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“No,” she says, hiccupping slightly as more tears spill onto her cheeks.
“Oh, El,” I whisper as I wrap my arms around her.
She cries on my shoulder and I do my best to comfort her. I want to ask her a million questions. I want to help her fix whatever is wrong but she’s crying too hard and I don’t want to upset her more.
After a few minutes, she pulls away and I pat my pockets, looking for the packet of tissues that I tucked in them before I left the house. I have terrible allergies in the summer and I learned to never leave home without Kleenex a long time ago.
“Here,” I say as I offer her the package.
“Thanks.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
“It’s a long story. I just need to avoid Thorne. Just for a little bit longer. I can’t stand his anger right now. Even if it is warranted.”
“I’ll help you avoid him then. Should we go home?”
“What about Hendrix?”
“I’ll see him in class tomorrow. Maybe I should make him chase me a little anyway.”
She cracks a smile and I start to relax.
“Alright then. Let’s find Malia.”
“I’ll text her.”
I pull out my phone as Elodie dries the last of her tears.
“I said that we’d meet her at the car. I should tell Hendrix that I’m leaving, though.”
“I’ll head out this way,” she says, pointing to the side gate in the fence.
“I’ll meet you at the car. Give me five minutes.”
She nods and we split up. It takes me about thirty seconds to find Hendrix and it’s obvious that he was looking for me too.
“There you are.”
“Sorry, I’ll have to take a raincheck on that dance. We’re headed out.”
He frowns but nods. “Is everything okay?”
“It will be. Elodie is going through some stuff and I want to be there for her.”
Hendrix smiles softly, his brown eyes glowing as he cups the side of my cheek. “You’re a good friend. Just one more thing to love about you.”
My eyes widen at the L-word, thinking Hendrix made a mistake. He just winks at me, however, like he’s perfectly aware of what he said and doesn’t regret a single word.
“Can I walk you to your car?”
“Sure,” I agree, trying to recover from the latest development. “I’d like that.”
We make our way through the crowd, Hendrix’s strong hand wrapped around mine.
“When is the next race?” I ask once we make it outside and head toward the car.
“Usually, it’s Thursday through Saturday nights.”
