“I’d like to go home now.” I say monotone.
Principal Aldridge looks at me softly. “Mr. Winters had to leave on urgent business for Mr. Cain. I’m so sorry this happened to you Elle. If there is anything I can do please let me know. Obviously, I won’t even let you go to school today. Just relax. Take a day off.” He turns to Chase and his tone becomes sterner. “My son can take you home, right Chase?”
Chase rolls his eyes. “I told you, this wasn’t my fault.”
“I can take her home.” Jaxson says, standing up.
I wave my head no. “Lance, can you drive me?”
Lance flicks his cigarette out the window, taking his keys out of his pocket.
Chapter 10
The drive back to Cain’s house is awkward and quiet.
Lance has a cigarette in his mouth with the window open. Some of the smoke is wafting in my face. I cough and ask him if he can stop. I’m surprised when he flicks the cigarette out the car and rolls his window up.
His car feels like it’s soundproof. I can’t hear the road outside, or his engine. His car is sexy fast, but it doesn’t make a peep when you’re sitting inside it. Under normal pretenses, sitting in a sportscar like this would be exciting. I would probably have some questions for him like, what’s the name of this car, so later I could Google how much it’s worth.
I couldn’t give a fuck about that right now. I’m sitting beside a guy I can’t stand, wearing old lady clothes. When I think about what happened last night I feel like puking.
Luckily, Chase had found my phone and handed it to me before I left. He tried to apologize again, but I didn’t want to speak to him. Jaxson tried to speak to me as well, but I wanted nothing to do with him either.
I glance at Lance who is fixated on the road ahead of him.
Lance doesn’t seem to want to talk to me, and agreed to drive me back, which suited me perfectly.
Lance yawns and rubs his eyes. I wonder how long all of them were looking for me in the woods. I wonder if principal Aldridge said all of them could have a get out of school free card today as well.
Lance turns to me, then back at the road. “I guess I ended up driving you, right?” I laugh, but it’s more out of frustration. I think he knows the difference. “Look, I’m glad you’re okay. You had everyone worried, especially my father. He had me and Mr. Winters searching everywhere. He would have hired the whole town to search those woods for you if he had to. He’s out of town today on business.”
I nod my head, but instead of responding, take out my cell phone. I try and turn it on, but the battery is completely drained. I worry that the dew from the forest damaged it somehow. The thought of losing my cell phone, my only way to communicate with a world outside of this place, scares me. I want nothing more than to talk to Autumn and go to bed.
Did I seriously just refer to her as Autumn? I must be tired as hell.
The car starts to slow down, and veer off the road. I look at Lance confused.
“I can take you home, right now if you want.” Lance says looking at me coldly.
“Isn’t that what we are doing?”
“I mean back to the city. Elle, you shouldn’t be here. You know it. Just go home. It will be better if you do.”
I can feel a vein about to burst in my head just looking at the cocky bastard. “Drive me to your guest house! Guest house! Not the city. I don’t have a home to go back to.”
Lance sighs. “Look I’m sure your home isn’t as fancy as my dad’s, but you don’t need this.”
“Do you not fucking know? My house burnt down! My parents were in it! They’re dead. Burnt up. Gone. Nothing left. I don’t have a fucking home to go back to.”
That seems to strike him. He turns his head and looks out the car window. He sighs to himself, looks in the rear-view mirror, and drives the car back onto the road.
We are both silent again.
He glances at me then back at the road. “I didn’t know about your parents. That’s terrible.” I continue to look out the window, as if I didn’t hear a word. “My mom- she’s gone- too. I have an idea of what that’s like. It really fucking sucks. I’m sorry.”
I turn to him and nod my head. “I’m sorry for you, too.”
Lance drops me off in front of the guest house. We say nothing to each other when I get out. He immediately drives away when I am fully out of his car.
I can feel a tear forming in my eye. I take out a key, but before I can unlock the front door, Marta opens it and looks at me sadly. She wraps her arms around me, and I lay my head on her shoulder.
Marta caresses her fingers through my hair. “Dearie, you had me so worried.”
“I was worried too.” I say, with a small smile.
Marta says she will have Anna cook up a storm for me. She asks what I want but I tell her whatever Anna has I will eat, right away. I’m starving.
I go into my room, locking the door behind me and plug my phone in. When the red-light glows, I almost want to jump up and down with joy. I settle for plopping myself in my bed.
I take my journal and pen out from under my pillow. I open it up, but I’m not even sure how to process my own emotions right now. I start off with the most prevalent thoughts I have and start to write.
“I don’t belong here. This is not my home. I don’t belong in any home.
