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“Jake?” I hear her voice as I get out of my car. She’s coming toward me from the bus stop. She must’ve just got off the bus. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to check on you. See how your eye’s doing.”
She stops when she reaches me. “It’s a little sore, but it’ll be fine once I put some ice on it.” She chews on her lip. “I should go. Thanks for stopping by.” She walks off.
“Tara, hold on.” I race up to her. “You don’t want me to stay?”
“You should go back to school. I’m just going to watch TV. Take a nap.”
“You’re hurt. I don’t think you should be alone when you’re hurt.”
“That’s sweet, but I’ll be okay. I’m used to being alone.”
“But if you had a choice—alone or with me—what would you pick?”
“You. Obviously.” She smiles. “But you don’t have to stay. You need to study. Do your homework. You’ve been over here all week. I don’t want you failing school because of me.”
“What if I brought my books over and studied here?”
“You’re really determined to do this, aren’t you?”
“Falling and hitting your head is dangerous. What if you have a concussion? What if you pass out and there’s no one there to call for help?”
“I don’t have a concussion.”
“Would you just let me stay with you? If you don’t, I’ll be too worried about you to study. I’ll just be sitting in my room, wondering if you’re passed out on the floor.”
She looks at me, not saying anything.
“Is that a yes?”
“Okay, yes. You can be here, but only if you study.”
“Now you sound like my brother,” I say, smiling at her as I go back to my car. “I’ll go grab my stuff and be back.”
As I drive to campus, there’s a voice in my head telling me this is a bad idea. That I need to stay away from her. That no matter how much I like her, it isn’t worth the risk of Troy finding out. That voice in my head gets louder as I go to my room. It’s telling me to text Tara and tell her I changed my mind, that I’mstaying here, and that I can’t see her again until she’s ended it with Troy.
“You going somewhere?” Rob asks, coming into the room as I’m putting stuff in my backpack.
“I was planning on it.” I set my backpack down. “But maybe I’ll stay here.”
“What’s wrong? Why are you standing there, staring at the wall?”
I didn’t realize I was until he said that. “I’m trying to decide what to do.”
“About what?”
“Nothing. Forget it.” I sit down on my bed, staring at my phone. I almost text Tara that I’m not coming over but can’t make myself do it.
What if she really does have a head injury? Sometimes when my dad hit my mom, she’d be fine for an hour or two, then pass out. It scared the shit out of me. Dean would take her to the hospital and she was usually okay, but there were a few times when she had a concussion and they told Dean to keep an eye on her. Tara doesn’t have anyone to do that.
“I’m gonna go,” I say, getting up and grabbing my backpack.
“What time will you be back? I’m going to a party around nine. You should come with.”
“Maybe. I’ll let you know later.”
Dean would tell me to go to the party. He’d say it’s part of the college experience. Going to parties. Meeting people. Being social. He hates that shit, but still tells me I should do it, saying it’s good for me. But I don’t want to be at a party, especially when I know Tara’s alone in her apartment with a possible head injury.
