afraid I didn’t give myself enough time to make it back to the car before my time limit expires. I bite my lip then hit the contact button after locking the door behind me. There’s a star with favorites listed under it. Ares is the first name listed, followed by Milo, and Oliver. The rest of the names are girls with Delaney being one of them. I huff out a breath and hit the green phone next to Ollie’s name.
“Hello,” Ollie answers briskly.
“It’s me.” I cringe at how silly I must sound.
“I know,” he chuckles throatily. “Mom need ya?” He sounds a little defeated.
“No, I’m actually walking back, I was worried I would run out of time.”
“Oh… good. Do you want us to pick you up at the entrance?”
“No,” I answer too quickly. “I’ll meet you where you were.”
“Okaaay,” he stretches the word.
“So, bye I guess.”
“Wait, um… are you hungry? I’m famished, but I’m always hungry.”
“Can’t we just talk about this when I get to the car?”
“I just thought maybe we could stay on the phone until you get here.” Ollie’s voice is soft, like he doesn’t want anyone to overhear him.
“I guess I’m a little hungry,” I answer as I make it to the mouth of the park.
“Hey, there you are. I see you.”
“I’m going to hang up now Ollie.”
“Okay Laura, bye… no wait, see you soon.” He chuckles on the line before it goes dead. I pull the phone from my ear as it vibrates. I look down on instinct. A text from Kimberly scrolls across the screen before I have a chance to look away.
Had a great time last night ! When can I see you again????
My stomach hollows, and I let my hand drop to my side, walking the rest of the way to the car. Dante couldn’t give me answers yesterday, but he had time to kick it with Kimberly. I don’t meet Dante’s eyes when I place his phone on the hood of the car. I’m seconds away from saying fuck it, and going back home.
“Come on Laura, Milo called shotgun.” Ollie tilts his head like he’s disappointed, but I know it’s just for show. “Ladies first,” he adds, holding the seat forward for me to slide into the back. Dante is standing at the hood of the car staring down at his phone. I can’t see what he’s doing but I watch as his thumbs bounce around the screen. I look out the window, he’s probably texting her back. I have no right to be jealous, but that doesn’t stop the lump in my throat.
Once everyone is seated Dante sighs, “Where to?”
Milo looks back at me then Ollie. “Is Dante’s place okay? I don’t really feel like sitting in this car anymore.” Milo’s words aren’t harsh, but I feel like he’s chastising me anyway. I shrug, what’s the difference. At least there I don’t have to put up with running into someone from school. These guys seem to attract attention everywhere they go. I’m pretty surprised no one found them while they were waiting for me.
I shift in my seat. I didn’t bring my backpack and I feel like something’s missing. That thought spurs another. “Dante,” my voice is small, I don’t even want to address him. “Um, did you by chance find any keys yesterday? They were in my backpack, and when I got home I couldn’t find them. I thought maybe they fell out when my bag broke?” I ramble.
Milo turns in his seat, facing me. “Good thing your mom was home to let you in.”
I look out the window. “Yeah, good thing.”
“I didn’t see your keys, but I wasn’t looking either.” Dante looks over at Milo. “We had some stuff to deal with last night.” I just bet you did I think to myself. “We can look for them today,” Dante finishes.
The drive to Dante’s house only takes about fifteen minutes. As soon as I spot his driveway, my stomach rolls. My knee bounces as we turn down the lane. Ollie reaches over and places his palm on my thigh, stilling my movements. He gives me a gentle squeeze and I look over at him. His lips open and he barely whispers, “It’ll be okay.” I don’t really believe him. I mean he doesn’t even know I’m dealing with so much more than this weirdness happening with us. But I plaster a smile on my face and nod, hoping he’ll buy it.