Nineteen

Chapter Thirty-Seven

We begin the drive home and I notice that the clock reads 12:28. I have to be up early tomorrow for my appointment.

Collin is focused on the road, and I'm focused on him. Today was great, but I just don't know what to make of it. 

It's still warm outside, but he has the heat blasting in the truck in order to keep my wet body warm.

"I need to get my cast back on," I break the silence as I switch my focus to my hand.

"I'm sorry I let that happen to you," he says.

I look at him. Is this why he is doing all this for me? Because he feels guilty that he didn't come to pick me up earlier? Of course it is.

"It's not your fault."

My mood deflates. I don't know what I was hoping this was, but I'm sure it wasn't this.

He doesn't say anything. He just drives.

When we get into the parking lot there are students everywhere. There seems to be some kind of event going on in the yard outside of the dorms. 

"A bonfire?" I ask when the whole thing comes into view.

"Yeah. For the football team at the beginning of the season." He shifts the truck into park.

"Let's go!" I say as I jump out of the truck.

I can barely hear him say "no" as I start to walk across the parking lot to the fire and the crowd of the people.

I walk through some of the people until I'm the directly beside the fire. The heat is burning on the face, but don't care. I'm still wet. "Emory!"

I turn around to see Clark. He's in a football jersey and a pair of athletic shorts. "Why are you wet?" he asks as he takes in my appearance.

I squeal a little bit, "the beach."

He gives me an impressed face, "wow, look at you, taking yourself to the beach the day after the..incident."

My body tenses up at the mention of what happened to me. Just like that, I'm uncomfortable being in the crowd. The fire is making my body melt and it feels like everyone around me are getting closer. My breathing picks up and I can feel the panic rising at the thought of being here.

"Are you okay?" he grabs my arm.

I flinch and stare at him. He repeats the question but I can't make out any words. His eyes shift from mine and begin to gaze behind me.

Right as he does, Collin makes himself present beside of me, cast in hand.

"It's dry," he says and I don't move.

He notices my behavior and takes my hand to lead me out of the crowd. I feel like it's happened all over again.

Clark calls out after us a few times before we reach the end of the crowd. When we get outside of the mess of people, I let out a breath that brings tears to my eyes.

We walk a little further until were directly beside the dorm building. I feel my legs begin to give up as I cry. I lean against the wall as Collin tries to direct me inside.

"Shit, I dropped the cast," he says. He thinks about just leaving it, but instead he says "stay here, I'll be right back." He rubs his hand through my hair before running back to the crowd.

I slide down the wall until I'm sitting against it. I cry into my hands, waiting.

I feel someones hand on my shoulder and I jump. "What's going on?" he asks.

It's Link. He's dressed in jeans and a football shirt.

He sits down beside me, careful of my wounds that he knows nothing about. He wraps his arm around me as we just sit and listen to my sobs.

He finally speaks up and says, "does this have anything to do with the marks you have on you?"

I say nothing. I don't want him to know. I don't want him to know that I was beaten in an alley, all alone.

Right as I begin to cool down, I hear the running steps of Collin.