Dead Girl Walking ― Aaron Minyard

22. doom days

we'll be the proud remainers
here till the morning breaks us
we run away from real life thoughts tonight
― bastille

♦

AARON'S CRYPTIC REMARK was the only answer they got out of him at practice. Wymack stopped pushing the second things got personal. Mara expected the upperclassmen to say something about it when they put court walls between themselves and Wymack, but apparently they shared his tact. They flicked curious looks at Aaron and Nicky from time to time, but no one pushed for an explanation.

Without Seth around to pick fights with Kevin and Nicky, Allison on hand to fuss at anyone within hearing range, or Andrew chattering away in the goal, their drills were almost alarmingly quiet. Practice could have been a complete waste of time if not for Kevin and Dan. Kevin was too single-minded about Exy to let anything distract him when he was on the court, and Dan knew her role as their captain. She kept them moving when they slowed and talked through the awkward silences.

Still, Mara was pretty sure they were all relieved when Wymack finally called practice to an end.

They left the stadium at the same time, but Nicky's distaste for traffic laws got them to Fox Tower first. Nicky found a spot near the back of the athletes' parking lot and they headed for the dorm as a group. Halfway there, they noticed the figure waiting for them on the sidewalk. Andrew sat cross-legged on the curb, hands on his ankles as he watched their approach. 

"You shouldn't be outside if you're coming down with something," Kevin said.

"Such concern." Andrew grinned at Kevin's cool tone. "Don't cry, Kevin. It's nothing a nap and some vitamin C can't fix."

Nicky crouched in front of Andrew. "Hey. You good?"

"You ask strange questions, Nicky."

"I'm concerned, is all."

"Sounds like your problem. Oh, there we go, finally."

Mara looked back as Matt turned into the parking lot. He circled twice before he found a spot big enough for his truck. Andrew batted Nicky's face in a silent order to get out of the way, so Nicky stood and stepped off to one side. Andrew waited until Dan, Matt, and Renee were close enough to hear him before lifting his hand in greeting and saying, "Renee, you made it! Welcome back. I'm borrowing you. You don't mind, do you? I knew you wouldn't."

Renee nodded. "Do I need anything?"

"I've already got it." Andrew hopped to his feet and set off across the parking lot.

Renee did an about-face and followed. She caught up in a couple long strides and fell in alongside him.

Dan's mouth was a thin, hard line but she didn't look surprised and she didn't call after them. Matt opened his mouth, then took his cue from Dan's silence and decided not to say anything. 

No one else moved until Andrew and Renee reached the far edge of the parking lot, and then Aaron turned abruptly away. Instead of heading inside, he started down the sidewalk that looped around the front of Fox Tower and led back to campus.

Mara watched him go, debating. 

"Right," Matt said at last. "Are we going to talk about this?"

Nicky rubbed his arms as if warding off a chill, never mind that it was almost a hundred degrees outside, and jerked his chin at the door. "Not without a drink, we aren't."

They went up to the dorms. Mara detoured to hers and grabbed her backpack, then shot a text to Kevin as she made her way back outside. 

MARA: going to the library. homework.