School of Secrets (The Perkins School for Self Improvement #1)

Chapter 17

It's almost four-thirty when we finally stop walking around, and by this point I'm willing to bet that we've walked through the whole town at least  twice. My phone has been the only interruption to the silence, and each time Derek's called me I've managed to ignore him.

I've been telling myself the two of us can talk later, in person, when I've figured out what to say.

I'm lost in my own thoughts when the rain begins again, forcing me to pull up the hood of my coat and debate where we're supposed to be going.

"Are you hungry?" I query, my gaze going to Creighton.

Her only response is a shrug.

"You know, you can't skip meals forever." My tone is harsher than I expect it to be, and she finally looks at me.

"I know." she says simply, absentmindedly scuffing the toe of one of her sneakers against the pavement.

I realize now that I'm starving.

The two of us find ourselves heading back down a maze of streets. We end up in front of a diner which is so busy that it's easy for us to blend into a corner booth. We sit across from one another, silence presiding once again.

I spend a couple minutes people watching, trying to make determinations about the lives of each person who walks past the diner window.

The waitress comes and goes, leaving me to return to my silent mission.

I'm in the middle of trying to figure out the life story of a man in a sinister-looking trench coat when Creighton finally speaks to me again.

"Are you okay?" she demands, studying me intently.

I consider that for a minute, trying to determine how to answer the question.

"I'll be fine." I decide, meeting her gaze, "What about you?"

"I'll be fine too, I guess."

The waitress reappears, delivering our drinks and sticking around to get our orders. Derek calls me again after she leaves, and this time I let my phone continue to ring. It's sitting on the table, causing the surface to vibrate slightly each time the device rings again.

Creighton glances at my phone before meeting my gaze across the table, a frown taking up a position on her face.

"Derek?" she wonders.

I nod.

"He's probably been back at the school for a couple of hours now," Creighton tells me, "he's most likely been looking for you since he got there. He can't find you, so he's worried."

She takes in my expression.

"You should probably answer that."

"He can wait," I argue, "I'll talk to him when I get back to the school."

"Yesterday at dinner," Creighton tells me, "I was going to talk to him. It's not his fault, not really. He'd never have done something like that if he had a choice. If Amber's family knew his circumstances, maybe ... they would probably forgive him too. At least they would know who did it. Derek needs someone to forgive him. This is driving him crazy."

I nod.

"I told him that he needs to forgive himself before he'll listen to anyone else."

The food arrives, resulting in another round of silence. It feels like an eternity goes by with the two of us concentrating on nothing but our meals, until Creighton finally glances at me again.