You Before Me [dave east]

| twenty

Xiomara;

I pull up at the gas station after work since Dave's tank needed a refill. I step out of the car and stare at all the pumps, furrowing my eyebrows as I realize I didn't even know what type of gas to use.

I don't even know if he'd want me driving his shit but him being in the hospital meant an extra place to travel to so taking bus all the time wouldn't cut it.

I sigh and bend over the driver's seat into the car so I can go in my purse. I take out my phone so I can call Marquis since he knows a little something about cars. I scroll through my contact list for his number which doesn't take long since I don't have too many numbers programmed into my phone anyway.

"Premium gas. 93." A voice tells me out of nowhere which makes me divert my gaze from my phone.

"Excuse me?" He takes his hood down and I realize it's Matéo from the restaurant. Seeing him twice after making up with my family has really been an odd coincidence. We haven't spoken until now but I think I remember him from high school.

"You don't know what gas to use, right? It's the premium one. 93. Works best for these type of cars."

I nod slowly. "It's that obvious I'm not used to this, huh?" I mumble, staring hesitantly at the pump. It just has to be the most expensive type of gas that Dave uses. Some people just give too much into their cars. I'd be okay with something cheap.

Matéo chuckles. "I guess. You don't really seem like the type to drive a sports car either." He says, admiring Dave's car.

"Yeah, it's my boyfriend's." I tell him, quick to shut down the conversation which he's clearly trying to take further.

"Right, I heard about what happened at the beach. I'm sorry." He apologizes consolingly, making me purse my lips.

"Yeah," I whisper as I fill up the tank, not wanting to talk about Dave. What happened has been all over the news since it's not everyday that somebody gets shot at a beach. Over the past two days I had been asked a couple questions by the police but they didn't really care. To them, Dave was just another young black man caught up in gang conflict so it seems.

I still can't get over how quick it all went down.

Today is day two and he still isn't showing any sign of recovery, guaranteed of course, considering he was shot in the chest. It's good enough that he didn't die as soon as he was hit. Dave's a survivor and I couldn't be more proud that he was still holding on.

I hang the nozzle back up and head inside the store so I could pay for the gas. Matéo lingers behind me which makes me furrow my eyebrows but I don't really pay him any mind.

"You do remember me from high school, right?" He asks as we stand in line.

"Sure. We had that class together." I say, not actually knowing myself if we did really have a same class. If I'm honest, I don't remember much from high school. As soon as I turned eighteen, it wasn't really about keeping good grades but more about keeping food on the table.

"No we didn't." He snaps out of nowhere.

I look over my shoulder and glance at him, giving him a weird look. I quickly pay for my gas and head out, driving to the hospital so I can visit Dave. I spent the whole day losing my mind because I missed his face.