“Hey!” she says, but she doesn’t stop me.
On the news, they’re talking about the hurricane hitting landfall tonight. All these predictions have been made about flooding and storm surges and none of that matters to me right now. Eventually they address the traffic problem, and I’m relieved to see that the major roadways have finally cleared out. There’s still quite a bit of cars trying to evacuate, but that dead stop traffic nightmare has finally run its course. The news anchors say that if anyone still hasn’t left the south Texas area, they need to leave now or risk being caught in the hurricane.
“Looks like we can leave tomorrow morning,” I say.
Kennedy shrugs. “I’ll just stay here.”
I look over at her curiously. She doesn’t have a car or anyone else and I figured she’d be tagging along with me until this was over. “You sure?”
“We’re far enough away from the hurricane here, and I know you don’t want to bring me to be with your family so, it’s fine. I’ll just stay here until it’s safe to go back home and then I’ll get an Uber or something.”
I frown because I’m not sure if Kennedy riding three hours in an Uber is the safest idea. “Maybe I can pick you up on the way back,” I suggest. I hate myself for saying it, but Ella will be in her own car, and maybe she doesn’t even need to know.
Kennedy’s face lights up. “Really? That would be awesome.”
I bite my lip. Seeing how happy that made her now makes me wonder if it was a very, very bad idea. “Let’s just play it by ear. But it’s a good idea for you to stay here. I don’t think there’s room at my parent’s hotel.”
“You mean you don’t think Ella wants me there,” she says, rolling her eyes.
She’s right, but I’m not going to say it. I don’t want her thinking Ella is the jealous type of girlfriend like she was. Ella is so much better than Kennedy. And that’s why I’m relieved beyond measure that Kennedy is going to stay here. Ella will never have to know what I spent time with her while we were apart. The guilt is already eating me up inside, but it’s for the best. At least that’s what I tell myself.
Kennedy means nothing to me and being here with her was just a means to an end. What Ella doesn’t know can’t hurt her.
Kennedy’s phone goes off with a ton of new Snapchat alerts. I roll my eyes. When we were dating, she was on her phone so much that it often ruined all of our dates. But now she’s not my problem. She can stay glued to that thing all night, for all I care.
I toss the remote to her bed and then roll back over to face the wall. I’m going to get as much sleep as I can, and then tomorrow I’ll finally be back with my girl.
