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I feel an eyebrow lift up hesitantly, “Really? How is that?”
She puts the book on the shelf, “I can sense when you’re around. I know it’s weird but I can just feel it.”
“I think I know what you mean.”
Her look of awe speaks volumes. We stand there looking at each other for a few seconds until a customer interrupts our moment. Raya heads off to assist them in finding a novel and I find myself looking at the novels she was reading. Mostly romance, typical girl books, but a few do sound interesting.
“So, what’s the visit for?”
I turn to find her stocking the shelves again.
“Just came to see you and to take you home after your shift.”
I see her glance at me from the corner of her eyes, “The funny thing is, I forgot my Metrocard at home, so I would have had to walk or buy a new one. You arrived just in time.”
I laugh and shrug my shoulders, “Hey, I’m a man of many talents.”
She laughs out loud and throws a book at me, “Here, help me finish this box of books and then we’ll head out.”
I help her stock the last few books and wait for her outside so she can grab her wallet and sweater. A few minutes later, she steps outside and looks at the time.
“So, which is it? Walk or train?”
I chuckle quietly, grab her hand, and walk her to my car. I see her looking at the shiny, brick red Mustang and her eyes grow wide as I take the keys out of my pocket and click open the doors.
I hold the passenger door open for her as she crawls into the seat. “Graduation gift?”
“Yup, do you like it?”
“I love it! You’re so lucky!”
I laugh at her exclamations and shut her door. Getting into my driver seat and turning the car on, I look at her, “So, where are we headed?”
“Duke, I have to get home. You know that.”
A
frown creeps up but I won’t let that get me down, “Alright, we’ll go the long way. You can play whatever you like, except One Direction.”
Her laughter echoes through the car, “I won’t put you through that torture.” She inputs her choice into the Pandora app, selects the Florence + The Machine playlist, and Cosmic Love begins to play. I pull out of the parking lot and head to her house. Thinking to myself, I guess I’ll just spit it out.
“So, are you still running away?”
She looks out the window, “Yes. I have to.”
“No, you don’t. You can face this, Raya. Why can’t you see that?”
“Duke, I’ve already told you. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” She ignores me as the next song begins to play.
My teeth grind but I can’t be mad at her. I wish I could just show her that she can be safe here. I let out a breath, “So, no prom, huh?”
Still staring out the window, she replies sadly, “No, Craig won’t let me. Besides I don’t want to piss him off.”
“Yeah, I understand. Still, I wish you could go.”
She turns her head toward me, “Really? Why?”
I look at the road and nervously answer, “Uhh, so we can all be there together—you, me, Mel, Taylor, and Rob. You know, the whole group.”
