Page 58 of Collided

“Y-yes, if you’re okay with that. I’ll listen to anything you want to talk about. No topic is off-limits,” I rush out nervously.

There’s something about him that makes me nervous, the kind where I stutter and my stomach gets all fuzzy and warm unlike my father, who ties my stomach in a rope of knots. I hate that feeling.

“I didn’t know there were off-limits topics.”

“Uh…everyone has those.”

He’s quiet for a long moment before he mutters, “Yeah. You’re fucking right.”

I take a bite of the burger. “I told you.”

“Won’t it be unfair if you know about me, but I know nothing about you?” There’s a playful hint to his voice.

“What do you want to know?” I sip my smoothie.

Heath fires off the question quickly. “Do you live alone?”

“I live with my mom. She’s a nurse and works long shifts.”

“That means you’re alone most of the time.”

“Yes.” I nod.

He opens his mouth, but I stop him with my hand.

“My turn.”

“Fine.”

“Why do you skip classes?”

He arches an eyebrow. “That’swhat you’re fucking curious about.”

I grin in reply.

Tearing away his gaze from me, he stares outside. “I can’t… concentrate.” He whispers the last part as if he didn’t want to say it.

“Why not?” I probe, eager to know the answer.

“There’s always a lot on my mind.”

Those words sink into my soul like claws. I’ve also been losing focus in my classes since Dad’s visits. It’s hard to occupy your mind with something else when there’s already so much. The closest analogy I can draw up is filling an already filled jar.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“No,” he replies in a dead-serious tone, marking an end to the topic.

The air shifts between us. I can feel him closing off and hardening the shell around himself. There’s more to him like how a shore is just the beginning of an ocean.

Tension builds as we clean up. Neither of us says a word to break it or make it easy for the other. When there’s nothing else to do, I walk him to the door. It’s only then I notice that the rain has stopped.

Suddenly a strident blast comes from somewhere nearby and all the lights in my house go off. Darkness blankets the space around us and a hush falls around us.

My heart accelerates and goosebumps rise over my arms. On instinct, my hand reaches out and grabs the first thing I can get a hold of. Which is him.

“What the fuck was that?” Heath asks roughly.

“I don’t know,” I whisper, fear clawing my insides.

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