Fast Lane (G/t)

7

Back to the present...

Ainsley couldn't believe the plot line that had unfolded on that curious night of unconsciousness. She figured that Thomas was a baddie just by how he spoke over the phone and how he treated Preston at their encounter in the parking lot, but with the nonsense he pulled while she was out, she was glad that Preston was the one to find her first. Who knows what could've happened, otherwise? Yet, that didn't let Preston completely off the hook, even with how nice he was being.

"So... after finding me... and a... a bit of sleuthing or whatever, you just dr-dropped me off back at my dorm?" Ainsley summarized.

With the slow and analytical way Ainsley came to the factual conclusion, Preston couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed in him, taking such a cowardly route. When he thought about it, he knew that while his mother may have understood his choice of solution, his father probably wouldn't have been so supportive. Ainsley's slumped and slightly sickly look didn't help, either. 

"Uh... yeah," he replied, combing through his long hair. "That sounds pretty much right."

She made an unintelligible sound in response, but after a minute or so of contemplative silence, Ainsley eventually continued questioning. 

"But... but, with how deep your.... 'Thomas' went through my things into finding where I lived, you or he could've easily found a name of someone I knew and contacted them if you weren't going to let a doctor get a hold of me."

"You're acting like I didn't want to help you, Ainsley," Preston combated, becoming slightly aggravated with her attitude. "Plus, I'm not one to invade someone's privacy." 

He would've rather been considerate but lacking rather than invasive and helpful... at least, he thought that was better at the time. She already was small and helpless. He truly didn't want to look like more of a threat.

"But u-usually, one learns to call emergency services in an emergency situation." She was surely getting sassy, then - a completely out-of-character action for her, when in the proximity of an intimidating force. Though, she knew that she wasn't wrong.

"I know how to call a number," he stated matter-of-factly.

"So... w-why didn't you?"

"I... I don't know. I just didn't..." Preston really didn't have a new answer besides what he had already said. Her counters were sounding more and more valid.

"It sounded like you... were trying to s-save your own back rather than save m-mine." Preston didn't like how she was repeating what Thomas had said. It just made the whole situation worse for him. "What if someone... hadn't come and found me, once you deserted me? Do you honestly th-think that I would've made it until the morning?"

With her current not-so-barely stable condition, Preston inferred that she had to have been found nearly immediately after she was dropped. Little did he know how right he was. If he was wrong, and things hadn't gone as they had... then they probably wouldn't have been talking at that moment. Knowing who she was, seeing a headline on the school's newspaper about her the next day would've killed him, the security officers probably tracking him down after its hypothetical publishing would've been worse... and all of these selfish thoughts he was having that she and Thomas had figured were the epitome of ruin.

So, as a result, all Preston could stammer was, "N-No."

Ainsley, however, was not accepting of his answer. 

"But... y-you said you were a part a fraternity, whatever one is... handling this joint. They obviously know or should know about Thomas' or whatever his name is' doings, but do they know it was y-your freaking fault that I wasn't under professional care?"