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I was still in a haze.
We were in study hall now.
I spent lunch in the bathroom, asking for mouthwash from the nurse afterward. She’d been convinced I was trying to get drunk and stood guard while I used it.
After that—just class.
Zombie mode.
I needed to stay in that mode.
One more hour.
One more, and I could fall apart.
I was trying to stay in that mode. It was helping me get through the day.
“Hey. Williams.”
Full zombie mode. I had to get back into it or I was going to lose it. Scout had a way of either pissing me off or making me come alive. I couldn’t come alive—not right now, not here.
“Shut up.”
But it was working.
I was waking up.
I couldn’t wake up.
The detention teacher wasn’t here.
I grabbed my books and left.
I concentrated so hard on not tripping over my own feet, that I didn’t notice Scout on my tail at first. I opened my locker and stashed my books inside. He closed it and grabbed me by the waistband of my jeans. He dragged me behind him until we hit the parking lot. He let go after that, but he kept an eye on me.
I didn’t fight him. I had nothing in me. I just went, grateful to be going away. Just away.
I didn’t care where.
I just had to go.
We got to his truck.
I got in. He got in.
He was glancing my way, not saying anything.
That didn’t last long until he growled, “You going to tell me what the fuck is wrong?”
“Where are we going?” I considered reminding him we weren’t friends, but who was I kidding? At this moment, I needed someone.
“What’s going on with you?”
My stomach rumbled. That was my answer.
He sighed, hitting the turn signal and taking a right. “Guess we’re going to get food.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t care.”
“I am.”
Okay. We were going to get food.
We went to Carby’s, which I liked on a normal day. They had healthy stuff, but they also had the best greasy food too. We did the drive-thru, and the girl got really excited when she found out it was Scout ordering. When we pulled to the window, three more employees were there, all smiling at us.
A couple of businessmen were in the background, and I only knew they were businessmen because they were wearing suits. Also, they looked all authoritative. One looked way higher up on the wealth chain than the others.
Scout cursed, but ripped the bag from the employee, threw a twenty dollar bill at her, and drove off.
I made a note later to ask why that’d been so weird, but I didn’t have the bandwidth in that moment.
Scout bought me a burger, which I didn’t eat.
“Where are we going?”
“My place.”
“Your place?”
He started on his burger. “You’re weirder than normal, and I’m not sure what to do with you. Figured I could watch you better at my place. Are you going to eat your burger?”
“No.” My stomach twisted, and I felt like I could hurl again.
God.
I couldn’t think about Max. I couldn’t . . .
“We can chill at my house until I have to go to training.”
Training. That made sense.
“Are you tired?” I asked.
Scout nodded, fighting a yawn as we reached his house. After parking in front of the garage, he motioned for me to follow him. We went inside, and he dropped his things on the counter, going into the kitchen. “You sure you don’t want to eat anything?” He gave me a once-over, opening the fridge door. “I’m going to make a smoothie. You want one?”
“You just ate.”
He shrugged.
I shook my head. “No, but do you have an extra toothbrush I could use? And toothpaste.”
He pulled out a carton of almond milk, set it on the counter, and stared at me. “Why do you need to brush your teeth?”
“I threw up my lunch.”
His eyebrows lowered. “Are you sick?”
“No.”
“Why’d you throw up?”
I ignored that question and answered one he didn’t ask, “I went to the nurse’s office and used some mouthwash, but actual toothpaste would go a long way.”
He studied me for a beat before giving in. “Okay. Yeah.” He headed up the stairs to a bathroom on the second floor. I followed. He opened a closet, and there was a whole tote of toothbrushes there, all new and still in the wrapper. He pulled one out and grabbed a travel-size toothpaste. He gave me that too.
“Why do you have all of those?”
He smirked. “My uncle has a lot of one-night stands.” He stepped back. “You need to shower?”
“What? I didn’t get vomit all over me. I was more just dry-heaving into the toilet.” I closed my eyes. Agh.
He shrugged, backing out of the bathroom. “Do whatever you need to do.” He motioned to the right. “My room’s in there if you need a change of clothes or something. Second drawer. I’m downstairs. You sure you don’t want a smoothie?”
