AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I clench my fists, sticking my nails into the palms of my hands, trying not to let the fear take over again. "I just thought I saw somebody from the past, but it's not physically possible for it to be who I thought I saw. My mind was probably just playing tricks on me."
"Are you going to tell me who?" he asks, and I shake my head as much as I can with him holding my chin.
"It's nothing. It can't have been them anyway. There's no reason for them to have been on campus, let alone here in New York."
"Tell me who it was, Briar."
I swallow past the lump in my throat, hesitating before I tell him that I thought I saw Iris’s dad on campus. His brow furrows at my response.
I can't help but wonder just how much it is that he knows about me without me ever having told him.
"If you think you see him again, you let me know. Are you ready to go home? Are you good to drive?" he asks, and I nod, despite the shake in my hands.
He rolls his eyes and stands, offering me a hand to help me up, watching me closely. "Yeah, there's no way I'm letting you drive."
He pulls his phone from his pocket and puts it to his ear. "Sawyer, meet me at the car. You need to drive Briar’s car back to the house. Don't ask questions. I'll fill you in later."
He ends the call almost as quickly as it started before pocketing his phone and putting his arm around my shoulder. "Come on, let's get out of here, get you back to the house, then we can work through all of this together with the others."
* * *
After an exhausting week, even though it's only been two days, I've never been more happy that my new schedule means that I have Friday to Monday off of class.
I've spent most of the morning wallowing in bed, trying to shake off yesterday's anxiety attack, pretending that it wasn't Travis who pulled me out of it.
We might be on better terms now, but that doesn't mean I want him to see me at my most vulnerable or at my worst. Especially considering that I was so excited to get back to normal and my classes were going so well.
I hate that something so little tripped me up so badly.
So when Penn texts me and asks if I want to get tacos with her, Connor, and Dante tonight, my answer is instantly a hell yeah. One, because I want to hang out, and two, I want to know where the hell Connor’s been. It’s still bugging me that Penn wasn’t more concerned that he was totally MIA. Maybe she’s not as inquisitive as I am, or maybe she knew where he was—though, she didn't seem cagey enough for that.
Did she?
God, my entire life has me jaded and mistrusting. I’m sure Penn was acting normal and I’m being the weird one.
I shake off the crazy thoughts and spend the rest of the day tidying the house, trying to keep myself busy. Wondering if it’s actually a good thing for me to have so much free time, considering everything haunting me at the moment. Obviously, when I chose my classes, I didn't expect for my life to have become such chaos.
When Penn texts me to let me know that they're on their way to get me, I dash back upstairs and change my leggings and tank top, putting on some clothes that make me look like less of a swamp hag, and make myself presentable.
I create a group chat with the guys and send a message letting them know that I'm heading out for a couple of hours with Penn and the others before pocketing my phone.
The sound of the horn outside has me rushing back down the steps, scratching the puppies between their ears and giving them some quick loves before I head outside.
I’m glad to see Connor with Penn and actually back at college. I try not to focus on the fact that, despite his smile, his eyes seem haunted. It's not my place to question what's going on with him, but he is my friend so I intend on asking anyway.
I jump into the backseat of the car next to Dante, saying hello to everyone as Penn pulls away from my house. This almost feels like something a normal college kid would be doing, so I try to relax into it, enjoying the laughter and banter that goes back and forth between Penn and her cousin. All while I'm trying to realign myself with the fact that this is who I should be right now and what I should be focusing on, rather than everything else that I have going on in my life.
"What's got you so distracted?" Dante asks quietly as Penn laughs with Connor in the front of the car.
"What do you mean?" I respond, trying to play coy.
"I might not know you as well as my cousin, Briar, but I like to think I know you pretty well. I've seen that look in your eyes before, but not since you came to Serenity Falls. Last time I saw that look in your eyes was that night… the one before you disappeared on me over summer."
I smile sadly at him and shrug. "Just a lot going on with my mom," I tell him, hoping that's enough to fend him off and make him stop asking questions.
He seems to sense my discomfort with his line of questioning and stops before launching into his stories from the holidays. Penn chimes in about how their grandma ended up chasing Dante around the kitchen with a pair of tongs after he tried to steal some of the pulled beef before it was ready.
I can't help but laugh at the vision of that frail-looking old woman chasing this two-hundred-plus-pound football player with a pair of plastic tongs, and him absolutely hauling ass because we all know, really, he's terrified of that little old lady.
