Chasing Spring(64)

I reached up to right it before it spilled onto my tray. “He did?” I asked.

Brian nodded.

“He's in juvie for a few months and then he has to repeat his second semester to graduate,” Brian said, twisting off the cap to his Gatorade.

“Where'd you hear that?” I asked.

“I overheard the ladies in the front office talking about it while I was waiting to see the college counselor,” he explained.

“He deserves even more than that,” I said with a sharp tone. The police had questioned me and Ashley a few times after the event, but I hadn't been sure what they'd do to Trent. Guess I finally had my answer.

Connor walked up to our table and slid into the seat beside Brian.

“If we don't beat Oak Hill this week, we're officially out of the playoffs,” Connor said as he took a seat.

“Thank you for that reminder,” Brian groaned, tossing a fry at him.

I was half-listening to their conversation, half-wondering where Lilah was. For the last two weeks she'd switched back and forth between eating lunch in the library and eating out in the nature center. I always angled myself toward the front of the cafeteria on the off chance she’d walk by. A few times, I'd spotted her with her mother's book in her arms, clutched close to her chest. She'd texted me the night after she’d found it, just a simple thank you, but I knew it’d meant something to her.

I gulped down some water and then glanced up to the entrance of the cafeteria where windows spanned from the floor to the ceiling. I spotted Lilah walking through a small crowd of students with her mom's book in her hand. She seemed intent on heading for the school doors, which meant she was going to the nature center that day.

“Dude. Stop stalking her and focus. I just called your name like four times,” Connor said, throwing a French fry in my direction. I shot him a warning glare. I'd been an ass lately, but there was really no way around it. With everything going on, I was lucky to get through the day without blowing up on somebody.

“I'm listening,” I said, resisting the urge to look back at Lilah.

She’d switched groups in physics, which meant those fleeting moments of spotting her around school were the only thing I had to sustain me while I waited for her.

“We were just talking about renting a spaceship and flying to the moon after school.”

“Sounds good,” I said as I tried to catch one last glimpse of her before she disappeared outside.

“Dude! I knew you weren’t listening.”

I flinched as a handful of fries hit me in the face.

…

Later that night I walked into my house after practice, sore and tired. I needed to shower, cook some kind of dinner for my dad, and then finish my homework. Finals were coming up and my AP tests loomed.

I sat my bag down by the door and then straightened up as I caught of a whiff of something in the air. Garlic.

“Dad?” I called out as I walked down our main hallway toward the kitchen. The light was on, and as I got closer I could hear pots and pans shuffling around on the stove. When I turned the corner into the kitchen, I paused. My father was standing at the stove with headphones on, mixing some kind of sauce.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him cook.

I walked up and patted his shoulder so he'd know I was there. He turned and pulled out one of the headphones.

“Oh, hey, I wasn't expecting you back for a little while. I would have had this finished already,” he said, gesturing to the food.

“No worries, I still need to shower.”

He nodded, shifting his eyes back to the chicken. “Okay, well yeah, the food will be ready when you're done.”

“Do you need any help?” I offered, pointing to his casted arm. He seemed to have managed just fine so far, but I didn't want him to push himself too much.

He glanced down at his arm with a frown and then shook his head. “I've got it.”

I nodded slowly, assessing the stove once more before turning and heading up to shower. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. My dad hadn't touched a bottle in two and a half weeks, he was keeping the house clean, cooking dinner, and earlier that morning as I’d left for school, I’d heard him on the phone with a customer from the repair shop.

I tried not to think too much into it. Instead, I took the stairs two at a time and focused on everything I had to get done for school.





Chapter Sixty-One


Lilah





I took a small bite of my salad, feeling my dad’s stare boring into the side of my head.

“Do I have something on my face?” I asked, sliding my gaze to him. We were eating dinner by ourselves that night and it felt weird without Chase there.

My dad’s brows shot up, and he shook his head before taking a bite of his turkey sandwich. Nice try.

“You're not going to tell me?” I asked.

He narrowed his eyes on his sandwich and then shrugged. “For the past few weeks, you've been quiet like you used to be when Chase first moved in.”

I thought about his observation for a moment, wondering if he was right. “It's a different kind of quiet.”

“Oh really? How so?” he asked with a small smile.

I picked at my sandwich. “I'm not sad like I was then. I'm just…” I paused, trying to clear up my thoughts. “Figuring a few things out.”