Page 23 of The Perfect Love

“You’ve got it bad,” he says as he walks away, grinning like an asshole.

“Fuck you very much!” I call after him.

But unfortunately, he isn’t wrong. I don’t know exactly why or what I think happened, but there’s this unsettling drive in me to make sure Chelsea’s okay.

I shouldn’t be worrying about it. It was one night. It’s not my problem.

So why is it that Iwantit to be my problem?

Throughout my shower, I couldn’t stop thinking about Chelsea. I wish it had been for dirty reasons, but no. I keep fixating on that mixture of fear and anguish in her eyes. I’ve seen that look before. Hyla has worn it more times than she ever should’ve had to thanks to her fucking parents.

The compulsion in me to want to fix that pain in Chelsea is probably not a good thing. We barely know each other, despite our lengthy conversation last night.

I should be focusing on my meeting with Coach M this morning, but since my brain is not in agreement with that, I get in my car with the plan to call Hyla and ask her advice on the drive to campus. In my distracted state, I don’t notice her name flash on my screen until the ringtone blares from my speaker, making me jump and drop my phone.

As I reach down to grab it, I smack my head on the steering wheel.

I’m still cursing as I answer. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Hm. Not high on my list of priorities. I like you too much. Besides, how could I kill you from this far away? Ooh, did an assassin attack you?”

“No, I wasn’t expecting a call, and it gave me a nice jump scare.” I rub the back of my head and turn my car on.

“Are you unfamiliar with the concept of phones? Or me calling you on them? You really shouldn’t be surprised by either, especially not me calling you since you didn’t call your mom or me last night to tell us about your first day. Rude, by the way.”

Of course.

“Well, I got a little distracted when I met my dream girl and spent the night talking with her.”

My phone connects to the Bluetooth in my car so I get full surround sound of Hyla’s high-pitched squeak and her following words. “Details now.”

I chuck my phone on the seat and pull out of my spot in the driveway.

“Only if you promise to give me some advice when you hear how it ends.”

“Uh oh.”

As I drive out of the lakeside development we live in, I give Hyla a rundown of what happened.

“Wow. I’m sorry it ended that way. For both of you. It sounds like she’s struggling with something.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. What I’m not sure about is if I should try to talk to her or see if she’s okay. Or if she would just turn and run the other way if she saw me again.”

“Who would run from your adorable face?” she says teasingly.

“You mock my pain,” I say flatly.

“You said Rae introduced you, right? Odds are you’ll run into her again. Take it as it comes. Definitely don’t hunt her down like a stalker.Thatwould make her run.”

“Even with my pretty face?”

“Fun fact: serial killers can have pretty faces too.”

“Thanks for that.”

I turn onto one of the roads that leads through campus, aiming for the parking lot closest to the athletic building. Since morning practices are over by now and afternoon practices are a while away, it’s a fairly empty lot.

“Do you think I’m ridiculous for still caring about her? For being worried? We barely know each other. Should I just let it go?”

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