The Devil Child

Chapter Twenty-Seven

 "So, what was up with yesterday?"

Polly sat in the passenger seat of Tom's car, mistified that she was even there, in his car, in her own driveway. He had come to pick her up for school, as if it was his duty to do so, when it wasn't.

Polly wasn't arguing, though. The walk to school was long, and with Doctor Higgins here, Polly didn't like the thought of walking anywhere, alone.

She tucked her feet under her as she buckled herself. The leather seat underneath her warmed from the seat warmer, and Polly took notice of how clean the car was. So unlike how she remembered her father's car being. So unlike anything she really remembered from her childhood. This car screamed security and money. Her family did not.

Polly sent a look to Tom, a look that was something close to a warning. She didn't want to talk about it to him, nor did she really want to be in the car with him. But, she figured Tom did save her yesterday, bringing her home, and he'd been nice enough to offer to bring her to see Minny, too.

Polly figured that Tom had no motive other than to be nice. She usually wasn't as trusting, but seeing him yesterday, seeing him not recognize Tanner, made her feel better about him. He was as clueless to this as Minny appeared to be.

"Why are you picking me up?" She asked instead of answering, her gaze falling out of the window to the foliage they drove past. Fall meant that the leaves were slowly turning into colors unlike their normal, green selves, and Polly was fascinated by the changing of the leaves.

"Minny asked me to." Tom paused for a moment, then released a breath. "He's worried about you, you know."

Polly didn't know how to feel. She wanted to trust Minny, but things were just too coincidental for her to be comfortable with him. She liked Minny and enjoyed his presence, and when they parted ways yesterday, things seemed to be fine. He explain things to her, and she explained things to him, and they'd parted ways feeling like they were okay.

This morning, Polly wasn't so sure she felt the same way.

"There's a lot you don't know about. A lot I'm not comfortable sharing, either."

Tom nodded his head, understanding. His oxford shirt, which was not unlike the one he wore yesterday, was pressed and looked crisp. The sleeves weren't folded up to his forearms like they had been yesterday, but he was wearing nice pants. Polly noted that he looked like he also belonged at the prep school Minny now attended.

"Are you rich?" The words slipped past her mouth without her consent.

Tom laughed at her question as he pulled into the school parking lot. "A little, yeah. My parents are pretty well off. Why?"

Tom turned the car off but didn't get out. He just looked over at Polly, taking in the sight of her long blonde hair and her baby blue tee shirt that had a cat on it this time. It was a very Polly-esque outfit.

"You just dress nice. That's all." Polly took sudden interest in her fingernails.

Tom gave her a lopsided smile, not that she was looking. "I like looking nice. It brings in all the girls."

When Polly looked over to lightly smack his arm, his eyebrows were waggling in a jokingly way. She hit him anyway, scoffing at his choice of words as she opened the car door. The action was very intimate, she realized, in a way that was very friend-like.

She wasn't really friends with Tom, but it struck her that she could be.

Tom got out of the car as well, laughing loudly. A few other students in the parking lot looked over at them, but it didn't bother Polly as she reached for her backpack. She unzipped it, feeling the bite of the fall air on her bare arms, and she reached for a sweatshirt.