them I was at the diner last night, or maybe I'll get lucky and she'll keep that little tidbit to herself, not wanting to admit her boyfriend blew her off.
Speaking of which, I spot Oliver’s long light hair moving through the crowd. Milo and Dante are right on his heels. They stop as soon as they reach the sidewalk that leads to the parking lot and scan the tree line. If I didn’t know better, I'd say they were looking for someone—looking for me? As soon as the thought pops into my head, Oliver’s hand shoots up in the air and he points directly at me. I turn, making sure there's no one behind me, but I already know there isn't. With a nod of his head he motions for me to come forward.
He's gained some attention with his exaggerated movements and now I feel like half the school is watching us. With sluggish feet and my eyes on my shoes, I make my way over to him while he continues walking toward me.
“Hey Laura, you disappeared on us last night.” Thankfully we're far enough from the other kids that I don't think they can hear his words.
“I just needed to get home,” comes my lame excuse.
“Everything all right Laura?” I look over when I hear Milo’s question. He actually sounds genuinely concerned, which is unfamiliar.
All three guys are huddled close by and their presence is overwhelming to say the least. I cast my gaze over to where I last saw Delaney standing, and I'm not surprised when I find her staring daggers back at me.
“Laura?” It's Dante this time. Why are they talking to me, why are they acting like they know me, or care?
“Yeah,” I croak back then clear my throat. I forget sometimes how little I speak.
“Maggie was pretty upset you left without telling her, that you walked when she made us promise to give you a ride.”
I wince, well now I know why they are talking to me. They probably want to give me an earful, just like the one they probably got from Maggie.
“Sorry if I got you guys in trouble. I'm used to taking care of myself. Let Maggie know it was my fault, I won't let her blame you.” Oliver wrinkles his eyes and nose a bit. His face is so very expressive. If I had to guess, I'd say he's confused.
No one speaks for a few seconds, but we're all standing there in the silence. I feel all of them looking at me. I tug my backpack up on my shoulder higher and shuffle my feet.
“I'm glad you made it home safe,” Dante adds, finally breaking the silence with his deep voice. When I don't respond Milo tugs the broken strap of my backpack.
“We should probably head in, the bell's about to ring.” His words register and I start forward heading past them and the rest of the students still milling around.
I make it to my first class and find my seat, my heart beating fast. I'm not used to all the attention from the boys, and what they bring with them.
The next few hours pass with me alternating between worrying about my mom and trying to forget she might be gone for good. Delaney and the guys are circulating in the back of my thoughts. I'm not sure I can handle all the problems their acknowledgement might bring.
I move through the halls quickly, keeping my head down but my senses alert for any sign of trouble. I make it to my locker with no hassle when I realize I forgot to make myself a lunch this morning. Great.
Sitting on the top step, I scour my bag for a snack to hold me over until I can get home. I'm just peeling back the wrapper on a somewhat smashed granola bar when I hear them coming up the steps.
Dante turns the corner on the landing and stops when he sees me. Oliver, who's still hopping up the stairs behind him, crashes into his back. Dante barley jolts, only taking one shuffle of a step before planting his feet back on the landing. If that would have been me, I'd have gone flying Boy’s got some balance.
Oliver continues around his friend like nothing happened and plops himself right next to me. “Hey, what's up?”
Taken back by his familiarity, I look at him for a long second.
“Nothing, I guess. What's up with you?” I finally respond, and he cracks an easy grin.