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He gazes into my eyes. “I don’t care. I just need to know that you’re okay.”
I take a deep breath and let it seep out of my nose as I stare at the school building in the distance. The building that was always one of my happy places. But it’s not my happy place right now.
I nod to Colt. “Get us out of here, please.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Willow
We don’t say much in the car as we ride to wherever. My brain is like a whirlwind as I replay the kids’ words in my head.
Colt grips the steering wheel a little too tightly and his jaw clenches. But whatever he’s thinking about, he keeps it to himself. Which I really appreciate because the only thing I want to do right now is look out the window, at the passing trees and houses, and not think about my mess of an app.
Colt doesn’t put on music and we’re bathed in complete silence, except for the noises outside. For all the people out there, their day passes on like any other—getting to where they need to go. While my world has just come crashing down.
I know there are worse things that could happen, but I really wanted to win the coding competition. I wanted that prize money for college. I was hoping my app could make a difference in the world, like my friends said. But the only thing it did was break up couples.
Releasing a heavy sigh, I lean my head on the window.
Colt turns to me for a second before focusing back on the road. “If you want to talk or vent, I’m here.”
“Thanks, but I need a few minutes.”
“Take all the time you need.”
Lifting my head off the window, I turn to him. “Where are we going?”
“There’s a park I like to go to when I want to clear my head. It’s a bit far from school, but I think that’s best since we’re skipping class.”
He says it like it’s no big deal that we ditched. Like he wants to be there for me. And for the first time in my life, I don’t care about my perfect attendance or missing school. I just need to go somewhere. I’m glad he’s here with me because my mind isnotin tip-top shape.
“Sounds good,” I tell him, then lean my head back on the window and stare at the moving buildings.
I’m not sure how much time passes, probably only a few minutes, but it feels like hours. I text my friends to let them know that I’m okay and that I’m with Colt. They text back that they’re glad I’m safe and that I should take as much time as I need to figure things out. And to keep them in the loop.
I stuff my phone back in my pocket and continue staring out the window. Things were great just a few days ago, when my friends and other couples matched up. Now I’m the most hated person at school. Normally I wouldn’t care, but I can’t stand the fact that I hurt people and I created something that failed.
Letting out another sigh, I mumble, “It was supposed to help people. Not tear couples apart.”
Colt lowers his right hand from the steering wheel and rests it on my shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”
“Thanks for the positive outlook, but I don’t think so.” I lean back in my seat. “I just need it to go away. The best thing for me to do is shut down the app…but what about the single people still waiting for matches? I guess I’ll let those who are still using it finish getting matched and then I’ll just delete it. And I’ll make sure it’s not available to new users.”
He nods. “That’s probably best. Do you—?”
“Can we please not talk about it right now? Sorry for bringing it up.”
“Sure. Like I said, whatever you need. Vent all you want and I won’t say a word.”
He’s kind, but I don’t want to vent right now. For just a few minutes, I want to go back in time to this morning before I came to school and remember what it was like when things were good.
I make the necessary changes in the app, letting the users know I haven’t forgotten them if they’re still waiting for matches. And I turn the reviews and feedback option off.
After a few minutes, Colt pulls into the parking lot of the park and we just sit here. He stares at the windshield and I look out the window.
“Let me know what you want to do,” he tells me after a short while. “If you want to sit here or go out there. The weather’s nice today.”
Maybe, but I have a gloomy cloud over my head. The rest of the world might have sunshine, but not me.
