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“Why’s that?” Slate asked.
Shit.
“Probably the same reason as you, Slate. He triggers something in our instincts. He fucking transferred to U of V at the beginning of the term last fall, the same time Lindsey enrolled. You should see his fucking college transcripts; all science classes, including one botanical something or other.”
“How did you see his transcripts?”
Uh oh.
“It’s better you don’t know, Slate.”
“Right.”
I was anxious to change that particular subject so I brought up a valid concern.
“You know Lindsey is going to pitch a fit about her taking a leave from school when the semester just started. How is that supposed to play out?”
“You know protocol, Taz. You can’t tell her a thing about what we know or what’s in that report. You tell her she’s needed at home for a while. Her mother is having some health issues.”
“Fuck Slate, I’m not going to lie to her and get her all upset so that she makes a beeline home under false pretenses like that.”
“It’s not a lie,” he replied. “I can’t get into it right now, Taz, and besides that, Lindsey needs to hear about the specifics from her mother and me. We will be making the trip home Friday. We should arrive sometime Friday evening. Can you follow Lindsey back so I don’t have to worry about that?”
I could hear the concern and anguish in Slate’s voice. I wanted to find out what the hell was wrong with Sammie and how serious it might be. He wasn’t in the mood for questions and I respected the fact that he felt Lindsey should hear it before anyone else.
“Sure brother; don’t worry about a thing on this front. I will make sure she gets home safe and sound, okay?”
“Thanks, Taz.
I left the apartment and drove to the campus. I decided that I didn’t want to suddenly jerk Lindsey out of class in the middle of the day.
I stayed out of sight and watched that she got to and from her classes without incident the rest of the day. I was parked in my truck at the usual place when she finished for the day.
I watched as she walked towards the truck, her eyes brightening when she saw me.
“Hey Taz,” she greeted, climbing up in the truck beside me.
“Hey baby girl,” I replied, feeling like a total piece of shit having to give her news that I knew would upset her and take that smile away. “Did everything go okay today?”
“Pretty much,” she said, a slight frown appearing. “Kyzer saw us kiss this morning. He was a little upset about it but we talked and I’m pretty sure now that we’re still friends.”
“Oh, really?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow as I gazed at her sweet face.
“Well, I mean, don’t worry Taz. It wasn’t like I told him that you and I were a couple or anything. I mean, I didn’t give him that impression at all. I don’t want you thinking that I am jumping to any conclusions about us or our involvement, if there even is one. I just….”
“Lindsey,” I said, “stop stumbling all over yourself, okay? It’s fine. You and I will eventually figure it out together. I need to know if Kyzer said anything out of the ordinary to you.”
“No,” she said. “I mean nothing different than usual. He said he knew you didn’t like him yesterday, but he thought it was because you were interested in me. Today when he saw us, he accused me of lying to him about the situation.”
“Uh huh, what did you say to that?”
“I told him that I hadn’t lied to him; that I wasn’t sure where you and I were going with this. We agreed to remain friends.”
“Okay,” I replied, giving her a smile. “I don’t mean to come off like I’m interrogating you, but I have to ask questions.”
“It’s okay,” she replied with a laugh. “Between you and Slate, I think I’m kind of getting used to it.”
We settled into momentary silence.
