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I stayed on the line with him for an hour while he cried and cursed, then I made some more calls of my own to ensure she was getting lookedafter.
I had another exam before I could head home for the summer. The doctors assured me there was nothing to be done in the meantime, that she was in stable condition. But I knew she wasn’t. Stable on the outside wasn’t the same as stable on theinside.
I wanted to track down my dad and haul him up against a wall, hit him with myfists.
I wanted to hold my mom's hand and stare at her pale face, to ask her why she put up with it until I got a goodanswer.
Mostly, I wanted to forget the world outside. At school, it was easier to pretend I was in control—of my grades, my friends, girls. In light of what happened tonight… not somuch.
I grabbed my jacket to brace against the wind and went down to a bar students frequented nearcampus.
I ordered hard liquor, drank it too fast. It burned through me, dulling the ache at the edges of my soul, the one that said something had gone horribly wrong and the world wasn’t as itseemed.
That’s when I spottedher.
Dark hair tumbled down her back in a wave. Curvy legs were revealed by a short denimskirt.
The outfit was how I recognized her. The cropped shirt that must’ve been freezing if it weren’t for the jacket tucked under herarm.
She looked as if she was alone, and that realization pulled me across the room, had me laying a hand on her shoulder. I was going to make sure she was okay. But when she turned and settled damp, heavily-rimmed eyes on me, the words stuck in mythroat.
Her eyes were wild. Haunted.Hurt.
Or maybe that was only the reflection of mine on this night that had already cost me somuch.
“No,” she informed me before I could say a damn word, then she spun on her heel and headed for thedoor.
It took me half a dozen steps to catch up with her. “Nowhat?”
“No, we’re not doing this. My sister and I had a bigfight.”
My first thought was whether her sister was okay, but I forced myself to focus on one twin at a time. “I’m not leaving youalone."
"I can take care ofmyself."
"Sure, but it would be irresponsible to let you loose on the student body looking like that. Let’s go to my car.” She shot me a look, and I let out an exasperated huff. “I’m not driving home. I just need somewhere to think. You look like you could use thattoo.”
She followed me to the parking garage, where I stopped in front of the Mustang I’d bought the year before with the proceeds of my first venture. I shifted in and reached over to get herdoor.
My body buzzed through the seat. I stared out the windshield at the concrete parking structure around us. Every breath was painful. For the first time, thanks to the alcohol or my state of mind, my own agitation sankin.
“What’s yourproblem?”
Her voice cut the quiet, and I turned to look at her. “My mom went to the hospital tonight afteroverdosing.”
Whatever she expected, it wasn’t that. “I'msorry."
Being in my car with this girl was weird. If anything, I’d been hanging out more with hersister.
“We all have our problems. Don’t say anything to anyone. About mymom.”
“Who’m I going to tell?” Her voice was softer than usual. Self-deprecating.
I leaned over the console, catching her hair where it stuck in thedoor.
Instead of pulling back, I lingered there, our faces inches apart. It wasn’t her makeup or her dress, it was the look in her eyes, like she wanted to run from it all too, that fucking called tome.
That was why I kissedher.
