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Her cheeks flushed, and I grinned. I liked watching her reactions from the passenger seat.
“You’re right, though. You shouldn’t have to change who you are just because you moved to a new town.”
“I really just want to blend in.”
“Why? Everyone here sucks.”
“How do you know I don’t suck, too?”
“You’re a good person. I can tell.”
Her face fell, and she paused before answering. “You don’t know me.”
“You made sure to follow the wash instructions on my shirt. How terrible could you be?”
She bit back a smile. “That doesn’t prove anything.”
“Sure, it does. It shows you care.”
She pulled up to a red light and turned to face me. “Maybe I’m just very particular about laundry.”
“You could be. Still, something tells me you’re a good egg. I can feel it.” Her eyes lingered on mine, and this time, she didn’t look away.
“You should smile more often.” Her voice was so soft, I almost didn’t catch it.
“Then you should hang around me more often.” I’d smile every damn day if she was by my side. She was fucking perfect, and she had no idea. I wanted to show her.
The light turned green, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. The longer she remained focused on me, the more I was convinced that she wanted me as much as I wanted her.
The car behind us beeped. Fucker ruined my moment. I could get out and beat him with his own arms.
Charlotte snapped back to reality. Flustered, she didn’t remember to press the clutch. The car stalled, but not before making that horrendous grinding metal sound.
“Oh, God! I’m sorry!” Her hands flapped as she tried to figure out where to put them.
“Relax. It’s okay. Go through the steps again.”
“People are beeping at me! I’m blocking traffic!”
I placed my hand over hers on the shifter. “Take a deep breath and relax. Ignore everyone else. Just go over the steps again. Clutch, gear, clutch, gas.”
I helped her guide the shifter into first gear; she released the clutch and stepped on the gas. Within seconds, she was able to accelerate and continue driving. My hand remained on hers to help her until we arrived at her apartment.
“You need to stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“You not ready for your parents to meet me yet?”
She muttered something as she got out of the car, and a smile tugged at my lips as I watched her disappear into her apartment building. Maybe I’d ask her to dinner when she got back. Is it too soon? I’d never asked a girl out on a proper date before.
My phone beeped with a text. My stomach twisted as I read it:
Mom: The doctor advised us to stop the treatments. It isn’t working, and it’s exhausting Dad. The cancer is too aggressive. He said we just have to make Dad comfortable now.
Make him comfortable. How do you make someone comfortable for death? All that time I’d spent trying to be hopeful … a fucking waste. Dad was the strongest one out of all of us. How could he not beat cancer? So many other people did. It wasn’t fair. Why did it have to pick him? Why couldn’t it be me? I’d make the switch in a heartbeat if I could. What were we going to do without him?
Charlotte
I ran up the apartment stairs by twos and closed the front door behind me. “Dad?”
