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My grip loosened to the point where he easily pulled his wrist away. He hesitated only one more moment before saying, “I’ll text you, okay?”
Please don’t go, I said. Or maybe I thought it. Alex didn’t stop. I didn’t lift my head to watch him walk away, staring at my burger with a blurry gaze. Jade was right. Grease pooled on my plate, soaking into my French fries. My appetite was completely shattered.
Despite not moving a muscle, my lungs ached for air as if I’d finished running a marathon. A swell of darkness sweeping over me, ebbing my vision, threatening to completely take me whole.
It was freshman year all over again.
I glanced behind me once to see Alex positioning a chair alongside their booth, placing his plate on the tabletop. Jade welcomed him with a grand smile, of course, because no doubt she was laughing on the inside. From the image, it was as if Alex fit in perfectly with the Top Tier.
Connor stared at Alex blankly, and there was no guessing what ran through his mind. It was perfectly, utterly emotionless.Hewas perfectly, utterly emotionless.
I’d never felt lonelier in my life.
My chair nearly overturned as I got to my feet, the screech loud enough to silence the entire diner. I tore away from the table, toward the door, barely seeing where I was going. A guy in a red and black varsity jacket was coming in as I ran out, and I slammed into his shoulder, knocking him back a step. He tried to steady me, quickly apologizing, but my shaking legs carried me forward without pause.
The air wasn’t as cold as I wanted it to be, and it didn’t cool the fire raging under my skin. I started sprinting down the street, sneakers slapping the pavement. My lungs burned for air, but I didn’t slow. I wasn’t much of a runner—hated it with a passion, actually—but I welcomed the ache. The denim of my jeans chafed against my thighs, and soon my sneakers picked at my skin uncomfortably, enough to build blisters, and my calves began to scream.
The toe of my sneaker caught on the edge of a pothole that I hadn’t seen in the dark road, and it was a miracle that I didn’t faceplant onto the gritty asphalt. I did stumble, though, tripping to a stop with a gasp. My heart pounded too fast, trampling in my chest, and the breaths I pulled in were too close together.It’s okay. It’s okay.
But it didn’t feel okay. All alone on a dark street, feet aching with the newly formed blisters, it didn’t feel remotely close to okay.
My cell phone in my back pocket almost felt like a brick, heavy and thick and weighing me down. Who could I call? Not Mom and Dad, who were too busy at an exhibit at the gallery. Jozie was too far away to do anything but be moral support, and with her track record lately, she might not have even been that. I couldn’t call Rachel or Ava, because facing them right now made all of this so much worse.
There was no onetocall. I had an hour’s walk from home with only flickering streetlamps to guide me.
I’d been walking for five minutes when a wave of headlights swept down the road. I wasn’t sure if the car saw me, but I ducked along the shoulder out of the roadway in case.
The SUV drove only a few feet past before hitting the brakes, red lights lighting up the street. My pulse jolted, but before any ounce of fear could set in—because Iwaswalking alone on a dark and sketchy road late at night—the driver’s side door opened, and someone slender climbed out.
“Jeez, you got far fast,” Connor said as he straightened his jacket. He rounded to the end of the car. “Did you used to be a sprinter or something?”
I blinked, but the image didn’t change. It really was Connor standing there with his stupid, shiny SUV beside him. But then again, of course the universe sent him. Even on our days off, I couldn’t be rid of him.
“What the heck are you doing here?” My voice was shaky, but even with the tremor, it was still venomous. “Did you seriously follow me?”
“Evidence would point to yes.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” I bit out, curling my hands into fists as I stomped forward. “I’d hate for anyone to find out you came to check on me.”
Connor wouldn’t let me pass by him. As soon as I got close enough, he blocked my path, forcing my steps to a halt. His varsity jacket was loose over his shoulders, the big blue B a glaring scream. “This is a rough part of town.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I tried to sidestep him again, but this time, Connor’s palms closed over my upper arms, stopping me. “It’ll take you an hour to walk home. And it’s dark.”
I gritted my teeth, debating on yanking free of the touch, of shoving him away. “Why do you care?”
“I can’t pass Algebra if you’ve been hit by a car.”
The blackness in my heart had to have shown on my face, but his didn’t even waver. “Mrs. Diego would find you a new tutor. Heck, maybe Principal Oliphant won’t make you take the test. She would do anything for the football star.”
“Not that, though. Believe me, I’ve tried to be convincing.”
This time, I did shrug free of his hands, unable to stifle my scoff. “Go back to your loser friends,” I repeated, ramming into his shoulder as I walked past.
And got about two steps away before he caught at my wrist. “Wait—”
My wire-thin patience, and the pressure building inside me, snapped. “Let go!” I slapped my free hand against his shoulder, putting all of my force into the swing. The momentum knocked him back a step, his hand dropping mine in surprise. “You know, you could’ve said something back there. Could’ve stood up and offered me a ride home then. Why didn’t you?”
