Page 52 of How We Loved

Trevor closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before placing his hand on my arm. “Stay here.”

“Oh, is that your dad? I’d love to meet him.”

He shakes his head. “No! Stay here,” he grits out, his jaw clenched shut.

I do as I’m told and hop in the truck. Before I can say anything, he slams the door shut and heads back to his house.

I pull out my phone and open Instagram just to kill time as I wait. As I’m scrolling, I see his page of all his bull riding posts. Hoping I’ll get to see them live someday, I go to the next post, then the next. Twenty minutes go by, and I’m still sitting here, scrolling.

Not sure what to do, I text him.

Everything OK?

Yeah. Sorry. I’ll be right there.

I sit for ten more minutes, then finally see him come out of the front door and head my way. He hops in the truck without saying a word, cranks the engine, and squeals the tires as he peels out to turn around and head down the dirt road.

I sit in silence, not sure what to say.

It’s not until we get to the paved road that he finally acknowledges that I’m sitting here. “Sorry, my dad can be a real dick sometimes.”

I reach out to comfort him, but he pushes me off.

“Just …” He takes a deep inhale. “Not right now.”

He turns up the radio, and I sit back in my seat, glad that I never scooted over to the middle seat when I first climbed in the truck.

We drive for a few minutes before he pulls off on a side road and out to where a factory is located with nothing else around.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“The industrials,” he states like I should know what that means.

I bite my inner lip, not sure if I should ask or not, then decide maybe if we talk, he will calm down and go back to the Trevor I’ve gotten to really like.

“What’s the industrials? Isn’t there just a factory out here?”

The only thing I knew about Springstown before I met Trevor was that there was a huge window manufacturing company here.

“Yeah, this area is the industrial parkway. It’s where we hang out. We just call it the industrials. This is what people who don’t have money to go bowling do.”

The way he says that last part, all flippant, without even looking at me, doesn’t sit right with me. I’m starting to wish I could go home, but I’m literally in the middle of nowhere with only one person I know.

I flip over my phone and think about texting Natalie just as I hear Trevor sigh and pull off the road. He puts the truck in park and turns to me.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be taking this out on you. My dad and I just got in a big fight. I’ll get over it. Just give me a few minutes. By the time we’re out with everyone, I promise I’ll be good.”

“Um. Oh. Okay,” I stutter, not sure what to say.

He pulls back on the road, and we drive the rest of the way to where his friends are.

When we arrive, I see seven different trucks are all lined up. Everyone is just hanging out on the tailgates, and Trevor backs up so his tailgate is lined up with the rest of the group.

He puts the truck in park and cuts the engine, then reaches out his arm to me. In the sweet voice I’ve become all too fond of, he says, “You’re too far away.”

I unbuckle my seat belt and cautiously slide over to him, not sure what’s going on yet.

He kisses my head. “I’m sorry. He just gets me going. Let’s go have fun. Everyone is dying to meet you. They don’t believe that a TimeLand chic would date me.”

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