seventeen

Luca

~

The next day is just like any other day.

I eat Cheerios before school, get dressed, brush my teeth and hair, then tell my grandma goodbye as she hands me my lunch with a daily sticky note.

Today's note says:

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

I meet Cassie outside the school building, welcoming her into a small hug and quickly interlock our fingers before walking down the halls. For a second, I hesitate on kissing the top of her head, but I don't. We find Anderson outside Mrs. Lopez's class talking to Sydney Turner. I look back at Cassie who gives me the same expression I'm giving her.

What the hell?

The bell rings, signaling us to our next class. I basically speed walked into Mrs. Lopez's class, sitting down beside Sydney—not giving her a chance to speak yet.

"What was that about?"

She eyes me suspiciously. "What was what about?"

"Anderson," I whisper. "Did you tell him the truth?"

Her shoulders shrug before twirling her strawberry hair. "Not exactly, but I did tell him my date dumped me."

I roll my eyes. "Sydney..."

"What?" she scolds.

"All you do is lie to him; I'm beginning to wonder if you're even worth it."

"Ouch."

I shake my head. "I'm sorry, but the more you lie, I lie. I hate keeping this from him."

"What I did wasn't even that bad."

"You made up an imaginary date, and then you tell him your imaginary date dumped you—so you're free again to the dance. I'm sure you made him feel like a rebound."

She stares down at her fingers before looking back at me. "I guess I didn't think of it like that."

I slouch back into the seat before Mrs. Lopez closes the door behind her. "Just please tell him soon because he's a great guy who really likes you. I think you like him too, so do the right thing please, because I hate keeping this from him."

She rests her hand upon her cheek, leaving her elbow on the desk. "I will Luca, I promise."

The Spanish assignment didn't last as long as I thought it would. We went over the Take My Order game again and then each group had to speak in front of the class about what they came up with. As much as I enjoy school and catch onto things quickly, I really hate talking in front of the classroom. My anxiety feels like twelve elephants sitting on my chest making it impossible to breathe.

Once we were done Sydney went into conversation again, turning around in her seat.

"So, how are things with Cassie?"

"Really good, actually."

And the fact that it's fake, you know, it's going fantastic.

"I'm glad she has you and not douchebag Cane."

Whether this is real or fake—she isn't involved with Marcus anymore. Which makes everyone happy if I'm being honest.

"Me too."

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

"Honey, when's Cassie coming back over?" Grandma asks, sitting down on the couch beside me.

I take a sip from my Sprite. "We were supposed to go over our Biology final tonight, but she said something came up."

She frowns. "I'm sorry dear, you seem upset about it."

I slouch down into the couch. "I'm fine."

She rests her hand on my knee. "I think your parents would have really liked her."

"Me too," I smiled and gave her a quick hug before walking back into my bedroom. "I'll be right back."

I don't really like talking about my parents. It brings up too many bad memories. I think about them constantly, every second of every day. Wondering what they would be doing right now. Would my dad open up his own business that he dreamed of? Would my mom work at the salon her aunt started when she was a little girl?

The sleeping pills beside my bed stare back at me as I rest my head on the pillow. Without thinking twice, I quickly grab the bottle and shove it away in my dresser drawer.

As I lay back down, I am pulled away from my thoughts once I hear my phone ring from the other side of the room.

"Hello?"

"Luca, it's Cassie."

I gave her my number when we first started this deal, but I didn't think she would ever call me.

"Hey Cassie," I start. "Are you, all right?"

She breathes heavily into the phone. "No, I'm not."

The pain in her voice was obvious and I suddenly picked up on why she's probably calling me this late.

"Do you want me to come get you?"

"Please," she whispers, so I grab my keys off the dresser and drive quickly to her house.

As I pull up, I see her run out the front door and head in the direction of my truck.

"What's going on?" I tell her when she slides inside the passenger seat.

"I just don't want to be home right now." I don't say anything else. I just nod and head onto the highway. It's pretty dark out tonight, luckily, I remembered to grab my glasses so I can see better.

"I like those on you." She looks my way and smiles.

"Really? I hate them, but I'm basically blind at night so I have no choice."

Her smile turns into a frown. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you then."

I shook my head. "No, it's really fine. I'm glad you called."

She blinks back at me, almost surprised to hear that answer. "You are?"

I feel her staring at me suspiciously, but I keep my eyes on the road. I wasn't kidding when I said I'm blind at night.

"We didn't get to study tonight." I managed to say after a few minutes passed.

"I have a lot going on, Luca. I didn't mean to stand you up." Her voice is soft against the window as she rests her head.

"I know, and you didn't. I just like spending time with you." I let out, taking one hand off the wheel to rub my neck. I really hope that didn't come out as terrible as it sounded.

"I really like spending time with you too."

I don't know where I'm headed or where I'm taking her. I just drive until she feels a little better, with whatever is going on. I just want to be here for her. In any way that I can. Without over thinking, I reached across my console and grabbed her hand into mine. She doesn't push my hand away like I assumed she would.

Instead, she rubs her thumb against the top of mine and instant relief floods through me.

Rejection is what I was afraid of.

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