“Some girl. She said she’s friends with Crosby. That she got your number from his phone when he was in the shower at her apartment.”
My head whips to Crosby, who is now stopped in front of the coffee place. The girl touches his arm, and he doesn’t pull away. She drops her money, and he goes to pick it up, leaving the girls with a perfect view of his ass. He stands, and they giggle. She presses her tits into him, and again, he doesn’t step away.
“Fuck this. Sometimes, there’s too much stacked against you.”
“El, don’t run.” Spencer holds my hand, but I stand and grab my bag from behind the chair.
“I’m not running.” I eye Ariel. “Haven’t you ever wanted something that hurts you the same amount whether you have it or not?”
Ariel’s eyes tear. She’s the emotional one, but I wish my own vision weren’t blurring.
“You’ll get through this and be happy.” Ariel tries to stand, but I shoo her down.
“Stay. I need to think.”
I walk out of the Student Center and into the sunniest day. It’s seventy degrees, and the flowers are basking in the last rays of sun before winter comes to wither them away. How similar it seems to Crosby and me. We shine bright now, but along with my dad and Beltline, the girl’s here will also stand in the way of our future.
“El?” Liam says, approaching me from the library.
I hold my hand up in the air and continue walking around the Student Center to the open field behind it. College kids are milling around on the hill, talking, laughing.
If it wasn’t the despair from not being with Crosby, it was the sadness from the void in my life Kedsey’s left. One constant was sure. Crosby’s absence overloaded the weight in my heart. But, even with him here, as he held me close to his body last night, there was no peace like I had assumed. Nope, we’re still uneasy about our future because there continues to be people against us.
“Ella.” Liam comes alongside me, obviously not aware of the nonverbal sign I gave him with my hand up in the air, meaning, I don’t really want to talk to you.
“Liam,” I say, my voice flat.
“Can we talk for a second?” He signals to the grass.
“What is it?” I ask.
He groans. “We dated for over a year, and you can’t sit down and have a conversation with me? Are you afraid he’ll show up and beat you up this time?”
I squint my eyes and cross my arms, not thrilled with his comments.
He gives me an exaggerated eye roll. “Okay, I’m sorry, but you know the swelling in my nose just started going down.”
“We’ve been over this, Liam. What is it?”
He sits.
I don’t.
“I heard. The story is going around, and I wanted to say, if I’d known, I would have understood.”
Panic jolts my veins, and my blood boils. “What did you hear?” My voice is shallow and lost.
My eyes concentrate on a dandelion swaying with the wind. How long will it be able to support itself until it loses its strength and collapses from the fight?
“That Crosby was drunk, and he killed your two best friends. That you were in a coma for a few months, and he left you in the hospital to escape charges.”
The dandelion just broke.
“That’s not true,” I say. My eyes tear up, and all the strength from my body collapses, limb by limb.
“Are you okay? You look pale.” He stands up and wraps his arms around me.
I don’t move, staying in one place as he rocks me back and forth.
But the fact remains. No matter where we go, we’ll never escape the accident. People will constantly twist the truth.
“Let her go.”
Crosby’s backpack hits the grass, and his arm grabs mine, freeing me from Liam’s hold into his.
“Calm down.” Liam holds his hands out, like Crosby’s some T. rex about to rip him to shreds.
“Don’t ever go near her again.” His hands cup my face. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I whisper.
“Spence told me about the text. You know I don’t know that person.”
I nod. The picture was clearly taken at the quarry, but it’s just another person who wants to step in our way.
“Then, what’s wrong?”
Crosby’s head swivels to Liam, who’s already halfway across the lawn. His eyes are full of fear, looking back to make sure Crosby isn’t following him.