Slowly We Trust (Fall and Rise #3)(44)
Author: Chelsea M. Cameron

“Things never stay where you put them.” I hated how ominous that sounded.

19

When Audrey modeled the little pink lacy bits of fabric for me that night back at her place, it was all I could do to not rip the thing off her.

“It looks good on the floor, doesn’t it?” she said, glancing at the lingerie on her floor.

“Definitely,” I said. “Hey, what’s this?” I said, noticing some faded writing on her arm. It looked kind of like a phone number.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, taking her arm back and then pulling the covers over herself.

“No, it’s not nothing, because you would have told me what it was. Seriously, Aud, enough with the secrets.” I was trying not to be an ass**le, but enough was enough. Now she was lying about writing on her arm?

“Okay, fine. I ran into that guy, Eddie, from the party, while I was shopping today and he decided that we should catch up, so he wrote his number on my arm. I tried to wash it off because it wasn’t a big deal. I’m not going to call him.” Clearly she was irritated, but I didn’t know if it was at me, or at the situation with Eddie.

“I wish I would have been with you. I could have set him straight.”

She rolled her eyes.

“You don’t have to protect me. I took care of it myself. And he’s not a bad guy.”

“He sounds like an ass**le if he’s just willing to just grab any girl’s arm and write his number on it. What’s your history with him, anyway?”

She sat up and turned her naked back to me. That was as clear a signal as I’d ever seen from her.

“I told you already. I had a crush on him once. That was all.”

“Seems like now he’s the one crushing on you,” I said, putting my arms around her and pulling her back down with me.

“He had another girl with him. I’m sure he just wants to talk about high school or something.” “Or something” was right.

“Sure, Aud. Sure.” I kissed her forehead and ran my hands through her hair. I hoped she never cut it. I just wanted it to grow and grow until it was all down her back. Hell, I’d even learn how to braid if it meant I could touch her hair more often.

“You don’t sound convinced,” she said.

“I’m not. Because I find it impossible to believe that any guy would not be into you. Have you seen you?” That earned me another eye roll. “I’m not just saying that because I love you. People are always staring at you. Do you not notice that?”

She shook her head.

“I guess not. Or maybe I ignore it.” That made sense. She put up a lot of walls between herself and other people. She might have broken down a couple of them for me, but they were still up for most people.

“It’s not a big deal, Aud. I’m not going to go caveman and beat some guy for hitting on my woman. You’re right that you can take care of yourself. I just would have enjoyed seeing his face if I had come over and given you a kiss.”

“He might have given me the number anyway.”

“Well, then I might have gotten a little cavemanish. A guy can only take so much.”

“Shut up,” she said, smacking me in the chest. No matter what woman I had in my life, she was always hitting me.

On Monday I was leaving English class with Lottie and Tyler when a woman walked briskly into the room and spoke with Mr. Halloway.

“Audrey? Can you come here for a moment?” He crooked his finger at me and my stomach dropped. It was probably nothing. Maybe a glitch on my transcript.

“I’ll catch up with you later,” I said to Lottie and Tyler, who were watching me with concerned expressions on their faces.

“Good luck,” Lottie said and Tyler waved at me.

“Is something wrong?” I said, approaching Mr. Halloway’s desk. The woman looked vaguely familiar.

“Yes, in fact. Your parents have been worried sick about you, Audrey. They called the Dean’s office and left messages this weekend and then again this morning. I’ve been trying to track you down.”

My mouth went dry and my heart felt like it was going to stop any moment.

“My phone. It broke.” I could only summon those four words.

“Well, you should contact them immediately. Your mother was very upset.” She sounded like she was a second away from sending me to the principal’s office, or giving me a detention.

“I’ll call them.”

“Good. I don’t want to have to do this again. Have a nice day.” She spun on her heel and marched out of the room.

Mr. Halloway looked from the woman from the Dean’s office to me and back.

“Strict parents?”

“What?” Mr. Halloway repeated himself.

“Um, something like that. I should probably go and call them.” I turned away from him, completely embarrassed.

“Audrey.” I couldn’t help the way my insides quivered at the way he pronounced my name.

“Yes?” I turned back around and hoped my face wasn’t still red.

“If you need to talk, my office door is always open. It’s just down the hall, and I’m only a phone call away. My office phone number is on the syllabus.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate that.” I wouldn’t dream of availing myself of his office number, but I might call it and see if I could get his answering machine, just to listen to his voice.

“Anytime.” He gave me a smile and I turned back around and walked down the hall to a quiet corner so I could call my mom.

My hands were shaking as I held up my new phone and hit Dial.

I didn’t make it to the rest of my classes. It took all my effort to even get off the floor after I talked to my mother and walk back to my room.

I fell on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Insignificant details fluttered through my mind, in and out. Was that a water stain up there? Why had I never noticed that? And who was playing the guitar? Was it the person next door or two doors down?

Inane thoughts. Those were the only ones I could think at the moment. The rest of my mind had gone. Run away. Abandoned me in my hour of need.

My phone kept going off, but I couldn’t move to silence it. I wondered if I was in shock. Probably.

Even a knock at my door couldn’t get me out of my current state. Not even someone calling my name over and over.

Finally, someone burst through the door.

“Aud? Aud?” Will’s face blocked my view of the ceiling. “Are you okay? You never showed up for lunch and I just had this feeling. Aud? Look at me.” I was looking at him. I couldn’t help but look at him. He was all I could see. He put both hands on either side of my face and stared into my eyes.