AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay.” Easton’s face is covered in worry. He’s had that look since finding me at the park. He’s so desperate to help me, but I don’t know how he can. I can’t stay with him, and I can’t take up all his time. He has school and hockey and his friends. Now that I’m thinking about that, why isn’t he at school? Isn’t it Friday? I thought it was, but maybe it’s Saturday. I lost track of the days when I was stuck in my dad’s apartment.
Looking at myself in the bathroom mirror, I can see how much the past week affected me. My skin is pale, my eyes are sunken in, my lips are chapped. I look terrible and feel even worse. I don’t feel nauseous, but I feel weak and tired, and I have chills that won’t go away, even though it’s really warm in here. I splash my face with cold water and rinse out my mouth. I really need a toothbrush, and a shower. Maybe I’d feel better if I had a hot shower.
Going back out to the booth, I feel dizzy as I sit down.
“You want anything else?” Easton asks.
“No. I think I need to get out here. It’s too hot.” I take a piece of ice from my glass of water and rub it on the back of my neck.
“I thought you were cold,” Easton says, setting money down for the check.
“I am, but I’m also hot. I have to get out of here.” I slide out of the booth and head to the door.
Easton races to catch up with me. “Nova, are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” I force out a smile as we go outside. “I just needed to get out of there.”
He puts his hand on my forehead. “Holy shit, you’re burning up.”
“I’m fine. I’m probably just getting a cold. It’s that time of year.”
“It’s not a cold. You have a fever and your skin has no color. You need to go lay down.”
“Then take me back to my car.”
“You’re not sleeping in that car.” He takes my hand and walks to the Jeep. He helps me into the seat, then pulls the seatbelt over me and locks it in place. I watch as he shuts the door and walks around to the driver’s side. He’s wearing jeans and his leather jacket and looks really hot. I didn’t give him an answer about us getting back together because I don’t have one. With everything going on in my life, dating is the last thing I’m thinking about. But when he kissed me at the park, all those feelings came back. I still love him. I just don’t think I can be with him.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask as he starts the Jeep.
“My house. I’ll take you to the guest room in the basement. You can rest while I go talk to my mom.”
“Easton, no!” I grab his arm. “She’ll call social services. She’ll tell them I’m alone. She’ll tell them to come get me.”
“She wouldn’t do that. I’ll tell her not to.”
“She’s not going to listen to you. She’ll think she’s doing the right thing, finding me a place to live. She doesn’t know what it’s like. She doesn’t know a family isn’t going to take me at 17 and that I’ll end up in a group home.”
“Then I’ll explain it to her.” He turns to me. “She’s not as clueless as you think. She was a lawyer. A prosecutor.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“It means she worked for the state, trying criminal cases. She knows the system and knows how it works, and she had friends who worked in foster care. That’s how she found me when she was looking to adopt a kid. She’s not gonna let them take you if it means you’ll end up in a place you don’t want to be.”
“You don’t know that. She may do it to protect you, to get you away from me.”
“And she knows if she did, I’d leave home and never talk to her again. She’s not going to risk losing me, and she’s not going to take you away from me. I had a talk with my parents after you came to my house on Thanksgiving. I told them how I feel about you and how they nearly destroyed me when they wouldn’t let me see you after I left the foster home. I’d never told them that before.”
“And what did they say?”
“That they thought they were doing the right thing, helping me move on. It’s all bullshit. It was all part of their plan to make me more like them and forget who I used to be. And it helped them hide the adoption from people. They couldn’t have anything in my life that linked me to my past.” He reaches over and feels my forehead. “Shit, you’re getting hotter.” He takes off, heading down the street toward the freeway.
“Please don’t do this,” I say, shutting my eyes and laying my head back on the seat. I’m feeling worse. I’m not even sure I could drive. My head’s pounding, I have chills, and my whole body aches. I know I need to rest, but I can’t go to Easton’s house. I don’t trust his parents. The last time I was there, his dad yelled at me to leave. His mom didn’t say anything, but she didn’t look happy to see me. “Just take me to the car,” I mumble, my head falling to the side.
“Wait there. I’ll come around and get you.”
I open my eyes and see we’re in the driveway of Easton’s house. How did we get here so fast? Did I fall asleep?
“I got you,” Easton says as I stumble out of the car. Whatever this illness is, it came on fast and keeps getting worse. Maybe it’s the flu.
