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ARIA
The music pumped through the sound system in the car as Hope’s boyfriend took a sharp turn. My seatbelt kept me in place, but I had to put my hand on the seat to keep me upright. I wanted to tell him to slow down, but something was whirring in my system, my adrenaline spiking at how fast he was going.
I hadn’t expected Hope to turn up and drag me away from the party, but apparently, she’d arranged it all with my mom, and now we were heading to the mall for Hope to pick something up and then go to another party. This one most probably wouldn’t be like mine, though. I was guessing there’d be alcohol involved, along with people my own age.
I was eighteen. I could vote. I could leave home if I wanted to. The possibilities seemed endless.
My cell vibrated from my purse, and I pulled it out, reading the message from Cade.
Cade: Please be careful. And wear your seatbelt.
I frowned at the message and looked up. We were on the highway now as we whizzed past other cars. How did Cade know—
He must have seen me leave.
My breath caught in my throat, and I clasped on to the necklace he’d gotten me as I stared out of the window. Was he worried about me being in this car? Was he—
A gasp left my lips as I remembered him telling me about the crash he’d been in, and I understood why he messaged me. He was worried.
Hope’s boyfriend took the exit for the mall, and I wanted to ask them to turn the music off, it was thumping through my head now and making things blurry. But I didn’t. I kept quiet the entire ride to the mall where he pulled into a parking spot and switched the engine off.
“Don’t be long,” he grunted at Hope.
“I’ll be as long as I need to be,” she told him, her brow raised. She turned in her seat and grinned. “Wanna come with me, birthday girl?”
I unclipped my belt and pushed the door open, giving her my silent answer. There was no way I was going to sit in a car with her boyfriend when all I knew was his name.
Shuffling on the spot, I moved my gaze off the car as Hope leaned over and kissed him. She opened up the door and said, “Don’t get too bored without me, Olly.” He murmured something back, but I couldn’t hear him as she slammed the door shut and walked toward me. “Can you believe how hot he is?” she asked, hooking her arm through mine and pulling us through the lot.
I raised my brows and hummed, not committing to anything. Hope didn’t stop talking about how great Olly was and how awesome of a drummer he was, not even when we walked through the doors to the mall and she had to let my arm go because of the number of people milling around.
The bright lights inside had me wincing, and I stumbled to the side. My gut churned, my shoulders bowing in, and my heart raced. I should have stayed at the diner. I should have put up more of a fight.
“I’ve got to go upstairs,” Hope said, heading toward an escalator.
I followed her, keeping quiet and staring down at all the people as we moved up to the next level. At some point through the crowd, I lost sight of her, but then I spotted a sports shop. Drifting toward it, I found myself fascinated by the display and the running shoes in the window. The lights from underneath them almost made them sparkle. Gone was my racing heart, and in its place was a calm I’d never felt before.
My feet carried me into the shop and toward the wall of running shoes. There were so many, and I wasn’t sure what any of them did.
“Can I help you?” a man’s voice asked.
I spun around, my eyes wide as I pointed to the wall. “Which ones are the best ones?”
The guy who was only a few inches taller than me, and definitely not much older than eighteen, said, “Depends what you want them for.”
“I run track,” I told him.
“Ah, then you’ll want something like this.” He reached for a black pair with a stripe down the middle. He turned it over and pointed to the grooves on the sole. “These will help you grip the track better. And they’re so light you don’t even feel like you’re wearing anything on your feet.”
I held my hand out for it, and he placed it in my palm. “Oh wow, that’s amazing.”
“Right?”
My fingertips trailed over the smooth material and dipped with each groove of the sneaker. I had to have them. There was no other option but to buy them. “Size seven.” I handed them back to him, and spotted another pair of the same, but these ones were pink and white. “And one of those too.”
“Okay.” He grinned at me. “I’ll be right back.” He strolled away and pushed through a door marked staff only.
I waited for a couple of seconds and twirled, glancing around the store and seeing what else—
