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“Okay. Makes sense,” he nodded.
“Well, I…I d-don’t know if I could do a full time thing yet. My anxiety, plus I g-get tired a lot, but Lisa…she suggested maybe I could like, volunteer? Ease back in slowly,” I went on. “It’s okay if this is a b-bad idea, but do you know…would I maybe be able to volunteer a few hours a w-week at your school?”
“I don’t see why not. As long as you can pass all of the checks they require. You could definitely help out in my class, especially when we’re doing art and crafts projects. Fucking glue and glitter everywhere,” he laughed as he glanced to me in the rear-view with a smile.
“What checks?” I asked with worry.
“Criminal record. They have to make sure you’re safe to work with the kids.”
“Oh, okay. That w-will be okay. I’ve never been arrested or anything,” I shrugged.
“I’ll speak with the principal on Monday, see if we can get the paperwork needed. This is a great idea, Blake.” Trent was enthusiastic and that helped me feel less anxious about the whole idea. In fact I was pretty excited. What could be better than working on arts and crafts with kids? It would be way more fun than serving coffee to snobby university kids, that was for sure.
I sat back in my seat and felt a wave of peace wash through me, making me feel more relaxed than I had been for the last couple of days.
“I w-want to learn to drive too,” I announced, the thought suddenly occurring to me.
“Is that possible with your injury?” Trent asked.
“I…I d-don’t know.”
“We can look into it. If you can get your learners permit, I’ll happily teach you, short stack. I’m sure Dad would help too.”
“Me too,” Luca offered.
“Thanks, both of you.” I told them with a smile.
“I’ll do some research tonight and let you know,” Trent added.
A few minutes later we were parked up in the middle of the small town centre, outside the pharmacy that Trent had taken me to the first time I ventured out.
“You want to go with Luca and order pizza while I grab your meds?” Trent offered and I nodded. I knew Luca well enough now, that I felt comfortable and safe alone with him. Plus, I was eager to get pizza and get back home. I was getting pretty hungry.
Trent walked into the pharmacy, as Luca and I headed further down the street to my new favourite take-out place –Mario’s. It was run by an Italian family and they made the best pizzas I had ever tasted.
“Do you even eat pizza?” I asked Luca as I looked up to where he stood beside me.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Of course I eat pizza. Who doesn’t?” he laughed.
“It’s j-just that your body does not look like it was b-built on pizza,” I laughed.
“It wasn’t. It was built on a ton of training and hard work. My favourite reward for all of that is pizza. Nothing wrong with a little of what you enjoy,” he told me as we reached our destination and he held the door open for me. I was smiling up to him gratefully as I moved to step in, but stopped when I heard my name being called.
Luca instantly stepped back into the street and placed himself before me, but I had already spotted who was calling me and wasn’t worried.
“It’s Grey,” I told him as he looked around us for a threat.
“You okay to talk to him? We can get you back to the car if not?” he offered.
“No. It’s okay.”
“I’ll stay right here,” he told me as he stepped back and leant against the side ofMario’s. I nodded then turned to where I had seen Grey jogging towards me. I hadn’t noticed before, but as he got closer I realised he had a dog with him - a huge wolf looking dog that scared the crap out of me.
As Grey got near to me, I stopped moving towards him, and instead started to back off.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Grey asked as he noticed and froze in place. Luca, who was watching closely, quickly stepped between us and crouched a little until his eyes met mine.
“Talk to me, Blake,” he commanded.
