Chapter 153 Chapter One Hundred And Fifty Three
LENA'S POV
Nicole stopped on the steps, shielding her eyes from the sun as she scanned the lot. "Should we wait for the guys or just leave? Jake and Noah aren't out yet. I think they might still be at the library."
I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, suddenly aware of how just how exhausted I felt.
Every muscle in my body ached from scrubbing for so long, and I could still smell marinara sauce in my hair despite my best efforts to wipe it out. "Have you tried calling them?"
"Good idea." Nicole pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts, hitting Jake's contact that she’d saved as “My Pet Monkey” with three heart emojis after that. Then she put it on speaker.
It rang twice before Jake's voice crackled through. "Wicked witch, what's up?"
"Are you guys done yet? We're heading out."
"Already? Damn, you guys are fast." There was rustling in the background, I imagined it was the sound of books being moved. "We're still organizing stuff here. Mr. Reeves has us doing the entire reference section and it's taking forever to wade through all this."
"Well, how much longer? I'm not waiting around for another hour."
"I don't know, Nicole. Maybe thirty minutes? An hour tops?"
Nicole huffed impatiently. "That's too long. I'm hungry and tired and I smell horrible, I need to go home and wash this off."
"You have my spare key, don't you?" Jake said. "Just take my car and go on ahead. I'll head home with Noah when we're done. We're almost finished anyway."
"Is Jace there?" Nicole asked, her voice taking on a protective edge. "What about Marcus? I hope they aren't making trouble for you. If they are, just call out for Mr. Reeves."
I stiffened at the mention of Jace's name, my stomach doing that annoying flip that it always did when I thought about him.
Nicole and I waited, and several tense seconds passed without our hearing from him on the other end.
“Jake?” Nicole asked, “Jake, are you there?”
But nothing. He never responded.
“Maybe we should go look for him,” I suggested, seeing the sheer panic in Nicole’s eyes.
“Jake, answer me! Are you—"
“Hello?” Jake's voice came through loud and clear, making Nicole and I heave a sigh of relief. "Sorry, the service in here isn't great.”
“You idiot,” Nicole hissed, “I was so worried, I thought you were being attacked or something!”
Jake just laughed it off, answering sarcastically, “I can handle myself, Mom. And thanks for the vote of confidence."
"I'm just saying—"
"We're fine, okay? Jace is being surprisingly civil, and although Marcus has definitely glared at me one or twice, he’s actually helping. It's all very Kumbaya in here. Now can you please stop worrying and let me finish so I can go home too?"
Nicole grinned and hung up the phone. "Well, you heard him. Let's go, go, go!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward Jake's Jeep, which was parked in its usual spot near the gym.
The drive to the Dawson house was quick, only about twenty minutes whizzing through familiar streets.
Nicole chattered the whole way about how ridiculous detention was going to be, how she couldn't believe Allison had the audacity to flirt with Mr. Reeves after everything, and how she thought the look on Mrs. Henderson's face when she took away Allison's phone was priceless.
I mostly listened, letting her voice wash over me, grateful for the distraction from my own spiralling thoughts.
When we pulled into the driveway, Nicole put the car in park and turned to me with a warm smile. "You did good today, Lena. I know I’ve said it before but somehow I feel the need to repeat it. I know it may not feel like it, but you're stronger than you think."
"Thanks," I said softly. "For everything. You stood up for me and got in trouble with me and—"
"Threw cake at Allison's face?" Nicole gave me another one of her signature wicked grins, looking incredibly gothic in her dark makeup. "Please. You basically gave me my birthday gift this early, I will sleep well tonight knowing that I got to give that girl a tiny piece of what she deserved."
I laughed despite everything. "Still. Thank you."
"Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for." She reached over and squeezed my hand.
"Now get out of my car. Jake's mom is making meatloaf for dinner and I've gotta jet before they pounce on it and eat it all before I get there. That woman makes the best meatloaf in the country if I dare say so myself, even better than my mom’s, though I know you’re not actually supposed to say that. Anyway, Jake's dad has been known to eat three-quarters of it in five minutes, so go on, hop to it."
I quickly climbed out, slinging my bag over my shoulder and waving her off. "Thanks for the ride! Drive safe!"
"Always Lena!" she called back, already backing out of the driveway. “Dream of me tonight!”
I laughed softly, watching her taillights disappear down the street before turning toward the house.
The familiar white colonial stood before me, looking warm and welcoming in the afternoon light. It was strange how much this place had started to feel like home over the past few months.
Inside, the house was quiet. I could hear the distant sound of the TV from the living room, some old train documentary, probably. Martin's favourite show to watch when he wasn’t in his room playing with actual trains.
I found him exactly where I expected: on the living room floor, surrounded by his elaborate train set.
He was meticulously adjusting the tracks, his face serious with concentration, organizing and reorganizing everything a hundred times until it was perfect.
"Hey, bud." I dropped my bag by the door and walked over to him. "How are you doing? First day back from school, right? Did you have fun?"