Jem
IT’S STILL PRETTY EARLY, so the air is crisp and cold when we merge onto the highway. Other than a few passing comments about good weather, Indie doesn’t say much, so I figure it’s time to bring up the thing that’s been eating at me from the moment I saw her waiting at the steps to her apartment.
Giving her a passing glance from the wheel, I go for the jugular. “I’m surprised you agreed to come.”
She frowns slightly as my words sink in. “You asked me to.”
“I know,” I say, “But you didn’t have to say yes.”
She’s silent for a while, and I know I’m kind of an asshole for pushing it, but I do anyway. “Why did you say yes?”
This time, Indie sighs. She’s quiet for a few seconds, almost as if she’s gathering her thoughts, before she turns to me.
“My whole life,” she says, “I’ve had people tell me what to do. She swallows, tearing her gaze from me to look ahead. “Don’t play on the monkey bars too long, Indigo, your arms aren’t strong enough. Don’t sign up for gymnastics, Indigo, you’re too weak. Don’t try help others when you can’t even help yourself. So when Kade told me racing wasn’t my scene …”
“Didn’t take it so well?”
“Nope.”
One hand still on the wheel, I run the knuckle of my thumb against my chin absently. “Can I ask you a question?”
She offers me a barely-there smile. “You just did, but yeah. Sure.”
I cut straight to the chase. “Why are you still with him?”
Clearly, I’ve taken it too far this time, because she seems to shrink into herself. Folding her arms, she hesitates, looking out her window instead of replying. Sighing, I choose to drop the topic and pull out my phone from the centre console instead.
She notices and gives me the side eye. “You really shouldn’t use your phone while driving, you know.”
Sighing, I lift my unlocked phone to her. “I know. Will you check what turn I have to take? Search it up.”
Indie nods, accepting the phone and scrolling on it for a while before she furrows her brow. “Why don’t you have the Google Maps app?”
I shrug. “I don’t need directions too often. Just search it up.”
There’s silence as she does what I ask, but there’s a soft intake of her breath and when it hits me, it’s too late. Way too fucking late.
“Uh...why is what is osteochondroma in your recently searched?”
I clamp down on my jaw, unable to tamper down the rush of heat that immediately rises up my neck. I’d searched up the condition to find out more about it when I got back to my place after she mentioned it. It takes me a good few seconds to recover, but eventually I do, plastering on a close-lipped smile as I turn to face her. “My friend happens to have it.”
A quick glance at her isn’t enough for me to gauge her reaction. It’s a mixture of amusement and surprise, and maybe a little bit of guilt in the mix. She clears her throat, looking down at my phone and then back up. “Um, you have to take the right turn.”
The turn comes up ahead, and I take it. “Since she’s my friend,” I say, “She should also consider putting her number in my phone.”
Indie chews back a smile and rolls her eyes at this, but I don’t miss the five minutes it takes for her to save her number onto my phone before she gingerly places it back on the centre console. A small smile appears on her face as she stares at the scenery outside her window.
YOU ARE READING
Fragile Little Things ✓
RomanceIndigo Gallagher was born with osteochondroma, a condition that leaves her physically fragile. Between shifts at her granʼs flower shop and her tumultuous relationship, all she wants is to get through her second year of pre-med unscathed. Although...
