from his body heat. “Thanks,” I said, knowing from the determined look on his face that he wasn’t going to tell me any more. “And thanks for driving me home.”
“Hopefully that’s the last time I’ll have to,” he said. “Goodnight, Elizabeth.”
I ran towards my house and opened the door, hearing Drew’s car drive away once he made sure I was inside. I knew in my heart that school on Monday would resume the same way it was until that car ride, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was saying good-bye forever.
CHAPTER 12
Drew’s cryptic words in the car made my head spin, and when I got inside I almost forgot to call Hannah and tell her that I would be at her house in about an hour, since I needed to dry off and take a shower first.
“Lizzie?” my mom called my name from her downstairs office as I entered the house. Her hair was wet as well. She was able to take the highway back from town, so she must have gotten back a few minutes before me.
“Hey,” I said, trying to act as normal as possible.
She swiveled in her chair, concern passing over her face the moment she saw me. I shuffled my feet, dripping water onto the carpet and realizing how disastrous I must have looked. My jeans were soaked, my hair was a frizzy disaster, and Drew’s jacket hung loose around me, the largeness of it making me look tiny in comparison.
“What on Earth is going on?” she asked, looking at me like I was an animal in a zoo. As a psychiatrist it was her job to know when people needed to talk, and I supposed it was obvious from looking at me that something was going on.
I summarized what had happened, telling her everything except the fact that Jeremy didn’t bother making sure I had a ride home and that Chelsea didn’t know about Drew driving me back. She seemed to question the story, but I reminded her that Hannah was expecting me soon. She nodded in understanding, asking me to let her know how it went when I got back later that night.
“Just wondering,” I said before heading upstairs. “Who were you out with at dinner?”
“A friend,” she replied, not looking up from her desk when she answered.
Getting the hint that she didn’t want to discuss it, I trudged up the stairs to my room, hugging Drew’s jacket close around me. The sweet scent of pine still clung to the leather. I wondered if I should bring it back to school for him on Monday, but decided not to, since Chelsea and Jeremy would probably ask how I got it in the first place. I put it on the back of my vanity chair and walked into the hallway towards the bathroom, looking in the mirror to see how awful I looked.
My reflection was worse than I’d expected. The freezing rain turned my cheeks bright pink, the rims of my eyes looked puffy like I had been crying, and my normally bouncy hair matted to my head like a dogs fur after it comes in from the rain. The room filled with steam as the water heated up, fogging the mirror and blurring my features together.
The shower warmed me up instantly, and I scrubbed my body clean, as if doing so could erase everything that had happened over the course of the evening. There was one part of the night, however, that I didn’t want to erase. I still couldn’t believe Drew’s answer to my question in the car. It was like I’d caught him unaware, and his words replayed in my head like a broken record.
Easy. I met you .
Those four words confirmed that I wasn’t going crazy—the bond I felt with him was mutual. Our connection was like a hidden force pulling us towards one another, and resisting it took a strength that I didn’t know I could keep up for much longer.
Everything would be so much easier if it weren’t for Jeremy and Chelsea. I shivered after the thought, angry at myself for thinking it in the first place. Jeremy wasn’t a bad person, despite the fact that he’d changed in the past few months. He still had a good heart; he
“Hopefully that’s the last time I’ll have to,” he said. “Goodnight, Elizabeth.”
I ran towards my house and opened the door, hearing Drew’s car drive away once he made sure I was inside. I knew in my heart that school on Monday would resume the same way it was until that car ride, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was saying good-bye forever.
CHAPTER 12
Drew’s cryptic words in the car made my head spin, and when I got inside I almost forgot to call Hannah and tell her that I would be at her house in about an hour, since I needed to dry off and take a shower first.
“Lizzie?” my mom called my name from her downstairs office as I entered the house. Her hair was wet as well. She was able to take the highway back from town, so she must have gotten back a few minutes before me.
“Hey,” I said, trying to act as normal as possible.
She swiveled in her chair, concern passing over her face the moment she saw me. I shuffled my feet, dripping water onto the carpet and realizing how disastrous I must have looked. My jeans were soaked, my hair was a frizzy disaster, and Drew’s jacket hung loose around me, the largeness of it making me look tiny in comparison.
“What on Earth is going on?” she asked, looking at me like I was an animal in a zoo. As a psychiatrist it was her job to know when people needed to talk, and I supposed it was obvious from looking at me that something was going on.
I summarized what had happened, telling her everything except the fact that Jeremy didn’t bother making sure I had a ride home and that Chelsea didn’t know about Drew driving me back. She seemed to question the story, but I reminded her that Hannah was expecting me soon. She nodded in understanding, asking me to let her know how it went when I got back later that night.
“Just wondering,” I said before heading upstairs. “Who were you out with at dinner?”
“A friend,” she replied, not looking up from her desk when she answered.
Getting the hint that she didn’t want to discuss it, I trudged up the stairs to my room, hugging Drew’s jacket close around me. The sweet scent of pine still clung to the leather. I wondered if I should bring it back to school for him on Monday, but decided not to, since Chelsea and Jeremy would probably ask how I got it in the first place. I put it on the back of my vanity chair and walked into the hallway towards the bathroom, looking in the mirror to see how awful I looked.
My reflection was worse than I’d expected. The freezing rain turned my cheeks bright pink, the rims of my eyes looked puffy like I had been crying, and my normally bouncy hair matted to my head like a dogs fur after it comes in from the rain. The room filled with steam as the water heated up, fogging the mirror and blurring my features together.
The shower warmed me up instantly, and I scrubbed my body clean, as if doing so could erase everything that had happened over the course of the evening. There was one part of the night, however, that I didn’t want to erase. I still couldn’t believe Drew’s answer to my question in the car. It was like I’d caught him unaware, and his words replayed in my head like a broken record.
Easy. I met you .
Those four words confirmed that I wasn’t going crazy—the bond I felt with him was mutual. Our connection was like a hidden force pulling us towards one another, and resisting it took a strength that I didn’t know I could keep up for much longer.
Everything would be so much easier if it weren’t for Jeremy and Chelsea. I shivered after the thought, angry at myself for thinking it in the first place. Jeremy wasn’t a bad person, despite the fact that he’d changed in the past few months. He still had a good heart; he
Similar Books
