Cursed by Monica Wolfson Page B

her around the car to the other side. “Hop in,” he said opening the passenger door. Sasha flopped into the seat, taken aback by the smooth moves and confused by his demeanor. He’d just sent her packing a few days ago, this seemed very contradictory. She was waiting for him to tell her not to get the wrong idea.
    Evan walked back to the driver’s side and pulled the door open. He stood for a few seconds gazing across the parking lot as if he were pulling his thoughts together and then eased into the car.
    Evan stared through the windshield, his hands on the steering wheel, the keys to the car dangled from the ignition but he made no move to start the car. He was quiet for a moment and then he shifted in his seat and faced Sasha. Before he could speak, she blurted the questions that were burning in her mind
    “How did you find me? I don’t think I told you where I went to school,” she said more harshly than she expected.
    Evan seemed taken aback, she wasn’t sure if it was her question or tone. Underneath it all, she was pissed. She didn’t like that he rejected her or that he was here, at her school, invading her space, pushing her into his car. She finally gave herself permission to be angry.
    “I wanted to make sure you were alright,” he murmured in a horse voice. He seemed cowed by her and she wasn’t sure she liked it so she softened her attitude.
    “Couldn’t you do that over the phone?”
    He shrugged. “I wanted to see you.” He studied the steering wheel and avoided her eyes. “Those guys are still out there. You shouldn’t be by yourself.”
    Sasha stared out the windshield and watched the girl who had come into the shower leave by the back door of the school. The girl put a hand out, palm up, as if testing to see if it were raining. Fat rain drops flashed on the car windshield confirming the girl’s suspicion. She ran to her bike, unlocked it and pedaled away.
    Sasha sighed deeply unsure of what to say. She was flattered that he cared and yet she was confused by what it meant.
    “I’m glad to see you,” she said choosing her words carefully. She played with the zipper of her hoodie trying to come up with an exact expression of how she was feeling.
    “It gives me hope to see you and considering where you’re at, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said in a small voice. She kept her head down and her eyes averted. She didn’t want Evan to see how much she hurt. She felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes and she blinked furiously to keep them away. She hated that her body gave her away.
    Evan picked up her hand and squeezed. “You’re right,” he said in a measured tone. “I’m not being fair.”
    He closed his eyes and breathed deeply as if to calm his nerves. “I’m not playing games.”
    “You could have fooled me,” she said, a sour note in her voice.
    “It’s not what you think,” he said his eyes still closed. Maybe he was too scared to look at her now. “I’m not very good at this.”
    “Rejecting someone isn’t a multi-step effort,” Sasha snapped. “You don’t have to keep doing it over and over. Once is more than enough.”
    “That’s not what I’m doing,” he said sadly. “I’m just messing this up worse.”
    Sasha didn’t answer and tried to pull her hand out of Evan’s grip. She didn’t want him touching her.
    He let her hand go and twisted to face the front. He turned the keys and the car roared to life. He put the car in reverse and drove through the parking lot. When he got to the driveway, he went in the direction of her house.
    “How did you find me?”
    He glanced at her quickly and turned his attention back to the road.
    “I stopped by your house and Hannah told me where to find you.”
    Hannah. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Her little sister had met him a couple of times and of course she’d tell him. Hannah thought Evan was dreamy.
    The drive was short and Evan pulled into her driveway putting the car in park but didn’t