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But as Cole wraps his big, warm body around mine, a little voice in my head tells me Tim isn’t going anywhere.
Which means I won’t be able to hide this forever.
Chapter Eighteen
Cole
Hand in hand, we walk around campus with the warm winter sun on our backs and the crunch of the fallen leaves beneath our feet. Despite my nerves about this visit and the reality that I’ve got to start thinking seriously about the future, I think this could be one of the best days of my life.
My fingers squeeze Hadley’s a little and she looks up at me. There’s a softness to her eyes that’s not usually there, and her smile is easier than normal. I know it’s because we’re out of the Bay and away from the monsters that haunt her.
I smile back at her, loving that we’ve been able to have this time together, but I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right.
I think back to the way her entire body tensed up when she checked her cell this morning. Her explanation about it being Remi would have been fine, if it weren’t for her obvious hesitation and panic.
Every fiber of my being wants to believe her, wants to trust her. And while my heart is totally on board with that plan, my head is screaming that something’s not right, that I need to question her. But if I do that, it’s going to ruin our weekend. If I start accusing her of hiding things from me, then all the good that getting away has done for her will be shattered.
“So what do you think? Do you feel at home here?” she asks.
“I never thought I’d say it, but I kinda do. Something about this place just feels so…” I trail off, not able to find the words to describe ho
w I feel being here.
“Right?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure the Bay will ever truly feel like home, and the Heights… we stopped belonging there the second we left. But this place? It could be that for me.”
A wide smile spreads across her lips, but her face falls the second her cell pings with another message.
Something uncomfortable twists inside my chest, but I keep the feeling, the suspicion, from my face.
“Are you going to get that?” I ask when she makes no move to pull it from her purse.
“Nah, it’ll just be Remi. She can wait until later. Where do you want to go next?”
I check my own cell for the time, noting that we’ve still got an hour before I agreed to meet Chris for the stadium tour. “Food?”
“Yes. What about the diner we passed that had those huge milkshakes?”
“Whatever you want.”
Spinning around, we head in the opposite direction to find the diner.
We order burgers and fries each along with two huge milkshakes. Hadley’s eyes light up like it’s Christmas morning when the shakes arrive, and she immediately dives in.
Leaving her to it for a moment, I head for the bathroom. As I return to the restaurant, I spot her sitting in our booth with her head in her cell and her brows drawn in concern.
I slow my steps, studying her for a few seconds in the hope that I find some answers. But other than her obvious worry, I don’t discover anything.
“Everything okay?” I ask, returning to my seat and sliding my milkshake in front of me.
She startles, looking up at me with wide eyes, and rushes to shove her cell away. The move does nothing for my suspicions. “Yeah, yeah. Everything is good. Oh look,” she says, her eyes widening once again despite the huge lunch we had earlier.
The server places two huge plates down and Hadley dives in. I want to say it’s because she’s hungry, but I fear she’s just trying to avoid my eyes and the question on the tip of my tongue.
The Colts’ stadium is bigger and grander than anything I’ve seen before—not that I have a lot, or any, experience with college football. I stare up at the impressive building in complete awe.
“Oh my God, can you imagine playing here?” Hadley asks as we walk up to the main entrance. “All those people watching you, cheering for you. It blows my mind.”
