Page 19 of Fortuity

ChapterEight

Faith

Ipressedmy hand against my stomach, hoping to get those butterflies to settle down. Dillon’s gaze slid to where it rested before he looked out the windshield towards the road again. “Youhungry?”

“What?” I shook my head, hoping it’d help clear up the dazed feeling I wasexperiencing.

“By the time we make it back to campus, it’ll be close to dinner time. I figured since we’re already out, maybe you’d want to stop and grab some food instead of being stuck with whatever they’re serving in the cafeteriatonight.”

“I—”

He didn’t give me the chance to shoot his suggestion down. “I remember how bad it sucked when I lived on campus, eating so many meals there. My friends and I used to head over to my house a few times a week just to get away from it and catch a home-cookedmeal.”

“It’s not that bad.” When he snorted in disagreement, I rushed to defend my opinion. “It really isn’t. I mean, the entrees aren’t always that great. And they tend to be high in sodium, but the salad bar is actuallyprettygood.”

His gaze slid towards me again. “You need to watch yoursodium?”

I hated when I slipped up around people who didn’t already know about my illness. “Yeah, I was pretty sick a few years ago, and it’s one of the things I need to do to stayhealthynow.”

“Is that what that girl meant about you getting atransplant?”

I’d been relieved that he’d let the mention of my transplant drop while we’d been in the classroom, hoping he’d take the hint and not bring it up again. But apparently I wasn’t that lucky, and he was just waiting for the right time. When we were alone. And I could feel extra awkward talking about it. Having the conversation with only the two of us felt different. It was probably because my transplant was just another part of my life story when I was talking to other foster kids about overcoming our struggles and moving on to get a collegeeducation.

“Yeah, but it was a fewyearsago.”

“Still, a transplant is a major surgery,right?”

“Definitely,” I mumbled, looking out the passenger side window and thinking about how difficult my recoveryhadbeen.

“With a longhospitalstay?”

I turned to look at him, surprised by the question. It wasn’t what most people thought to ask when they found out I’d had a transplant. “Yeah, I was there for a couple of months before the surgery and then another week afterwards before they discharged me to a rehabfacility.”

“They sure do like to rush you out of there as soon as they can,don’tthey?”

I was just as surprised by his answer as I was the last question he’d asked me. “It sounds like you’re speaking fromexperience.”

He nodded, clenching his jaw and making that muscle jump in it again. “It wasn’t as long as the months you spent in one, but I was stuck there for more than a month after I was in a serious car accident my senior year of highschool.”

“Oh.” I thought about how he’d mentioned his parents being big on car safety, and it suddenly made sense. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Your mom nevermentionedit.”

“I’m sure she didn’t. It’s not something any of us are very comfortable talkingabout.”

“I can understand that.” And respectit,too.

“You probably get it more than myfriendsdo.”

That was putting it mildly since there wasn’t much about my life that I was comfortable talking about with most people. It was ironic considering how much time I spent talking about my past with foster kids in high school. But what I was doing with them meant enough to me that I pushed past the discomfort because I knew I had to share if I wanted to make a difference with them. And I knew they wouldn’t judge me because ofmypast.

Dillon turned into the parking lot for a locally owned Italian restaurant near campus. I’d heard good things about it, but I hadn’t eaten there since they were supposed to be on the pricier side. It was rare for me to eat out, and when I did, I was careful picking the restaurant so I didn’t spend too much money. “What are wedoinghere?”

“Grabbingdinner.”

“But I didn’t say yes when you askedaboutit.”

“You didn’t say no either,” he pointed out as he pulled into a parking spot and turned off theengine.

“Only because you cut me off and didn’t give me the chance to tell you I was fine with eating dinner oncampus.”

---