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Morgan bends her wrist and drops her badge back into her purse, all the while our eyes lock, and after a few long seconds, she grins. I breathe out a laugh and start a dramatic slow clap that finally pulls a bona fide, out loud laugh from her lips.
Our moment is busted up when Cameron bursts through the door, Theo, Brooklyn and Lily tagging along behind him. I get to my feet and position myself so Morgan is forced to look at me, unless she decides to close her eyes, which at this point wouldn’t shock me.
“I am starving! Morgan had Biff’s the other day and now I want it, too,” Lily proclaims.
Morgan’s eyes flit to mine, and the same smirk she wore a few seconds ago after flashing her badge appears.
“Ugh, I hate those fucking hot pickles,” Theo exclaims.
Again, Morgan’s and my eyes meet. I lift a brow and she shrugs. Seems I’m not the only one who can’t handle that mystery spice.
“Please? I really want their fries. I’m kind of hangry!” Brooklyn grumbles.
“Aw, shit. Save us all, this girl is hangry,” Cameron jokes.
Brooklyn punches his arm, and he swiftly swings it around and catches her in an awkward bear hug that lasts longer than something should between two friends. They’re flirting, and again, Morgan and I exchange glances.
“It’s Lily’s night, so what Lily wants, Lily gets,” Morgan announces. Her point is hard to argue with, especially after the moving moment we all shared thanks to Lily.
We all make our way to the parking lot and split up, Brooklyn and Cameron climbing into Brooklyn’s SUV and Lily and Morgan joining Theo in his car. I make a rash and desperate decision and hop in the back seat next to Morgan, and she doesn’t seem to protest, which only builds my hope.
We pull out of the lot and onto the dark side road that leads to the main highway. Theo and Lily clasp hands as he drives, and I envy the little things between them, like the way his thumb strokes the edge of her palm. Looking down, I glance to Morgan’s lap where her hands are clasped together on literal lockdown, and I breathe out a sigh. It comes out louder than I expected, and she gives me a sideways glance.
“Just dreading the pickles,” I say.
She doesn’t laugh at my joke this time.
I spend the next few minutes thinking of something else to say, eventually sharing that she left her badge in my family’s truck. I mention it to hopefully draw on that night in her memory. I do it for a reaction. But all she says is, “Ah.”
Lily must see me struggling because she eventually takes over leading the conversation.
“What was your grade on that paper I read, James?” she asks. It takes me a few minutes to transition my brain to talking about my lit course and Lily’s tutoring, especially because all I can seem to think about is how far away Morgan is for being so close.
“I got a B, I think. I don’t really remember,” I say. I got a B minus, actually, but I don’t want to talk about my English homework right now. I want to talk about why Morgan and Iaren’ttalking.
“I’m sure you will do better on the next one. It was a hard work to compare. I think the next piece is a short comedy.” Lily turns to catch my attention and I try to piece together what she said.
“I like comedy,” I come up with.Fucking idiot.
She smirks and sits back in her seat.
“Well, that’s good, then,” she says.
We travel another two blocks in complete silence, and I would give anything for Theo to turn up the volume on his stereo. As it is, it sounds like I’m listening to some pop song through a bathroom door, most of the sound pushed to the front speakers, and the volume set to low.
“My dad had a stroke,” Morgan blurts out.
Theo punches the brake at a stop light, and we all fling forward. I brace myself with a palm on the back of his head rest, and Theo and Lily twist in their seats to glare back at Morgan. Her gaze is fixed out her window, the only thing visible a cluster of metal guard rails that seem to have been used to stop a dozen crashes in the last year.
“Are you all right?” Theo asks.
Morgan slowly turns her head and meets his concerned face.
“About my dad? Yeah, I’m fine. He’s all right. I just . . . thought I’d share,” she says.
Theo’s eyes flit to mine and I offer a quick shoulder shrug. Lily reaches back and holds out her hand, and Morgan stares at it for a few seconds before taking it in hers.
“I’m so sorry,” Lily says.
