Page 95 of Study Buddies

My body shook as I started to cry, but he said soothing things and reminded me to take deep breaths. When he finally let me go, I felt a little calmer, and I tore off a paper towel to wipe my face.

“Are you sure you want to drive all the way down there today?” he asked. “Why don’t you just call her?”

“It has to be in person. It’s not that far of a drive—just three hours. Once I get out of the mountains, I’ll be fine. A couple hours there, an hour to talk to her… I’ll be back by dinner.”

He looked anguished. “I wish I could go with you, but I’ve got a test and it’s a third of our grade.”

“Honestly, I’m fine.” I wasn’t, of course, but it’s not like I’d forgotten how to drive. Probably.

His eyes swept over me, his expression doubtful. “I’ll call Kyle. He can go with you.”

“No.” I grabbed his arm as he took his phone out of his pocket. “He’s got to work on his paper today. It’s due on Monday. We were going to work on it all afternoon, but he’s got my notes. He can work on it by himself. He has to.”

“Sweetheart, you’re upset. You’re in no condition to drive. You can’t go down there alone.”

“She won’t.” Lucas stepped into the kitchen. “I’ll go with her.”

27

LUCAS

“Areyou sure you don’t want me to come in with you?” It was at least the fifth time I’d asked it in the last three hours.

“No.” Tori peered out the passenger window. We’d ended up taking my car since it was newer and got better gas mileage. She glanced toward her mother’s house and then back at me. “Doug’s car isn’t here, and I texted her I was coming.”

God, I hated letting her go in alone. But maybe that was a little like what she was talking about last night. About my need to protect her. She was an adult. I knew that. But was it wrong to care about her well-being?

“I have to do this.” She seemed resolute. ”If you came in, it would be about introducing you and explaining who you are. And this is about me and my mom.”

I knew that, but I wasn’t happy about it. It felt like crap to let her go in there alone when she was so upset.

“That coffee shop I told you about isn’t far. Take the second right, then go about a mile, and it’ll be on the corner.”

“I could just wait out here in case…” I trailed off. In case what? In case she needed me? She was right. She was an adult.And maybe I hadn’t been treating her like one. “Call me when you’re done.”

“I will.” She took another long look at her childhood home and then turned back to me. “Thank you for coming down here with me.”

“Of course.”

Suddenly, she smiled gently. “Is this the first time you’ve skipped class except when you were sick?”

I thought it over for a moment. “I don’t skip class when I’m sick.”

She gave a light laugh, and I was glad to hear it—even if the joke was about how rigid I was about school.

“Good luck, Tori. I really hope it goes well.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you soon. We’ll have a late lunch—my treat. Bye.”

She climbed out of the car before I could tell her that lunch was definitely not her treat. Buying her food wasn’t being overprotective, was it? It was just part of being a friend.

Because apparently that’s all we were.

Shit.

I punched the name of the coffee shop she’d mentioned into the GPS, but then I drove off, ignoring the instructions. Sometimes it was good to just drive and think.

And after everything that had happened last night, there was a lot to think about.

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