“What the hell are you doing?” An angry voice, that one, but at least one I recognized: Luke.
“Coming to the aid of a damsel in distress,” drawled the Jared-like voice.
“That’s no damsel,” retorted Luke, and for some reason I felt vaguely offended. Who was he to say whether I was a damsel or not? Maybe I was a damsel. Whatever a damsel even was. “That’s my girlfriend, and we’re on a date. So you can just go back to–”
“Whether or not she’s your girlfriend,” interrupted the Jared sound, “it looks to me like she’s saying no. Not that she’s in any condition to be saying anything, actually.”
The bickering continued, growing more heated, but my attention was drawn back to the black arm, which was now gently lifting me to a sitting position. Who was he? It seemed like a reasonable question.
“Who are you?” I therefore asked.
“Carl, miss. My name’s Carl.” As if that settled it.
Carl. Who? “Who…” I tried again. Now that I was sitting up, I could get a better look at him.
“Wait a minute. You look familiar.”
He smiled. “You going to say Will Smith?”
“No. Seriously. I saw you…at the concert?”
Carl nodded. “That’s right.”
“You’re with…” I couldn’t finish. Jared. Carl worked for Jared. So I hadn’t been imagining his voice. I could still hear Luke and the other voice – him – angrily quarreling, and I attempted to peer over Carl’s shoulder, but it was too dark for me to make anything out.
For no particular reason, I began to shiver. In spite of the warm night, my teeth were chattering, and the trembling spread right down my body.
“Hey, hey. You’re okay now,” said Carl gently. “Let’s get you out of here.”
I shrank back – I didn’t want someone else, anyone else, touching me right now, but Carl didn’t make a move. He just waited there, his arm held out steadily in offer, until I took it and pulled myself up and out of the car.
My shivering didn’t stop, though. The night wasn’t cold – somehow I could sense that – but I felt like ice water instead of blood was running through my veins.
As if from nowhere, Carl held out a black leather jacket. When I didn’t object, he draped it gently over my shoulders, and I slipped my arms into the sleeves. As I drew it around me, I took in the scent of the leather and something else – a fragrance of some sort, very faint, but intoxicating. It’s his. I knew it. Jared’s jacket.
“Where are we going?” I asked, following Carl as he led me away from Luke’s car. I strained to make out Luke and the guy I now knew for certain was Jared. The arguing had stopped, but not the commotion… I heard what sounded like a smack or a punch. Are they fighting? Because of me?
“Home,” he said. “Your home. Or wherever you’re staying. Which is…?”
Somehow I felt safe telling him. “Ridley Academy. But it’s too far; you couldn’t possibly. If you could just call me a cab or something…” My voice trailed off. How could I pay for a cab? “Or a bus…”
“There’s no bus at this hour,” said Carl firmly. “I’m taking you to Ridley. No arguments.”
I had none to give anyway, so I decided to accept gracefully. And gratefully. He was being so kind.
As Carl opened the door of a long vehicle and I slipped into the back seat, a wave of shame washed over me. I sat there numbly till Carl opened the driver’s side door and took his seat. “I’m so sorry,” I began.
“Sorry for what?” he said. “Your jerk of a boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Well, that’s something. But listen here. You are never to apologize for something like that. You did nothing wrong.” He paused, and it seemed like he was going to say something more, but instead he just sighed. The car tires crunched over the gravel, and then I heard the smooth, even purr of the motor as the car found pavement.
Neither of us spoke while Carl took a few turns and then eased onto the on-ramp to the highway. Once the car reached its cruising speed, I finally leaned back and examined the vehicle.
This thing was huge. I could stretch my legs out fully and not touch the back of the driver’s seat. A rope of neon blue and pink lights glowed along the interior roof of the vehicle. Is this a car or a disco? Was I still drunk?
“There’s some water in the compartment to your left,” he said.
Water? Compartment? My brain finally turned on, and I realized I must be in a limo. I’d never actually been in one before, but I’d seen them on TV. I felt along the left side of the seat and pushed open a sliding panel. Inside were six bottles of water. I opened one and drank greedily. I hadn’t even realized I was thirsty, but when I’d finished most of the bottle, I did feel marginally better.
I tried to make out the hands on my watch, but I couldn’t focus. “What time is it?”
“About one in the morning.”
“Crap.”
I took another swallow from the bottle of water. “What about Luke?”
“The punk in the car?”
I nodded. “Right.”
“Don’t you worry about him. He won’t be bugging you anymore.”
I had to know. “Whose jacket is this?”
“That’s Jared’s.”
“But – are we just leaving him there? Jared?”
Carl grunted. “Man’s got a lot on his plate. He’ll deal with your, uh, with this Luke, and my job is to take you home. Boss’s orders.”
“How long will it take to get to Ridley?” I asked, trying to work out an estimate in my head. Could I get there before some sort of alarm was raised?
“Well, this thing don’t do so well on winding roads. Maybe a normal car could make it in a couple of hours, but not this boat. Built for comfort, not for speed. But we’ll get you there well before sunup, don’t you
