Safe and Sound(4)

She kicked at a rock with her tennis shoe. She walked to and from work in the winter, in the spring, in the summer, and in the fall. No matter the weather; no matter how cold or hot it was. Dorothy was nice, but even she had never offered to pick Lola up or drop her off.

Lola was alone. There was no one.

Sebastian’s car slowed beside her. Lola didn’t acknowledge its presence. The window rolled down and warm air taunted her cold body.

“Need a ride?” Roxanne asked, not sounding the least bit happy about it.

“No,” she bit out, teeth chattering.

Only six blocks to go. If you get too cold, you can run them.

Lola didn’t want a ride from them, especially if Sebastian was so chicken he made his girlfriend ask; his girlfriend that loathed her.

One more reason for her to hate me. Great.

“She said no. Let’s go. Come on, Sebastian.”

Lola kept her eyes trained ahead, wishing they would leave. She hunched her shoulders against the cold. What she wouldn’t give for a scarf or gloves. Winter was supposedly over, but maybe someone should have told April that.

She didn’t realize the car had stopped until a door slammed. Lola halted only when Sebastian placed himself directly in her path. His hair was windswept. He wore dark jeans, a black leather bomber jacket, and black boots.

His jaw was clenched in that stubborn way of his, his brows lowered over stormy gray eyes. Lola’s breath caught. She’d forgotten how stunning he was up close, especially when he turned his intense gaze on her.

“Get in the car, Lola,” he said in a low voice.

Lola lifted her chin, though her body quaked. “No.”

It had been so long since he’d talked to her, so long since he’d spoken her name. A tidal wave of conflicting emotions crashed over her; the most prominent one resentment.

She didn’t know what she’d done to make him stop speaking to her; she didn’t know why he’d decided not to be her friend anymore. She’d needed him. She’d needed him to be her friend; he’d been her closest friend, and he’d just…left her. He’d abandoned her. When she’d needed him the most, he wasn’t there. Sebastian never even had the decency to explain why.

It still hurt. It would always hurt.

“Sebastian, really? She said no. I’m cold and I’m tired and I don’t have time for this.”

They stared at each other, not speaking. Lola put everything she was feeling into her eyes and she hoped he choked on what he saw.

Sebastian finally looked away. When he turned back, there was renewed determination etched into his features. “It’s thirty degrees out. You can’t walk home. Get in the car.”

“You have no manners. And you’re bossy. I never realized that before. Better now than never, right?”

His jaw clenched and he took a quick step toward her. Lola took one back. He stopped and narrowed his eyes at her.

“Sebastian!” A car door slammed and Roxanne stormed over, putting herself between them. She gave Lola a look that blazed with animosity. I will get you for this, those eyes promised.

Roxanne crossed her arms. “She doesn’t want a ride. She said so herself.” She turned to Lola. “Right, Lola? You don’t want a ride.”

Agree, or I will make your life hell, she said without uttering a single word.

Lola looked Sebastian in the eye, something he hadn’t allowed for close to a year. She wondered what had changed. Lola decided it didn’t matter. “Right.”

Roxanne grabbed his arm and tugged. “Come on. My parents are going to be pissed if I’m not home in about two minutes.”

Sebastian didn’t budge, his eyes like laser beams of heat on Lola’s skin. He pressed his lips together and finally turned away. Relief and sorrow simultaneously hit Lola.

With a satisfied look on her face, Roxanne skipped back to the car.

Lola watched him go, surprised when Sebastian turned back around and stopped beside Lola, his face forward. She stiffened, heart racing.

“How long have you been walking home at night?”

Lola looked straight ahead as well, focusing on a dark building across the street. It was a gas station. “As long as I’ve worked here, Sebastian,” she answered tiredly.

“How long have you worked here?”

“Eight months.”

“That’s…” He broke off. “That’s not safe.”

Her skin heated up. Why did he suddenly care? “Don’t worry about it. It’s none of your concern. Besides, nothing bad ever happens in a small town like Morgan Creek, right?” she said bitterly. Nothing anyone wants to know about anyway.

“Se-bast-ian!”

He let out a sigh. “She is driving me crazy,” he muttered.