“Oh, um, walking home. My car won’t start.” I don’t know why I feel the need to keep explaining. “I think the battery’s dead. I left the light on.” Maybe.
“Get in. I’ll drive you.”
“That’s okay.” I don’t need any extra embarrassment in my life. Things with Matthias’s friends went well. Other than a few awkward moments, being around them was comfortable. They made me feel included the whole time.
And, if it got me some clarity on my relationship with Matthias, well, that’s simply a bonus.
“Frank. Get. In.”
Well, someone’s bossy today. Lucky for him, the fight left me a few blocks back. I’m tired. And sore. “Okay.”
I slingmy backpack onto the floor before I get into the passenger seat.
“Here, type in your address.” Aaron offers me his phone. I do as I’m told, putting it in and hittingstarton the GPS. I could give him directions, but this seems easier. It also involves less talking. “Are you okay?” he asks when I hand it back. “Do you need anything first? Need to go back to your car for anything tonight?”
“No, it’s fine.” In a moment of complete betrayal, my stomach growls. I clasp my hand over my midsection, hoping that’ll muffle some of the noise.
“Dinner?”
“I’ll eat at home.” There are likely leftovers in the fridge for something I can eat. Though, right now, I’m in favor of skipping it entirely and going straight to sleep. My stomach clenches at the thought of leaving it empty until morning.
“Of course you can, but how about we go somewhere? I’d appreciate the company. My treat.”
Great, now I’m taking charity from his friends. “Okay.” I agree to it without thinking any further. Shitty night all the way around at this point. My final semester—for now—of college is ending with quite the bang. Not fireworks, simply explosions blowing up bridges I worked so hard to build.
“There’s this great diner up ahead that I was planning to hit. Is that okay?”
“Sure.” I don’t mention that I know the diner well since it served as my second home for a while. Instead, I let him pull back into traffic and drive us there.
“So, where were you coming from?” he asks when we’re seated in one of the booths near the back. It’s different from beingat the counter, cozier.
“A meeting at CFCC.”
“Oomph. That’s quite a walk. Why didn’t you call someone?”
“I figured I’d walk tonight and figure it out tomorrow.” He doesn’t need to know that my phone is completely devoid of contacts who would drop their evening plans to come deal with my mistakes.
Aaron stares at me over the top of his menu. It must be easy for someone like him. He’s got that whole crew, plus I’m sure he’s got plenty of other friends at work who can help him out. Maybe even family nearby.
“Did you call Matthias?”
“He’s working,” I answer quickly.
“That’s not what I asked.”
“No, I didn’t call Matthias.”
Aaron folds his menu and sets it on the table. “He’s going to be pissed,” he says, leaning back in his seat.
I don’t get the chance to respond before the waitress comes back over to take our orders. I get a coffee—which Aaron gives me a look over—and a chicken sandwich. Aaron orders meatloaf and water.
“Matthias will be upset that you didn’t call him,” Aaron says once our waitress has collected our menus and gone to put our order in.
“He’s busy tonight.” He mentioned client meetings. Of course he said I could come over to his house still, but I don’t like being there without him. It feels empty and sad when I’m alone. “Besides, I can take care of myself.” I know I’m younger than all these guys. I’m sure they give Matthias all kinds of crap for it when I’m not around. I don’t want them thinking that I’m some loser youngster who isn’t good enough for their friend.
“I’ve known Matthias for over a decade. He works his ass off at that job, which I absolutely hate, but there has never once been a time that he was too busy to help one of his friends.”
“I—”
