“I’ll have to think about it,” she said.
“I’m just glad you’re smiling again,” I said.
“Aww, you’re so sweet.”
“I try.”
“Not too hard sometimes,” she said.
“Those jokes of yours are going to get you into trouble one of these days.”
“They’ve already gotten me into trouble more than I care to admit these past twenty-four hours,” she said. “Get with the program.”
Her giggle filled the car, and I was happy she was happy. The tension in the car dissipated and the snow plows were finally out of our way, which meant I could kick up the speed on the highway. I felt the stress I’d been carrying around slowly leave my body, and I started wondering why in the world that was happening now.
What changed?
I looked over at Abby, who was humming to herself, and then it hit me. It was her. It was that smile and that cheery expression that was once the most annoying thing to me in the world. It was her countenance and the strength I now understood she possessed. It was the way she was still smiling, even though her entire world had crippled itself around her.
Maybe this was a little more than just her body. Maybe this was a little more than just a slice of lust.
But I shook the thought from my head as the highway began to widen. We went from four lanes to six, and soon, we would be at eight. In less than two hours, we would be in her hometown, and I still wasn’t quite sure where I was dropping her off.
“Have you decided where you want me to drop you off?” I asked.
“I’ll guide you to my house,” she said.
“I thought you wanted me to drop you off at a restaurant or something, so you could eat?” I asked.
But all she did was grin, and I felt a sort of excitement blooming in my gut. I’d get to see where she lived. Where she grew up. I had no idea why in the world I was excited about that prospect since I wasn’t staying there or anything, but there were two things I did know.
The idea made me excited, and the smile on Abby’s face denoted the same excitement I felt.
Chapter 20
Abby
Once we came upon the exit for my house, I felt a sadness drape over me. The last couple hours of our impromptu road trip had actually been fun. Colin described the job a little more to me, and I got to listen. For the first time since I caught my ex with my best friend, I felt hope. Hope toward a brighter future. Hope toward a way to dig myself out of this hole that had opened up underneath my feet. I gave him directions and sent him on a wild goose chase for my house. Then we pulled up into the driveway, and I sighed, though not with as much relief as I figured it would be.
I took stock of the childhood home I’d grown up in. The light blue shutters against the creamy white house ripped me back to better days. Days of rocking on the porch swing with my father as he read me his favorite books. Days of running around in the driveway with Mom throwing water balloons when it actually got hot during the summer. Days of sneaking in and out of my room, only to be caught and grounded by my parents.
All of it came rushing back while I sat in the car, my body hesitant to move from the seat beside Colin.
“Here we are,” he said.
“Yep. My home.”
“It looks nice,” he said.
“It looks like my father went all out with the Christmas lights again.”
I giggled as they kicked on. It was already five-thirty, and the sun had set beneath the treetops on the land my parents owned. There were icicle lights that twinkled and colorful lights that wound around the columns of our porch. There were color-changing electric luminaries that lined the driveway and a Santa that was waving at people from our front lawn. Dad put up the blow-up snowman beside the house and stuck all sorts of random stuff in the driveway, and all of it overwhelmed my body and filled me with laughter.
I threw my head back and let it all out as Colin sat there and looked at me.
“We never did Christmas lights,” Colin said.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I was never one to put them up. That’s always Dad’s job.”
We sat there in silence for a little bit before I saw movement in the windows, and I started coping with the fact that this was all over. In a few minutes, I would get out of this car and walk into my house and have to tell my mother everything that had happened to me. I’d cry into a cup of my father’s hot chocolate, and they would rub my back and tell me it would somehow all get better, and Colin would be out of my life forever.
“I’m thankful for you,” I said.
“What?” he asked.
“I’m thankful for you.”
“How is someone who is so full of spirit thankful for a Grinch like myself?” he asked.
“Because you gave me a ride when you didn’t have to, you protected me when it wasn’t required of you, and you fed me out of your own pocket. Thank you for your kindness.”
I turned to look at him, taking in his bright blue eyes one last time. I saw a grin cross his face before he nodded, and there was a part of me that wished this wasn’t over. There was a part of me that wanted to tell him to pull out, keep driving, and find us another
