“Yeah.” He nodded without hesitation. “Without a doubt.”
“Why?”
“’Cause it was just that great.” His father grabbed the door handle and stepped out of the room. “Now try to get some sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
“What the heck happened to you?”
Tabitha pulled her hair over the bandage over her forehead and peeked out at Terry from beneath the red strands when he sat down next to her on the bus. “Nothing.”
“You are very accident prone.” Terry dropped his bag down on the floor between them. “What’s Conner got to say ’bout that?”
“Why?” Tabitha asked defensively.
“I’m just saying, girls as accident prone as you tend to have a story to tell.”
“My mama says my head’s up in the clouds too much. It makes me clumsy.”
“Is that it?”
“Yup.”
Terry dropped his head back against the seat, and then let it loll to the side to study her. “You look like hell today.”
“Thanks,” Tabitha said drily. “I feel like hell.”
“You wanna talk ’bout it?”
“You wanna tell me why your mama sold your car?” Tabitha countered.
“Touché.” Terry laughed. “So let’s talk ’bout something else. You make your move with Conner yet?”
“Let’s talk about anything but that.”
Terry raised his eyebrows knowingly. “Little girl, you are a mess.”
Tabitha closed her eyes tiredly and let her head drop back against the seat like Terry’s. She was quiet for a long time before she turned on her side, tucking her hands underneath her cheek and asked, “Do you think I’m pretty?”
“You don’t think Conner’s been hounding you for nothing, do you?” Terry grinned. “Yeah, you’re pretty. Very pretty. You’re one of those late bloomers who just showed up great looking out of the blue. Guess Conner’s smarter than most.”
“I was thinking ’bout cutting my hair,” Tabitha mused. “Short.”
“God, why?” Terry winced.
She shrugged. “Maybe it’d make me less pretty.”
Terry paused at that before his gaze flicked over her, taking in her jeans and Brett’s large flannel shirt she’d put on over her T-shirt. “Did something happen to you, Tabitha?”
“No,” she lied as she closed her eyes, feeling the tears threatening because for the first time since she’d left Wyatt behind yesterday, she could let her guard down. “I like being around you, Terry. You make feel safe, and I dunno why. You’re different, but it’s a good different.”
“Sweetheart.” Terry reached out, cupping her cheek, and it said a lot about him that she didn’t flinch away from the affection. “What happened?”
She didn’t know why she did it, but she crumpled into Terry Dower like he was her only friend in the world, which at the moment felt true, because she couldn’t talk to Wyatt or Clay without making things worse than they already were.
“I’m all alone,” she squeaked, crying silently in a way she’d learned a long time ago. “What am I going to do? I can’t talk to him anymore. He’ll know what happened after he left, and he’ll think I’m stupid because I am stupid and—”
“Okay, let’s not talk ’bout him.” Terry rubbed her back, pulling her tighter against him as he scooted down in the seat, hiding them from prying eyes. “Let’s talk ’bout me instead. You can tell me what happened, and I won’t think you’re stupid.”
Tabitha blinked up at him through her tears. “You won’t?”
Terry shook his head. “No, I promise.”
She believed him, so she told him everything. About her first amazing kiss with Wyatt, and then Brett and Vaughn showing up and ruining everything. She told him what happened in the bathroom. She told him about Clay’s call, and her brother questioning her relentlessly into the night after their mother passed out. Brett’s paranoia was spiked by whatever drugs he was taking, and she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.
It all spilled out of her in hushed, terrified whispers between broken sobs, and on some level she knew it was good to talk about it, but it was draining when she was already incredibly tired. The two of them were scrunched so low in the seat the other kids on the bus probably thought they were doing something indecent, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
When the bus stopped in front of the school, Tabitha looked at Terry with wide eyes and asked again, “Do you think it’ll stop if I cut my hair?”
Terry winced. “I don’t think that’s the best solution.”
“I don’t wanna go to class.” Her voice cracked from the tears and exhaustion. “I wanted to stay home, but Clay said if I didn’t come—”
“How ’bout we skip school today?” Terry suggested. “Just the two of us? You can come back to my place. My parents are working. My brothers might come home, but they ain’t gonna say nothing ’bout you taking a nap in my bed, okay?”
“I don’t want you to get into trouble,” Tabitha whispered.
“If my parents knew I was skipping school to get a girl in my bed, they’d be the happiest two folks in Garnet, I promise you.”
For some reason, the way Terry said it didn’t make it seem like a threat. It sounded sort of funny, and she let out a soft giggle. “If you say so.”
“I don’t know what ya’ll are doing back there,” the bus driver called. “But we’ve arrived in case you ain’t noticed.”
“Okay, come on.” Terry grabbed both their bags, putting one over each shoulder, and stood.
Tabitha pulled her hair over her forehead and kept her head down as she let Terry lead her down the aisle of the bus. Her hand was in his, and it help to dispel some of the tension.
When she stepped off the bus into the sunshine, it was incredibly jarring after a night with no sleep. A part of her brain thought it should still be night. She blinked past it, feeling disoriented. She wiped at her face with her free hand and tried to pull herself together long enough to figure out how they were going to cut school.
“I don’t know how to do this,” she admitted with a wince. “How are we gonna manage cutting school?”
“I might’ve lied when I said it was going to be just the two of us. I’m gonna have to grab a ride. This no-car shit sucks.”
“Who’ll give us a ride? They’ll tell on us.”
“Ah, no.” Terry laughed. “Our secret will be safe. I’ve cut school with him plenty of times.”
“Tabitha!”
“Oh my God.” Tabitha turned into Terry when she heard Wyatt’s voice echo across the parking lot. She hid her face in his chest and whispered, “Does he have his sister with him?”
“If I say yes, are you going to freak out?”
She clutched at his shirt tighter. “Yes.”
“Right.” Terry lifted his arm, calling out, “Conner! Hey, buddy, why don’t you lose your better half?”
As embarrassing as it was, on the second week of school Tabitha stood there on the sidewalk leading to the high school shaking with exhaustion, face swollen from crying, trying to hide from life in Terry’s T-shirt.
“Yeah, he’s not having a great time losing her. They really are the dynamic duo, aren’t they?” Terry mused.
Tabitha giggled again, which seemed insane as everything else that was happening around her. “Is she gone?”
“She’s going to the school with Powers. She doesn’t look happy ’bout it.”
“Why does she care what happens to me?” Tabitha huffed.
“You know it’s built into their genetics to nose into stuff like that. Twenty bucks says she ends up being sheriff instead of Wyatt.”