. I told him I loved him. And I told him I hoped he’d changed his mind.
There’s a text from him.
I’d like to meet with both of you. Together. As soon as you can get back here. Don’t be gone too long, honey. Love, Dad.
Okay. I guess that’s progress.
Another text comes through from Hannah.
