Page 14 of Only Forever

“Maybe it’s your battery. I don’t have jumper cables but I could probably call someone who has them.”

I shook my head. “I just had my battery replaced a month ago. That can’t be it.”

“My buddy’s dad has a towing company. I’m sure he’d charge a reasonable price if I tell him it’s for a friend. I can call him.”

“That would be amazing,” I said, feeling relieved. I waited in the car with the door open while Marcus called his friend. I heard him explain the situation and then he paused, lowering the phone so he could talk to me.

“What’s your address?”

Marcus repeated the address I gave him, and then hung up after a bit.

“How much are they going to charge?” I asked, hoping it wouldn’t be a lot.

“His dad said he would do it for free when he heard it was for a fellow Sherman High student. He won’t be able to tow it until a few hours from now because he’s across town, but he’ll definitely be able to do it today.”

“That’s awesome!” I exclaimed. “Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.”

Marcus shrugged. “All I did was make a call. It was David Kang’s dad, if you know him. He’s a freshman.”

The name sounded familiar, but I didn’t know most of the freshmen. I was grateful that Marcus knew him, though.

“I’ll drive you home,” Marcus said. “You don’t want to wait here for the tow truck. I told them where your car is, along with the make and model and license plate. You don’t have to wait for them. Who knows how long it’ll take.”

I felt bad accepting his offer since he had already helped me so much. I didn’t want to be an imposition.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I can just call an Uber home.”

Marcus shook his head. “I realized you don’t live far from me when you gave me your address for the tow truck. There’s no need to call an Uber.”

I still hesitated. “But you said your mom wanted you to go grocery shopping. I don’t want to delay you.”

Marcus laughed. “I think the ten minute detour will be okay. C’mon.”

It would be foolish to protest anymore, so I followed him to his car. His car looked even older than mine, but the engined turned smoothly, a far cry from mine.

It was still raining as we exited the covered garage, even more heavily than before, and Marcus had to turn on the wipers at a fast speed. I was thankful that he was driving slowly and carefully. There was no need to tell him my address since he already knew it from the tow truck call, so I settled into my seat, listening to the raindrops batter against the windshield.

We drove in companionable silence for a while. I was surprised by how comfortable I felt around him, but he had been so nice and friendly before, and now he was being so helpful.

“Jason is a great guy.”

His words were unexpected in the quiet car, and I turned to him, surprised by his sudden comment.

“Yes, he is,” I replied, not really sure what the purpose of his statement was. “We were good friends when we were young, but we drifted apart as we grew older.”

“He told me that you guys have been reconnecting lately,” Marcus said. “That’s great.”

I told myself I shouldn’t be surprised by Marcus knowing about me and Jason. After all, Marcus was Jason’s best friend. Still, it had only been a few weeks that Jason and I had been hanging out together, and I hadn’t expected him to talk about it with others.

“It’s been nice,” I agreed, cautiously, not wanting to sound too enthusiastic. Now that I knew how much Jason apparently shared with Marcus, I didn’t want Marcus going back and telling him I was swooning over him.

Marcus glanced at me quickly, and then returned his gaze back to the road. “He’s been talking non-stop about you. He’s so happy you guys are talking again.”

I felt a warm glow from Marcus’ words, but I still wasn’t sure whether I liked how much Jason had shared with him. I shook off the feeling of discomfort. There was no difference between Jason confiding in his best friend, like I did with Chloe.

“I forgot how easy it is to have fun with Jason,” I said. “He’s still the same in so many ways from when he was a kid.”

Marcus nodded. “Something I always appreciated about Jason is that he doesn’t see differences in people. He treats everyone the same.”

---