“Can I give you a ride home?” I ask.
“No, thanks.” She says as her eyes dart around at the students around us. I try to think of some way to get her to stay or change her mind when she darts around me and is out the door. I’m after her in a second but those same cheerleaders who were watching us in study hall step in front of me and my girl manages to slip away.
I growl low in my throat and step around the girls as I make my way outside. I notice that it’s starting to rain and I immediately begin to worry about my girl being out in this. Is she driving? Did she walk to school? I run to my car and hop in before cranking the engine and pulling out of the parking lot, my eyes scanning the students walking on the sidewalk until finally, I spot her familiar blonde hair walking fast with her head down.
Chapter 4
Auden
* * *
I noticed the clouds and darkening sky when I ate my lunch outside. I’ve spent enough first days in the lunchroom, awkwardly trying to find a table to sit at to know that it’s best to skip the cafeteria and find a secluded place to eat lunch. I found a place outside under this tree in the courtyard and ate my lunch there.
As I walk home it starts to rain. I regret turning Ryker down for a ride now. He was so handsome. And nice. He was the only one who talked to me all day. Most of the girls just gave me dirty looks and the guys kept leering at me. By my last class, I was so sick of being stared at. I just wanted to be invisible and finish out my last four months. Unfortunately, sitting with Ryker seemed to attract a lot of attention. He tried to make conversation as we sat in study hall but all I could focus on was the other girls glaring at me and whispering about me to their friends. I wanted to make friends here, or at least try to, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen at this school either.
I walk briskly down the sidewalk as the rain starts to come down harder. I’m about to step off the sidewalk and cross the road when a car pulls up alongside me. It startles me and I glance up sharply to see Ryker buzz the passenger window down. Rainwater drips down my face, my hair already soaked from the steady drizzle.
“Hop in.” He says with a smile before he reaches over and opens the door from the inside for me.
“I’m soaked. I’ll just get your car all wet. I’m not that far anyways.” I say, trying to close the door.
He pushes it back open. “I don’t care about the car getting wet. Let me give you a ride home.”
At that moment, a crack of lightning lights up the sky and with a squeak, I leap into his car and slam the door closed behind me.
“That was close.” I say, a little embarrassed about being so scared of a little lightning.
He smiles at me like he thinks I’m adorable before he turns the heat up and asks me for directions. I tell him how to get to Todd’s house. He pulls the car away from the curb and expertly steers back into traffic. We talk about how I’m liking the town and school so far and he tells me about stuff to do around here.
The drive is over quick, Todd’s house is only about a mile from the school. As we pull to a stop in front of the house another bolt of lightning flashes and I jump in my seat.
“You don’t like storms, huh?” He asks.
I feel my cheeks heat as I nod. I know it’s kind of a dumb, baby thing to be afraid of, but I can’t help it. I’ve been afraid of thunder and lightning ever since I was a kid. I look up at the house and see that all of the lights are off. I sigh as I think about being home alone when it’s storming like this.
“Thanks for the ride.” I say as I grab my bag off the floor and go to open the door.
“Are you alone?”
His question startles me and I turn to him with wide eyes.
“I mean, are you going to be ok in the house by yourself when it’s thundering and lightning like this?
I’m surprised and touched that he would think about me and seems to be worried about me. He’s so attractive that it almost hurts to look at him and he’s worrying about me and giving me a ride home like he’s interested in me. None of this makes sense.
“My mom and her boyfriend should be home any minute.” I say as I once again reach for the door handle.
Again, he stops me.
“Wait! Let me get your number. That way if you need anything you can call or text me.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, unlocking it to enter my information.
“I don’t have a phone.” I say, a little embarrassed to be the only eighteen-year-old without a cell phone.
“What?” he says with a confused look on his face.
It looks like he’s trying to figure out if I’m lying about that or not so I continue.
“It’s just my mom and me and we never have much money so I never got one.”
“Oh.” He trails off as he looks back at the nice house we’re currently parked in front of.
“This is her boyfriend’s house,” I explain. “We just stay here.”
Before he can ask me any other questions, my mom pulls up in her car alongside us. I wave at her as she pulls past us and into the garage.
“See you tomorrow.” I say as I smile at him before I throw the door open and step out into the rain. I wave at him through the window before I dart to the front door. He looks like he wants to say something else to me and even starts to buzz the window down but I can’t deal with any more stress today. I run inside and slam the front door closed behind me before I lean back against the door and close my eyes.
Chapter 5
Ryker
* * *
I watch Auden scurry from my car and run through the rain to her front door. She waves at me before she disappears inside and I want nothing more than to leap from the car and follow her inside. To sweep her up in my arms and take her home with me. From our conversation, I got the impression that she didn’t really want to be at this house. She seems so alone and I want to be the person to make her feel wanted and seen.
I grip the steering wheel as I turn the car back out onto the road and head home. We only live about four blocks from each other and I calculate how early I’ll need to leave tomorrow morning to be in time to pick her up for school. I didn’t ask her but there’s no way that I’m passing up a chance to be alone with my girl and to get to know her better. She won’t need to walk anywhere as long as I’m around.
I pull my car into the empty garage and sit there for a minute. I’m a lot like Auden. I’m coming home to a house that I don’t want to be at either. My parents are gone. They’re always gone. They travel constantly, rarely checking in on me or coming home for a visit. Sometimes I think that I was a mistake but what’s more likely is I was what was expected of them. They’re all about their image. They wanted the perfect house and the perfect family and the wealthy status and they got it, but most of it is just an act.
I was never close with my parents or family so it’s hard to really miss them. The problem is that I’m not really close with anyone. I have people at school that I talk to and people who take care of the house so I’m never really alone but I don’t think that any of them really care about me. More about what I can do for them. Most people just see dollar signs when they look at me.