Lovestruck (EDITING)

46: I'll Be Strong

"Oh man," I hear a deep voice groan and my eyes flicker open.

Jayden is sitting up beside me, rubbing his head. I squint at the blinding morning sunlight that shines directly in my face and sit up way too quickly. My head begins to spin and I groan in response to the throbbing headache that replaces the dizziness after a few moments.

"Me too," I groan, cupping my head in my hands.

"We should get back," Jayden mumbles, suddenly climbing out of the back of the truck.

"You seriously want to face all that right now?" I ask, confused by his sudden enthusiasm to go home.

"We're going to have to face it sooner or later," he argues, pulling the blanket from me and rolling it up.

"I choose later," I lay back down on my back and fold my arms, hearing Jayden open and close one of the truck doors.

I take a deep breath and comb my messy hair with my fingers. Running away forever sounds very tempting at the moment. The truck begins to vibrate as Jayden starts the ignition and I jump up in shock as we begin to move.

"Hey!" I slam my hands against the back window and I see Jayden raise an eyebrow at me in the review mirror as the truck stops moving.

I realize I have no choice but to go home. It was fun to lose control yesterday, but I promised myself it was just for a day. I need to make sure my mom knows I'm okay, and I need time to think clearly without the adrenaline rush of being on the run clouding my thoughts. Jayden's right. Even if I choose later, eventually that will become sooner. It's better to just get it over with than to keep dragging it out.

I climb out of the back of the truck and into the passenger seat, frowning at Jayden for rushing me.

"That's an awfully sour face, Skye. You wouldn't want the wind to change and keep it that way, would you?" Jayden teases as he starts the ignition up again and pulls out onto the road.

***

"Can't we just drive around the block again?" I beg Jayden when we pull up outside my house.

"We've driven around the block nine times. Gas isn't free," he complains.

"I'll pay you," I offer.

"Get out of the car, Skye," Jayden instructs, reaching across me to open the door. "Your mom is probably in there worried about you."

"God, when did you become such a goody-goody?" I whine, climbing out of the truck and leaning against the door in annoyance.

"I'll see you at school, if my parent's don't kill me," he responds, ignoring my comment.

"Wait," I grab the hem of the borrowed sweatshirt I'm still wearing and begin to take it off.