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THE CAMPTON POLICE DEPARTMENT is nothing like the North Haven one. Campton is known to be a little sketchier, with more people breaking bigger laws. It takes twenty minutes for me to pay her bail and fill out the paperwork. The whole time I'm shaking, wondering if she's okay back there.
When she finally comes out, her eyes are puffy and her nose is red from crying. I open my arms and she goes willingly, letting me comfort her for the first time in weeks. I hold her close and kiss the top of her head.
“You're okay,” I whisper. “You're safe.”
I lead her outside and help her get in the car before climbing into the driver's seat. She's curled up into a ball and won't look at me as she stares out the window. Instead of giving her the lecture she probably doesn't need right now, I put the car in drive and pull out of the parking spot.
She stays totally silent until we're a little more than halfway home. “You can say it, you know.”
I glance over at her, but keep my eyes focused on the road. “Say what?”
“I told you so.”
Exhaling slowly, I shake my head. “Nah, I think you're beating yourself up with that one enough. But you didn't win a full scholarship to an exclusive boarding school just to become a criminal the second you get to university. You're smarter than this, Meelz.”
The nickname seems to hit home as she closes her eyes. “I know I am. I don't know what's gotten into me.”
“I'll take Piece of Shit Boyfriend for 300, Alex.”
She snorts, but it's not in humor. “He just left me there. They asked him his name, and the moment he had a chance, he took off running and left me to be arrested for possession with the intent to sell.” She grabs her hair frustratedly and pulls. “I'm going to have a fucking record, Z.”
The thought of him leaving her there to deal with his fucking mess has me wanting to rip his head right off his neck, but the last thing she needs right now is to see me angry. She's already panicked enough. She needs calm right now, and fuck if I won't be the one to give that to her.
“It'll be okay,” I tell her. “Look at you. No judge is going to believe all those drugs were yours, and the police will put in their report that Blade ran like a pussy.”
She nods, but I don't miss the way she shivers. I don't know if it's because she's cold, or because she's been crying for hours. Regardless of the reason, I pull over and take my sweatshirt off. When I hand it to her, she smiles for the first time all night.
“Thank you.”
I can't help but smile back. “Of course.”
As she puts it on, I get back on the road. Campus is right up ahead, and it's long past five in the morning. We're both going to be dead-dog tired tomorrow, but it's worth it. I'm just glad I was by the phone when she called.
I pull up next to her dorm, and she unbuckles her seatbelt. Before she gets out, however, she turns to me.
“Can I ask you one thing?” she questions, and I nod. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Because you're everything.
Because you're my weakness.
Because you're my Amelia.
No answer sounds like anything I should say, but they're all exactly what I want to say. Instead, I reach over and rub her cheek with my knuckles.
“Because everyone makes mistakes, and yours don't make you any less perfect.”
She blushes, but drops her head to hide it. “I thought you hated me.”
I chuckle, knowing that was the point, but it seems unnecessary now. “I could never hate you.”
“Well, that's good, because it sucked when I thought you did.”
She leans over the center console and gives me a hug, whispering a thank you that makes her breath brush against my neck. If it were up to me, I'd bring her back to my place and hold her all night long, just so she remembers she's safe, but it's not. And I can't. So instead, I watch as she climbs out of my car, waves goodbye, and disappears into her dorm.
I feel like a total zombie as I walk up the stairs and make my way down the hall to my room. Maybe it's because of the emotional train-wreck of a night I had, or maybe it's because it's so late the sun is starting to rise. Regardless, I'm exhausted.
Slipping my key into the lock, I try to be as quiet as possible, but Kennedy wakes up anyway as soon as I step inside. She looks at me strangely before rubbing her eyes and checking the time on her phone.
