I carry my bag downstairs, and decide to call Jase. I don’t know if Candace has spoken with him this morning, but I call him anyway to let him know what happened last night.
“Hey, Ryan.”
“Jase, hey. You have a minute?” I ask as I start making myself a coffee for the road.
“Yeah. What’s up?”
“Have you talked to Candace this morning?”
“No, why? Did something happen with her parents?” he asks, sounding worried.
“It wasn’t good, man.”
“Tell me.”
“Her parents are a piece of work. Pretentious dicks. I don’t know the whole argument ‘cause I was in the other room, but there was a lot of yelling, and when I went in there to get her, her parents threatened to cut her off. Told her they were done with her—threw her out.”
“Shit,” he sighs out. “How is she?”
“She didn’t talk, but I didn’t ask either. She was just really upset. I stayed with her for a while last night, but I wasn’t sure if she had called you, so I wanted to let you know,” I tell him as I screw the lid on to my travel mug and walk over to sit down on the couch.
“Thanks. I’ll try giving her a call. I hate that she’s stuck there.”
“She’s not. I’m about to go pick her up.”
“Where are you guys going?” he asks, and I’m surprised that he doesn’t already know.
“Has she not told you?”
“Told me what?” he questions.
“She’s coming home with me to my mom’s for a few days.”
“What?” Yeah, he had no clue by the shock in his tone. “I can’t believe she didn’t say anything to me.”
“Sorry. I figured you knew.”
“No.”
All of a sudden, I feel the need to talk to him about Candace. Knowing that the two of them are like family and that he’s really protective of her, I need to know if I should be pursuing her. As awkward as this is, I go ahead and lay it out there.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Yeah . . .?” he responds.
“Look, I know the two of you are really close, so I feel like I should let you know that . . .” I pause briefly before admitting, “I really like her.”
“I figured as much,” he lets out with a chuckle under his breath. “Have you told her?”
I’m relieved that he’s being so relaxed about what I just said.
“No. I don’t know where her head is at. I’m not sure if she’d even be interested in anything.”
“I think she is,” he says, giving me hope, and then adds, “Look, I get that she’s closed off, but she wouldn’t be hanging out with you like she has been if she didn’t trust you.”
“She’s the hardest person I’ve ever had to read,” I admit with a laugh.
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but you need to know that she’s been going through a lot this year. It’s been rough, and I’m just gonna leave it at that. So if you’re anything less than serious about her, then don’t go there.”
He tells me this, and I try not to wonder too much about what’s going on with her, though I’m beginning to think that there could be a lot more to her parents than what I’ve seen.
“I hear you,” I tell him.
“I’m serious. She isn’t like most girls. She’s really innocent, so don’t push her,” he warns.
“It’s not like that with her.”
“I don’t mean to sound like an ass or anything.”
“Jase, man. It’s fine. I get it,” I tell him, and a part of me is glad that he’s being this way about her, that she has someone like him there for her.
“Mark and I are hanging out with his family, so I’ve gotta run. I’ll try giving her a call though.”
“Okay. Thanks, man. I’ll talk to you later.”
Hearing him assure me that I’m not wasting my time soothes some of the anxiety I’ve been having about Candace. This girl has woven herself into my life, and for a change, I want to keep her there.
Chapter Nineteen
Candace was a little antsy when I picked her up this morning. We’re running later than what I told my mom because I didn’t want to rush her. She didn’t get much sleep last night, so she just wasn’t herself, worrying about how she looked and wondering if my family would think she was rude since she tends to be quiet. I’ve never seen her so uptight, so I let her move at her own pace.
She fell asleep about halfway into the drive, and as I look over at her, she’s still sound asleep, sitting there in her modest black dress. She looks beautiful as she sleeps, but it bothers me to think that at this moment, she’s probably happier in her dreams than she is when she’s awake.
When we start getting closer to the coast, I decide to go ahead and wake her up. Trying not to startle her, I run my knuckles up and down her arm until I see her eyes start to blink open.
“How long have I been asleep?” she murmurs.
“A couple of hours.”
“Really?”
I smile over at her. “Really.”
She adjusts the seat and sits up to look out the window. The canopy of trees that hide the sky on the winding road through the mountains makes it dark.
“How much longer do we have to go?” she asks.