Man Overboard

18. Best Friends Just Won't Leave Your Side

A low beeping sound woke me up the next morning. It took me a few seconds to realize it was the alarm clock, which meant I had to get up for school. I thought about lying in bed for a few minutes, but I didn't want the alarm to wake Tom up since he had gotten little sleep over the weekend.

I reached across Tom's chest, trying my best not to disturb him, and turned off the alarm. I carefully crawled out of the covers before strategically climbing out of bed. Tom's room was arranged so that one side of the bed was pressed up against a wall, which meant I had to go to the foot of the bed to get out. Tom kept saying we would move it, but we just haven't gotten around to it.

"Do you need a ride to school?" Tom murmured, his voice sounding groggy from just having woken up. Apparently I hadn't been quiet enough.

I glanced over at him to see if he was just sleep-talking, something I had discovered he did from time to time. Tom's eyes were open and looking back at me, but they were glazed over. He looked exhausted.

"No, that's okay," I replied. "I can just walk." Tom needed to get some more rest before his shift at work. I walked over to the dresser so that I could start getting ready for school, hoping that Tom would get the point and go back to sleep.

"It's like a twenty minute walk, Willow," Tom sighed. "You'd be late for your first class."

"That's okay," I shrugged, taking out my clothes for the day. I turned back around to see Tom getting out of bed. "Tom, no."

"It's fine. I don't mind driving," he insisted. "I'm not going to let you be late for class. Your education is important." Tom walked over to the closet and slipped on his checkered Vans.

"Tom, it's not that big of a deal," I persisted. "I can walk."

Tom shook his head. "Nope. You finish getting ready. I'll be in the kitchen."

Before I could protest any further, Tom left the bedroom. I sighed and continued to get ready for school. I moved faster than usual; the sooner I was ready, the sooner Tom could drive me to school and then come back home and sleep.

Fifteen minutes later I came out into the kitchen, finding Tom nearly falling asleep into a bowl of cereal. I sat down across from him at the kitchen table, setting my backpack on the floor.

"Tom," I started. Tom's head shot up and he looked at me sheepishly. "You can't drive me. You'd fall asleep at the wheel."

"No," Tom denied. "I was just...resting my eyes while I waited for you."

"Stop being so stubborn," I sighed exasperatedly. The sound of a door opening resounded through the small apartment. I turned around to see Mark, who was just coming into the living space from his room.

"What's going on here?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow at Tom and me.

"Tom insists that he drive me to school when he needs to go back to bed," I answered. I turned to glower at Tom, but he remained defiant.

"I don't want her to walk and be late," Tom appealed to Mark.

"I'll be fine!"

Mark chuckled at our arguing, catching both Tom's and my attention.

"You know, I can drive Willow to school," Mark stated. "I have to drive to class anyways."

Tom frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Mark nodded. "Willow's right; you should get some sleep." Tom glanced over at me, as if checking for my permission, not that he had wanted it before when he was insisting he drive. I nodded slightly and Tom turned back to Mark.