Chapter 4 Lois #2
“I mean, it’s kind of hard to do social niceties with a girl who spends all her time snoozing. You know you can get help for that, right?”
I swallow back the venom I feel like shooting his way.
No matter how annoying he might be, this guy let me crash at his place for two nights in a row when he definitely didn’t have to.
I practice my breathing while his friends watch on in silence, seemingly fascinated by our sparring.
Aside from wanting to crush him, all I really want is for this whole thing to be over.
I sigh and hold out a hand. “Lois.”
One of his friends snorts, while another nearly chokes midway through taking a swig from a silver can.
“Lane,” the guy offers.
Is he messing with me? I’ve just made a huge effort trying to get us back on an even keel, and this jerk is still teasing me with his childish jokes?
“Oh, I get it!” I slow-clap. “Lois Lane. Very funny. I’ve never heard that one before.”
The tallest of them is laughing openly. “Damn, it doesn’t get much better than this!”
Another one of the guys slings an arm over his shoulders. “Shut up, Lewis. Let them finish, I’m begging you. Go on, dude.” He nods at the jerk.
“Lane.” His green eyes are boring into mine, and once again he says the words slowly, as if I were dumb. “My name is Lane.”
“Oh…” I nod. “Okay. Right!”
Great job, Lois! The queen of stupid has entered the building. Not that I’m making excuses or anything, but it is an unreal coincidence.
The idiot from earlier pipes up again. “Lois Lane! I can’t believe it!”
I roll my eyes and watch as Lane does the same.
“I’m Lewis.” He scours my face. “This here is Donovan, and that’s Adam.”
“The Campus Drivers?” I ask, despite myself.
“Damn straight! Lois Lane… God, that’s too good.”
“Okay, so now we’ve got the introductions out of the way…”
“What did that asshole want?” Donovan asks me, crushing his can with his hand.
Without thinking, I look over at Lane, and spark a fresh bout of laughter among the guys.
“Not Lane! I mean Donald!”
“Oh! He said he had a room for me.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope!” I wave the sheet of paper.
“Bad idea. You just arrived, you don’t know that guy.”
I turn to the speaker. Adam, was it?
“He said I could call him Donny. We’re buddies now…”
I’m doubling down like a bratty kid, but my words trail off into silence as all eyes turn to Donovan.
He starts scanning the crowds for Donald, suddenly flustered. “I am going to break that bastard’s legs!”
“What did I say?”
“There’s only one Donny at SHU,” Lewis mutters, leaning into me like it’s some sort of grand conspiracy. “There might only be one Donny in the whole of the United States, come to think of it.”
He points a finger at Donovan, who’s fuming as he spins on his heels.
“It’s basically trademarked. That guy’s crossed a line,” Lewis adds with a scowl. “Absolute disgrace, dude.”
“Okay…”
This whole conversation is going over my head, and I start edging away from the group.
“You can’t say yes,” the quiet one calls after me.
Who the hell asked him?
“Adam, right?”
“Yeah. Nice to meet you.”
I can feel my hardness melting away, and I can’t help but smile. I don’t know if it’s the gentle blue eyes that remind me of my younger brother, or the way he scrunches his nose up when he looks at me, like my dad does, but he oozes kindness.
“I haven’t decided yet, but I have to admit, I’m kind of running short on options, here.” I wave at Lane to catch his eye. “Can you give me a ride? My stuff is still in your trunk.”
“Like I’d forget. Where are we going?”
“To the motel I told you about yesterday.”
“Tonight we’re going to Bennett’s for our first party of the year,” Lewis interrupts, slinging an arm over my shoulders. “You coming?”
“No, thanks, I’m exhausted.”
I wriggle free from him and turn back to Lane, who seems delighted I turned down the offer. “So?”
“It would be my pleasure! Did you download the Campus Drivers app? Only the first ride is free,” he adds snippily.
I fish my phone out of my bag and tap at the screen for a few minutes, but Lane’s huffing is distracting me, and at his twelfth sigh, he snatches the phone out of my hands.
“I’m linking your account to your Venmo,” he explains.
Just as he’s shoving my cell back at me, his own phone starts to beep. I peer down at the username he’s chosen for me.
“ ‘HeartBreak04’?”
“Apparently, you’re not the first.”
“ ‘CaptainLane,’ ” I read out, and shake my head.
“At your service!”
He jerks his chin toward his car, and before I follow him, I cast one last look in Kirk’s direction. He’s gone, and there’s a weight nestling in my heart again. I had forgotten all about him while chatting away with these four weirdos.
Lane lifts my bag away from me and places it alongside the ones I left behind, and I slide into the passenger seat without a word.
“We’re coming with you!” Lewis chants as he settles himself in the back seat with Donovan. “Adam will see us at Bennett’s, he’s got a ride to take care of.”
I blanket myself in silence, my foot tapping on the floor as I scratch at the stitching on the seats.
As the miles fly by, I can feel the panic rising.
I’ve never slept in a motel before. The one small comfort is knowing it’s not too far from Kirk’s place.
It’s stupid, but knowing he’s nearby makes the surprise breakup feel less real.
Deep down inside, I think that’s why I let myself crash at Lane’s.
I sneak a look at him, and he glances back at me, unsmiling, when suddenly he slams down on the brakes, and I focus back on the road in front of us.
There’s a traffic jam, and that’s unusual in this part of town.
The minutes tick by. We’re not budging.
One of the guys pipes up behind us. “Bucket seats are the worst, case closed—you can’t beat a good bench seat! How do you manage to screw any girls with this setup, Lane?”
I pull a face, priming myself for a reply that thankfully never comes.
Donovan leans over between our two front seats. “Anyway, Lois: what are you studying at SHU?”
“Sports PT.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome!”
“Why?”
“Me and Lewis are on the basketball team! You’ll be rubbing down our bulging muscles.”
I grimace and shift around to press my back to the door. “Why are you phrasing it like that? It’s disgusting.”
“I know.” He snickers, pleased with himself. “You better get used to it. The Cardinals aren’t exactly known for their manners.”
“Kirk isn’t like that,” I say, too loud.
Lane’s eyes drift off the road for a split second, and he glances at me.
“Who?”
Now Lewis is leaning in, too.
“Forget it. I can’t believe how backed up this street is.” My voice sounds screechy. “Can you see anything?”
I hear Lewis pulling himself out the window to try to see what’s slowing us down.
“Flashing lights and smoke. Take a right, Lane. Straight ahead is all blocked up.”
The car jolts when we hang a sharp right, and as we crawl around the neighborhood, I’m getting a bad feeling about all of this.
By the time we make it to the other side of the road and pull up near the motel, my fears are proving right. The street is still clogged, and a little farther down, police officers are directing the traffic.
“Oh no…”
I unfasten my seat belt and step out of the car, racing toward a security barrier where I stand on my tiptoes, although I can already sense just how big a deal this is.
I freeze when a cop spots me and starts waving me away.
“Move along, please!”
I step back, my eyes locked on the thick black smoke spilling out of the building. The motel. My motel is going up in flames.
As I keep backing away, I feel something slam into my back. Or someone, more like. I try battling against whatever is preventing me from moving away, my eyes stinging from the smoke, but a strong arm holds me in place.
“?Qué pasa?” Lewis asks as he appears at my right.
Donovan comes to my left, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who’s blocking the way behind me. Lane towers above me, surveying the disaster.
“Fuck. I’ve never met anyone this unlucky.”
His voice is so low and deep, I can feel his chest thrumming against my head, and I shiver. I sway on my feet, fighting back a sob.
Lewis isn’t getting it. “What’s burning?”
Oh, just my soul in the flames of hell.
“The Break Inn,” I answer.
“Why the sad face, dude?” Lewis says, looking at Lane.
“Because that was my only backup plan,” I hear myself answer on Lane’s behalf.