Текст книги "Twisted Ties"

Автор книги: K. A. Robinson

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

Chapter Two: Emma

Jesse was on my mind as I drove to Andy’s place. I wondered how different he would be since the last time I’d seen him. Two years was a long time, and people could change a lot in that amount of time. I knew I had. What if I find him, and he’s completely different? What if he isn’t someone I could love anymore? I wasn’t sure how well I would handle finding him, only to lose him again.

I saw Andy’s apartment complex up ahead. It looked exactly like it did on the website. I’d set everything up through emails and phone calls, and I had to admit that I was a bit nervous about renting something without actually seeing it for myself first. I only hoped that his apartment was how it had been described.

The manager had instructed us to use the parking lot around the back of the building, and we did as he’d said. I parked in the visitor parking area while Andy parked in the space reserved for apartment tenants. After exiting our cars, we walked through the back entrance and up to the front desk. A young guy was sitting behind the desk, looking bored out of his mind.

When he saw us, he took his feet off the desk and stood up. “Can I help you?”

“I’m supposed to move into 2B. I think everything was taken care of over the phone,” Andy said.

The boy sat down and started typing on the computer in front of him. “Driver’s license, please.”

Andy pulled it from his wallet and handed it to the guy. After a few minutes of typing, he returned the driver’s license and handed over a set of keys to Andy.

“You’re all set. My name is Josh, and if you need any help getting settled in, just let me know.”

“Thanks, I will,” Andy said.

We turned and walked back toward the rear doors. After locating the elevator, I pushed the button to take us up. The doors slid open instantly, and we shot up to the second floor. Andy’s apartment was right past the elevators. When he opened the door, I was shocked at how nice it was. It was even better than the website had described. I’d selected this place because it was one of the few where I could afford to pay rent until Andy saved up some cash. I couldn’t spend too much money, or my dad would know that something was up.

The apartment was the perfect size for one person. When we walked in, we were standing in the living room. The apartment came fully furnished, so there was already a blue couch and chair along with a coffee table and end table. A medium-sized plasma television was mounted to the wall directly across from the couch. To the left was the kitchen with the standard white appliances. There wasn’t a ton of counter space or cabinets, but it was enough for a single guy to work with. Across the living room, a door led to the bathroom that included a single sink, a toilet, and a small shower. Next to the bathroom was Andy’s bedroom with a full-sized bed beside the window and a dresser.

“This place is awesome. Thanks, Emma,” Andy said as we finished checking the place out.

“No problem. I’m not going to lie. I’m slightly jealous here. I felt bad for putting you here because I thought it would be a dump, but it definitely isn’t. I feel like I should move in here, and you can live in my dorm.”

“It’s nicer than anyplace I’ve lived in before, and I doubt your school would want me in a dorm full of college girls.”

“You’re right. I’d get kicked out of school if I left you there alone. Well, enjoy it here.”

“I will. I should have moved to West Virginia years ago. Compared to California, this place is cheap.”

I laughed. “You can stay here for as long as you want. I might not even go back to California once I finish school. I’ll just go wherever feels right.”

“I don’t blame you. I know enough about your mom to understand why you’d want to stay far away.”

I frowned as I thought about my mom. Even though she had known where I was, she hadn’t tried to contact me once since she kicked me out. It was like she didn’t even care.

“I didn’t mean to make you sad. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I need to get back to my dorm and unpack though. I have freshman orientation tomorrow morning. I don’t want to miss that. Maybe…maybe I’ll see him there.”

“Just don’t get your hopes up, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“I won’t, I promise,” I said.

He didn’t need to know that my hopes were already up.

* * *

I didn’t see Jesse at orientation or anywhere around campus during the next week. Andy was hell-bent on finding a job as soon as possible, so I walked around campus by myself while he was off job-hunting.

It was strange to be on my own, but I kind of liked it. After Jesse had left, nothing had changed at school. I had still been the perfect princess who everyone crowded around, so being alone now was refreshing.

I spent the entire week exploring campus to find my classes, and I also checked out downtown Morgantown. One thing was for sure—this was definitely a party town. Bars were everywhere. It was too bad that I didn’t have a fake I.D. to get into any of them.

West Virginia was very different from California. Back home, you didn’t talk to strangers. You went about your business and avoided eye contact with anyone you didn’t know. Here, it was the complete opposite. People would start a conversation with you while you were in line at Starbucks or while you were waiting for the light to change to cross the street. It was cool to hear the Southern accents coming from everyone’s mouths. Most of their accents weren’t strong, but a few had a serious twang.

It was a complete culture shock, and I loved it. I’d been here for less than a week, and I already felt at home.

I’d made a few friends at the dorm, too. While we weren’t painting each other’s nails and talking boys, it was nice to have a conversation with another human being besides Andy. The girls across the hall from me weren’t very friendly, but everyone else seemed to be. They all asked where I’d moved from and were shocked when I told them. They couldn’t imagine wanting to move to West Virginia from California. I didn’t agree though. There was just something about the down-to-earth nature of these people that made me feel ten times more welcome than I’d ever felt at home.

* * *

I was nervous as I got ready for my first official day of classes. I straightened my hair until my natural waves were completely gone. After making sure that my makeup was perfect, I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

I texted Andy to let him know I’d meet him for lunch after I finished my second class. We’d stumbled upon a cute little family-owned restaurant one evening, and we had decided to meet there for lunch today.

Nervous butterflies made my stomach churn as I walked to my first class. I hated the fact that I didn’t have Andy with me, but he wasn’t enrolled as a student. I had to suck it up and do this on my own. I was a big girl. I could do this.

My mouth fell open when I walked into my first class. It was huge, seating probably close to two-hundred students. It wasn’t even a classroom. It was a small auditorium. I should have expected as much since it was English 101, and all freshmen were required to take an English class.

All of the seats in the back rows were already filled. I slowly made my way down the steps, my eyes searching for an empty spot. Almost halfway down, I found one on the end. I darted down the steps and fell down into it, relieved that I wouldn’t be stuck up front. Even after all this time, I still hated to sit in the front row.

“Hi, I’m Abby,” the girl beside me said.

I turned to look at her and smiled. “I’m Emma. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she said as she returned my smile.

Even sitting down, I could tell that Abby was a tiny girl. She was stick thin but not in a way that looked unhealthy. Her skin was porcelain white and went perfectly with her bright red hair and the freckles across her nose.

“So, where are you from?” she asked.

“California. And you?”

“Tennessee.”

“Your accent is one of the strongest I’ve heard so far.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that, too. You have a bit of an accent, too…or maybe it’s a lack of an accent. It’s strange hearing all of these different dialects after growing up in Tennessee and then coming here.”

“I’m still trying to adjust to the dialect here, too. I’m the odd one out.”

“Not at all. I’ve heard a few different accents around here. You’ll fit right in, except you’re a bit more tan than most of the people I’ve seen.”

“My friend Andy and I pretty much lived on the beach all summer. We both like to surf.”

“That’s so cool. I’ve only been to the ocean one time, but I loved it. I hope I can go back sometime.”

This girl was so sweet. Between her personality and her tiny appearance, I wanted to pick her up and hug her.

Preparing for class, I pulled my book and a notebook from my bag. Once I had everything out, I turned in my seat and searched the sea of faces behind me. After a week with no sign of Jesse, I didn’t expect to see him, so I wasn’t disappointed when I didn’t. I sighed in defeat as I turned back to face the front, and I slouched down into my seat.

I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help but feel disappointment each time I looked for him and found nothing. From the beginning, I knew that there was a good chance he wouldn’t be here. West Virginia was a small state, but he could be at any college.

The professor walked in and greeted us. The room was so large that he had to speak into a microphone clipped to his suit jacket. One thing was for sure—if I were looking for a one-on-one education, I definitely wasn’t going to find it in this class.

After introducing himself as Professor Vernon, he handed out a stack of papers to each person on the bottom row and had them pass the papers back to the rest of us. Once I got it, I saw it was our class syllabus. I flipped through it quickly, skimming over the rules and going straight to the assignments we would have for the rest of the semester.

I wanted to groan out loud when I saw that almost our entire grade would be based on three twenty-page papers and our final. I didn’t mind writing, but twenty pages seemed a bit extreme. What happened to those damn worksheets we did in high school that made us circle the noun? I liked those.

We spent the next ninety minutes going over the syllabus from front to back. It was obvious that I was going to hate this class. Once we were dismissed, I packed my papers and book into my backpack, and then I followed everyone up the stairs and back outside. I didn’t realize that Abby was still beside me until she spoke up.

“What’s your next class?”

“History with Professor Cale.”

“Me, too. Is it okay if I walk with you?” she asked.

“Nope,” I joked.

“Oh…okay. I’ll see you later,” Abby said quietly as she hurried ahead of me.

“Abby! Abby, wait! I was kidding!” I yelled as I raced to catch up with her.

She looked surprised. “I’m sorry. I thought you were serious.”

I laughed. “No, I was just messing with you.”

I found it strange that she would flee like that, but I didn’t ask questions. Something told me that she’d been picked on before. She was timid, like most kids who had been bullied.

We walked the rest of the way to our next class in silence. I was afraid to say anything else to her. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

Our history class was smaller but not by much. We found seats a few rows from the back and sat down. I waited until most of the seats were filled before scanning the room for Jesse. Again, he was nowhere to be found. I sighed in defeat, causing Abby to look over at me.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, just looking for my friend. I haven’t seen him in a long time, but I thought he might be at this school.”

She nodded. “I see. Well, this campus is huge, so he might be here, and you just haven’t crossed paths yet.”

“I hope that’s what it is,” I said as I pulled out my book.

The professor entered the room and introduced herself. The class went exactly like the last. I groaned again as I realized I would have to write at least one paper for this class, too. I better learn to type fast, or I’m gonna be screwed.

Abby invited me to sit with her at lunch, but I declined. She seemed sad until I told her that I had plans with my friend to eat off-campus. After I promised to eat with her on Wednesday, she perked right back up. I waved good-bye, and then I walked back across campus to where my car was parked.

After fighting the lunch traffic, I finally pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot. I didn’t spot Andy when I walked in, but after searching the room a few times, I finally noticed him in the back corner. Once I spotted him, I was shocked that it had taken me so long to find him. While most of the residents were tan, they had nothing on Andy. With his darkened skin and sun-kissed hair, he stood out from everyone else.

If things had been different from the beginning, I wouldn’t have thought twice about crushing on him. Instead, all I could see when I looked at him was Jesse. They were so much alike, both in how they acted and how they looked.

“What are you doing all the way back here?” I asked.

“There weren’t any other tables when I came in. It’s actually kind of nice to be away from everyone else.” He said through a mouthful of food. How polite, Andy.

“I guess so.” I sat down and picked up a menu. I still had a few nerves leftover from this morning, so I wasn’t really hungry.

When the waitress came over, I ordered a grilled cheese and an iced coffee. It wasn’t the most appealing mix, but I didn’t care. Grilled cheese was the only thing that looked even remotely appetizing. The waitress gave me a strange look, but she said nothing as she took my order and left.

“So, how was school?” Andy asked.

“It was okay. I’m not looking forward to all the papers I’m going to have to write this semester though, and I’m sure it’ll be worse once I get through my classes tomorrow. I have a laptop, but I need to get a printer, so I don’t have to constantly run to the library to print stuff.”

“Then, go get one, moneybags.”

I stuck out my tongue. “You’re hilarious. When do you start your new job?”

“Tomorrow. The guy I talked to seemed pretty nice. He had me draw a few things, and he was pretty impressed. I think I’m going to like it there.”

“I’m glad,” I said as the waitress put my food down in front of me.

I’d learned that Andy was as talented as Jesse when it came to drawing. He just wasn’t interested in tattooing, like Jesse was. Instead, Andy used his skills to design custom surfboards for some of the surf shops back home. Obviously, West Virginia wasn’t a surfing kind of place, but Andy had managed to snag a job at a local skateboard shop. Neither of us had expected him to find anything even close to his old job. When he’d called me to tell me that he’d found this job, we’d both been ecstatic.

I started nibbling on my grilled cheese as Andy talked about some of the guys he’d met at the shop. It took me a minute to realize that he’d stopped talking. I looked up to see his mouth hanging open in shock.

“Andy? What’s wrong?” I asked.

He just shook his head as he continued to stare over my shoulder. I was terrified to look behind me, but I did anyway. My mouth dropped open in shock as well. There was no way she could be here, yet there she was. Ally. She had just walked through the door, and she was making her way to the counter. I sat, frozen, as she walked behind the counter and continued into the back room. It appeared that she was not only here, but she worked here as well.

“What the hell? What is she doing in West Virginia?” he asked.

I felt my blood start to boil. I knew exactly why she was here. “I have a pretty good idea,” I spit out.

His eyes widened as he realized what—or rather, who—I was talking about. “Jesse.”

“Jesse,” I confirmed.

“How did she even know where to find him? We searched for months, and nothing came up. There are thousands of people in this town, and we just took a chance and hoped for the best when we came here.”

“She obviously came here to find him. I’m betting if she has a job here, then she plans to stay for a while. She must have found him.”

“Fuck!” Andy growled.

Nausea overtook me as I realized what that could mean. “Andy, you don’t think…”

“What?”

“You don’t think she told him what she knows, do you? I never wanted him to know!” Tears were threatening to run down my cheeks, but I refused to let them flow.

“She wouldn’t.”

“Are you serious right now? Look at what she’s already done! There’s no way that she didn’t tell him.”

“Unless…”

“Unless, what?”

“Unless she didn’t tell him yet. Maybe she’s saving it for when you show up. I never kept it a secret that you were searching for him. Maybe she wants to use it to hurt you if you ever found him.”

I paled as I thought about it. He was right. That was something that Ally would do without thinking twice. When it came to her, she always did what she needed to make sure she would come out on top.

“Oh god, you’re right,” I whispered. “She’s going to destroy me as soon as she knows I’m in town.”

“Breathe, Emma. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to go and talk to her to see if I can find out where Jesse is.”

“No!” I shouted, causing a few people at the tables around us to glance our way. “You can’t. As soon as she sees me, she’s going to go running to him.”

Andy sighed. “What do you think we should do then?”

“Let’s get out of here. We’ll wait a few hours and then come back. We can see where she goes once she leaves here. She might lead us right to him.”

“This is nuts. Just let me go talk to her.”

“Andy, I know she’s your sister, but you can’t. She is a manipulative bitch, and she hates me. Anything you do to help will only make things worse. Let’s try my plan first and see what happens.”

“Fine, but we need to get out of here before she sees us.”

“Let’s go,” I said as I threw a few bills on the table.

I turned to the door while Ally was standing behind the counter. She was in deep conversation with some guy that I assumed was the manager. As long as she kept talking to him, she wouldn’t notice our escape.

I didn’t breathe until we were out of the restaurant and walking down the sidewalk toward where my car was parked. Andy’s car was parked a few spaces behind mine.

“Let’s head over to your apartment to wait,” I told him as I unlocked my car.

He nodded. “I’ll see you in a few.”

Chapter Three: Emma

I was a nervous wreck all the way back to Andy’s house. I’d never factored seeing Ally into my plans, especially seeing her and Jesse together at once. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d found him since she had a job here. If she hadn’t, she would have moved on and continued her search. I mean, come on. She hadn’t come all this way to get a job as a waitress.

How could he even stand to look at her after what she’d put me through? Surely to God, he had to know that she’d played us both. Jesse wasn’t stupid.

Oh god, what if she’d come all this way to tell him how much she loved him, and he took her in? What if they are together now? My stomach rolled at the thought of her touching him. I didn’t think I could handle seeing the two of them together.

By the time I made it to Andy’s, I was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. He had to practically carry me up to his apartment. Once he managed to get me inside, he put me on the couch and sat down beside me.

“Emma, look at me. You’ve got to breathe,” he whispered as he hugged me.

I relaxed into him, unable to sit up. Every bad possibility that I could think of was rolling through my head. What if she tells him? I didn’t think I could stand to look at Jesse, knowing he knew just what I’d done.

“I can’t handle this,” I cried out.

“Yes, you can. You didn’t come all this way just to give up. So what if Ally is here? It doesn’t change the fact that you still care about him. It’s been two years, Emma, since you walked away from him, and you still can’t let go. That should tell you something. You still love him as much as you did back then. People search their entire lives to find someone they care about as much as you care about Jesse. You can’t just walk away because of Ally.”

“What if she tells him?” I whispered.

I felt him tense.

“There’s nothing we can do if she does. I told you from the beginning that I thought he should know. I never wanted to hide it from him. Lying to him won’t make it go away. It’ll only haunt you until you tell him the truth.”

“I plan to tell him once we get everything worked out. I’m just afraid that he’ll hate me.” That was mostly true. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I had ever planned to tell Jesse the truth. I wasn’t sure I could handle his reaction.

“Then, he’ll hate me, too. What’s done is done, and there’s nothing either of us can do about it. I wish I could change what happened, but I can’t.”

“We were stupid,” I said.

“We were.”

I closed my eyes as the worst mistake of my life played over and over in my head.

“Emma? Are you okay?” Andy whispered in the darkness as we sat together on his couch.

I raised my head to look up at him. “No.”

“Me either,” he said as his other hand came up to cup my face.

A small amount of light was coming from the kitchen. It was enough to see him leaning down toward me. I only had a second to realize what he was about to do before he did it. I froze as his lips crushed against mine. I gasped in shock, but I didn’t pull away.

My head was fuzzy as I opened my mouth to allow his tongue to slip inside. I moaned as he pushed me, so I was lying back on the couch with him on top of me. Fuck, this feels good. My head swam from both lust and the alcohol I’d consumed.

Both of his hands went to my hips and pulled me tighter against him. I could feel him through his shorts, and lust shot through my veins, making me moan. His breath was ragged as he kissed a trail from my lips to my neck. I moved my head to the side to give him better access.

“You smell so good,” I panted.

“You taste good,” he muttered before running his tongue across my skin.

Goose bumps broke out erupted everywhere as he continued to kiss and lick his way across my skin. He raised me up long enough to pull my shirt over my head before pushing me back down onto the couch. His hands skimmed across my stomach, causing my muscles to jump. His kisses felt like fire as he kissed between my breasts and down my stomach. I wiggled my hips, trying to feel his thickness against me.

“Emma? Emma! Where did you go?” Andy asked.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about…”

“About, what?”

“That night.”

He was silent as he studied me. So many things had been left unsaid between us, even after all this time. We’d talked about what had happened but not really. Every time one of us had mentioned it, the other would change the subject. I knew that we would have to talk about it eventually, but I couldn’t. If we admitted to what had happened, then it would be true.

“Don’t think about it. Think about how you’re going to get Jesse back,” Andy said as he hugged me.

“You’re right. I can’t let Ally destroy everything again. I came all this way to find Jesse, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

* * *

I felt like an idiot as I sat outside in my car with Andy, waiting for Ally to leave work. It felt wrong to follow someone, like we were stalking her, but I didn’t have a better plan at the moment.

The restaurant had closed almost twenty minutes ago. We’d been sitting here for over half an hour, and there was still no sign of Ally. Surely, she would be leaving before much longer.

I had class early tomorrow, and I didn’t want to sit out here all night. I could barely keep my eyes open as it was. More than once, Andy had nudged me when my eyes started to close.

This is getting ridiculous.

I opened my mouth to suggest going home and trying again another night when the restaurant door opened. Ally and a few other girls came out. I watched as Ally waved good night to them, and then she walked over to an older model Ford Escort.

“Showtime,” I said to Andy as I started my car.

It was almost eleven, but a few cars were still on the road. As I followed her, I made sure to stay far enough back, so she wouldn’t notice me. She had no reason to suspect someone was following her, but it would look suspicious if the same car tailed her the entire way home. She slowed and turned into a driveway next to a one-story white house. I was surprised at just how close to campus she was.

I parked a few cars down the street and watched as she walked inside the house.

“Now what?” Andy asked.

“I have no idea. Maybe wait around for a few to see if someone comes out?”

“Really?” Andy asked in disbelief.

“Do you have a better idea?” I shot back.

“Yeah, let’s go knock on the door and see if Jesse answers.”

“And what if he doesn’t? Just because she’s here doesn’t mean he is. This might not even be her house. She could be visiting a friend.”

“Okay, you’ve got a point. But do you really think someone is going to randomly walk out of the house this late at night?”

I sighed. I didn’t, but I wasn’t sure what to do. “Not really.”

“Why don’t we come back tomorrow? If the car is still there, we’ll know it’s her house.”

“I guess,” I said, unwilling to leave just yet.

“Come on, Emma, we need to go. We’re starting to act like stalkers.”

He had a point. I never thought I’d find myself desperate enough to sit outside a house, hoping that someone walked out.

“Okay. I’ll drive by tomorrow before class to see if anyone is around.”

* * *

No one was outside when I drove by the next morning. I hadn’t really expected to see anyone, but it still sucked. I was starting to feel desperate. There was a good chance that he was in that house, and I couldn’t even see him. I hated the fact that he might be living with Ally, but I couldn’t do a thing about it. I just had to wait and hope for the best.

My two classes were much like the day before. In each one, we went over our class syllabus the entire time. Abby wasn’t in either of them, but I managed to meet a few new people who seemed nice enough.

I sat by myself at lunch. I knew that I could sit with one of the girls I’d met earlier, but I didn’t want to. I was too preoccupied with finding Jesse to be social. After lunch, I dropped off my books in my dorm room before getting in my car and driving to the restaurant where Ally worked.

Her car was parked out front, so I knew she wouldn’t be home. Now was my chance. I had to go while she wasn’t at the house. I was terrified as I drove to the house she had entered last night.

Maybe if I knocked on the door, Jesse would answer. Again, I knew I was grasping at straws, but I didn’t care.

I parked a little ways down from the house and stepped out of my car. My heart was beating out of my chest as I walked up the steps to the front door. I took a deep breath before knocking on the door. When no one answered, I knocked again. I stood outside, feeling like an idiot, as I waited for someone to answer. After the third time, I finally gave up and accepted that no one was home. I turned and walked back down the steps and to my car. I sat in my car and waited for over an hour to see if someone would come home.

With no signs of life, I finally gave up and drove back to my dorm. I had a small assignment from my math class today, and I needed to get it done before I forgot about it.

After I finished my assignment, I drove to the local mall and purchased the printer I’d mentioned to Andy before. It was sad that I was excited to go out for a printer. I had absolutely no life outside of finding Jesse and spending time with Andy. Since Jesse was still a puzzle and Andy was working late, that left me with my printer.

I returned home and took my time with hooking it up and installing the software. When that was done, I checked my Facebook page to see if I had any new messages. I smiled when I saw one from Lucy, asking how I was.

She thought I was nuts for traveling across the country to find Jesse, but she still loved me. When I’d first told her about my plans, she had gotten mad at me. She’d pointed out that there was no way we would be able to stay close while living so far apart. I’d known she was right, but it hadn’t changed my decision.

After messaging her back, I sent my dad an email to let him know that everything was going well. Then, I shut off my laptop and crawled into bed. There was no use in going back out to see if Ally had returned to the same house. Even if she had, it wouldn’t mean that Jesse was there with her.

I closed my eyes as exhaustion took over. The last thought I had was whether or not I was insane.

* * *

Over the next two weeks, I fell into my new schedule. I only had morning classes, so after I was finished with those, I went back to my dorm and worked on my homework. When that was done, I’d either go to Andy’s house on his nights off, or I’d park outside of Ally’s house, like a stalker. I knew I was being pathetic, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Occasionally, I’d mix it up by going out for dinner with Abby, but that had been rare. I considered her a friend, but we weren’t close enough for me to tell her why I was really here.

When I went to Andy’s, we’d order something to eat and watch movies. Once in awhile, he’d drag me out to see a movie in an actual theater, or we’d do something dorky, like bowling. I had to admit that I was glad he’d decided to come with me.

I’d made a few friends since school started, but I was too focused on Jesse to put much energy into bonding with people. I knew something would have to give, or I was going to lose my damn mind. My stress levels were through the roof at this point.

Things finally did change one night, but it wasn’t in the way that I’d hoped. As each day had passed, I’d found myself spending more and more hours outside of Ally’s house. More than once, I’d fallen asleep and woken up the next morning, almost late for class. I’d started bringing my Kindle with me to pass the time, and it’d seemed to help most nights.

Unfortunately for me, I’d forgotten my Kindle tonight. Andy was working again, and I couldn’t call him to keep me awake. I’d caught myself drifting off several times, only to jerk awake. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, it was dark, and someone was tapping on my window. I groaned as I looked at the time on my dashboard. It was after midnight.