Chapter 15 Lane #2
She stares at him, eyes wide, then leans forward to grab her laptop off the coffee table.
“I’m not even going to ask for the logic behind that.”
She slips on her coat and stomps out of the apartment, shaking her head. She really is in the worst mood ever this morning.
WHEN I GET TO CAMPUS, it doesn’t take me long to spot my friends sitting on a bench. I wander over and squeeze myself in next to them.
“What’s up, baby girl?” Lewis stretches his arm across the back of the seat.
“I’ve got a quiz in thirty, and I haven’t studied shit,” I groan, kicking at a stone.
“You never do, and you’re always fine.”
Adam pipes up. “It’s nearly Thanksgiving. Are we keeping the tradition alive this year?”
“Hell yeah!” Donovan chimes in.
Ever since we met, the four of us have celebrated Thanksgiving with Carter.
None of us go home to our families—all of us for different reasons.
Lewis’s dad builds tree houses every day God gives him; Donovan doesn’t get along with his sister, and his dad is going to Poland.
Adam’s mom is on her annual stint in rehab, and Carter only has Juliet, and she usually comes with us.
As for me, my parents will probably be in Cuba, Hawaii, or Bora Bora.
Even if they were home, I wouldn’t go. Two calls a year are more than enough for us.
“Do you know if Lois has plans?” Adam asks.
“No idea, but she probably won’t want to spend it with us.”
“Lane doesn’t want to share,” Lewis pouts.
I flip him the finger. “Not my fault I’m the only one she likes. Will Dexter Drake be gracing us with his presence?”
“No, he’s been having major introvert energy.”
“What a shame!”
“Well, what do you know! She’s right over there. Perfect timing. Let’s ask her.” Lewis waves. “Loooiis!”
I scan the crowd and laugh when I catch her rolling her eyes. She can’t stand how Lewis always yells out at her. I notice Kirk standing behind her, but she doesn’t. Just as he’s about to walk over to talk to her, she starts picking her way toward us. Good. I’m sick of seeing her moon over him.
She tugs her beanie into place. “Do you guys ever actually go to class?”
“We take turns,” Don says. “We always need at least one Campus Driver on call. Business, baby.”
“Right. Business can’t be all that great, huh? Since you’re all just sitting here…”
“We’re in surveillance phase, Lois!” Lewis counters, taking a step toward her.
“Whoa, back up, buddy. I don’t want people thinking I like you, or anything.”
“Your girlfriend is mean,” he whines at me.
He pretends to walk away, but there’s a glint in his eye. This doesn’t bode well. In a flash, he swivels around, grabs her by the waist, and heaves her onto his shoulder, ignoring her screams as he spins around and around.
“She loooves me!” he yells.
“Now she definitely won’t want to join us for Thanksgiving.” Adam sighs.
When Lewis finally drops her to her feet, Lois staggers a few steps, blinking hard. I instinctively reach out a hand, and she grabs my wrist to steady herself.
“Thank you.” She shoots Lewis a dirty look. “You know, one night I’m going to slip into your room under the cover of darkness—”
“See! She is interested!” he crows.
“—and suffocate you in your sleep!”
She’s still clasping my wrist. I pull her toward me to sit her down. Adam rests a hand on the back of the bench behind her and pats her gently on the head.
“You heading home for Thanksgiving?”
She glances over at him, and I study her profile. Her cheeks are flushed from the cold and Lewis’s antics. Snatches of my dream are resurfacing, and I sigh, forcing them out of mind.
For the briefest of seconds, Lois glances my way, before turning back to Adam.
“I hadn’t thought about it, to be honest.”
“Us guys are spending the evening together. If you’re sticking around Sycamore, you’re welcome to join.”
Her cheeks have turned red. I like it when she gets all shy like this.
We’ve never invited a girl along before—Juliet doesn’t count—because the ones who hang around us are either in it for the attention or a chance of getting laid.
And while that’s cool with us the rest of the year, this meal here is sacred.
“You’ve got three weeks to make up your mind.” Adam winks at her.
“Okay. Thanks, I guess.”
She clears her throat as she stares into the distance.
I notice the exact moment she spots her ex—her eyes clouding over, her breath catching in her chest. Kirk is frozen in place, his eyes locked on her, and as I watch him watching her, I try to imagine what they would have been like together.
I won’t pretend I know everything about Lois, but every time I see this guy, I wonder what it is that makes her try so hard to get him back.
“I should go and talk to him,” she whispers.
I stretch my arm out behind her. “I didn’t hear him whistle for you, though.”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
“He’s never stared at me like this before. I feel like he’s waiting for me to go over there.”
She makes to stand, and I drape my arm over her shoulders, pinning her down.
“What are you doing?” she hisses.
“Helping you out.”
“Stop it! Kirk will think—”
“That you’re not a dog he can make sit whenever he feels like throwing you a bone.” I bring my lips to her ear. “I’m a guy, Lois. Trust me on this one.”
“And I’ve known him for years.” She jumps to her feet. “So thanks but no thanks.”
She spins around to face Kirk and stops in her tracks.
“Great! He’s gone.” She glares at me. “Great job, Lane. Just great!”
Don and Lewis have wandered back over to join us.
“?Qué pasa?” Lewis asks.
“I need to get to class before I kill you all, one by one.”
As she snatches her bag up and turns to leave, my friends stare at me. I shrug.
“Have a great day, darlin’!” Lewis yells.
She gives me the finger without turning back. “Bite me!”
“You really need to sleep with her,” Donovan says wistfully.
“Why the fuck are you all so obsessed with that today?”
“She’s perfect for you, man. Rude, with a vicious streak—”
“And completely unhinged,” I finish for him.
“Like I said—perfect for you.”
I shoot a desperate look at Adam, but he offers no help.
I jump to my feet and stretch, high-fiving my friends before making a beeline for the main building.
I pass the huge calendar by the entrance and do a double take.
“November,” all in big letters. I stand there for a few seconds and sigh, closing my eyes and pinching my nose shut.
I hate this goddamn month. I wish I could snap my fingers and fast-forward straight to December, but I know how the story goes.
The weeks will crawl by, day by painful day.
The rest of the year, I can handle. But November…
November is hard. Because in less than two weeks’ time, I’ll be plunged straight back into the night when everything went wrong. The night my brother died.