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Chad: Absolutely not.
Chad: How dare you.
Before this turns into an ongoing argument, I get back to the point.
Me: So can I stay with you guys?
Ethan: Yeah. We’ve got a couch.
Me: I’ll take it.
Chad: NATTY SHACK!
Chad: Wait. Does Sam know?
Fucking Chad.
Ethan: Why would you ask that?
Chad: I was just asking!
Ethan: He won’t answer, and I’m done texting you when you’re in the other room. See you tomorrow, Aiden.
Chad: TOMORROW
Chad: WILL
Chad: BE
Chad: LIT
I suppress a roll of my eyes and turn my phone over. Talking to Chad is like feeding a forest fire. The more you indulge him, the worse he gets.
Something lands on my shoulder, and I look down to find Claire completely passed out, her head leaning into me as her breathing deepens. Another glance at my phone tells me it’s just past two. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I’m sitting next to Claire Ackerman on my way to Florida at two a.m.
I snapped at her.
On the night she got cheated on.
When she’s stuck on a train with no one else but the asshole who snapped at her.
I shake the thought from my head. She was annoying, and why does she care anyway? She always has too many questions.
As I look down at her, I can’t help noticing how different she is from how I remember. More herself maybe? In high school, she was quiet. This sleeping Claire looks like she could still be that, but there’s more to her. The overly determined, uptight, anxious girl she is when she’s awake is far from the girl who sat next to me in Bio. This Claire makes me want to stop walking through life numb—and that’s fucking terrifying.
20
Claire
Tears stain my cheeks. I keep trying to wipe them away, but based on the way he’s looking at me, I know they’re still there. He’s staring at me with an eyebrow raised like he wants to keep his distance, and it’s mortifying. I wish I could disappear. I wish I was anywhere but here. There’s yelling in the background. The voices spew hate, and it feels like they’re closing in on me.
My hands cover my ears, and I put my head down, trying to drown everything out, but it’s no use. I can’t take all the shouting. I can’t take the noise.
Warm hands cover mine, and my head snaps up to find him staring at me with concern. He doesn’t look like he’s trying to keep his distance from me at all now, and I can’t help wondering if it was all in my head. His blue eyes search mine, worry creasing his brow. “Are you okay?”
I go to answer him, but my voice gets trapped in my throat. Opening my mouth, I try again.
It’s no use.
