Page 48 of Pit Stop

Thirty-Four

Odette

I don’t know what time it is when I open my eyes, but my guess is that it is late judging by the way the sunlight is coming into the bedroom. The bed is cold and empty. I sit up attempting to put pressure on my wrist, forgetting that it is now injured. I yelp in pain as yesterday’s events come back to me. “Tillman…” I call out but he doesn’t answer. Crawling out of bed I make my way to his bathroom which is also empty. Feeling suddenly alone I head to my room where I shower and dress for the day. I slip on a pair of jean shorts and a simple lacy pink tank top. I decide to leave my hair down since pulling it up proves to be too much of a task.

Once I manage to get dressed, I head downstairs but no one seems to be around. Disappointment washes over me. A cup of hot tea sounds really good right now, so I decide to head into the dining area to fix some. I stop dead in my tracks when the table comes into view. I’m pretty sure I hit my head yesterday and we just didn’t notice it because my eyes can’t be working. A stack of books sits neatly on the end of the table. Stepping forward I run my hands over the spines of the brand-new schoolbooks. Tears prick my eyes. I don’t know what to say or do.

“I tell you one thing, Odette. He’s a keeper.” I spin around and see my sister leaning against the frame of the entryway. An easy smile on her face.

Disbelief settles in my gut. “How did he know?”

“Well… I might have helped. He didn’t want to rummage through your personal belongings, but like I told him, we had done that so much in our lives it was second nature for me. I mean what are sisters for, right? So I went through your stuff until I found your class schedule then he took that from me and showed back up an hour later with all those. Apparently, they’re what you need for this semester.” Onyx smiles at me.

Tears spill over my eyes, running down my cheeks. “This is too much.”

Onyx shakes her head. “Nope, it’s exactly what you deserve. Besides, he believes in your potential as a nurse, and let’s face it, with these four crazy boys running around here we’re bound to need some medical help from time to time so you being a nurse would actually come in super handy.” I laugh lightly. “There’s my sister.”

I scan the area. “Where is Tillman?”

“I’m not totally sure but maybe at the hospital or police station. He mentioned both.”

“Why the police station?” I ask. Worry instantly moves to the forefront of my mind.

She steps forward. “Calm down. He went to make sure Lyle was still in jail and didn’t post bail. The hospital to cover the bill from last night.”

It’s a good thing there is a chair directly behind me because I collapse into it with a plop. “He can’t keep doing all this for me.”

Onyx takes a seat on the bench seat next to me. “He can if he wants, and it seems like to me that he wants to. I say let him because I have a feeling you take care of him just as much but in a different way.” I shake my head, overcome with so much emotion. “Are you happy, Odette?”

My head whips up in her direction. “Of course I am.”

She smiles. “I meant with Tillman and whatever it is the two of you have going on?”

Slumping back in the chair I think about her question but really there isn’t much to think about. The answer is right there loud and clear. “Yes, I’m happier than I have been in a long time. I’m not sure it makes much sense or any sense at all really. It’s all happened so fast, but I can’t and don’t want to deny it. He feels like my safe place to land in the storm.”

“That’s good enough for me,” she replies.

My sister smiles at me with nothing but love in her eyes. “I wish you could find your safe place.”

She shrugs. “Not everyone is meant to have a safe place. Some of us have to make our own and I’m okay with that.”

“Onyx…”

She shakes her head. “Don’t start, Odette.”

“What about Decker?” I ask. For some reason I could totally see the two of them becoming a thing.

“That’s not going to happen,” she says as she stands up and makes her way to the coffee and tea maker.

My spirit fumbles a little. “Why not?”

Onyx looks over at me and shakes her head. “Decker had his heart broken long before I knew him, and he keeps it closed up tight. No one is getting through that unless the one who broke it decides to suddenly make a reappearance and I’m not even sure that could fix it. He just lives for this place and the boys. Maybe, that’s enough for him.”

I study my sister and it’s so easy to see. She likes Decker. It makes me sad for her that he doesn’t feel the same. It takes a lot for Onyx to actually trust someone and she seems to truly trust him. Maybe something will change between them and she’ll get her happily ever after in the long run. I really hope so.

Tillman doesn’t show up before I have to go to class, so I take my new book and head out to my car. Thankfully, it’s Friday so I’ll have two days to catch up on homework if I can survive my two classes today. Hopefully nothing like yesterday happens again.

Luckily, not much happens at all except for a lot of curious eyes are on me. I’m sure the campus gossip is about me but only those in my classes will actually know who I am. By the time my first class ends, and I head to the on-campus food plaza to grab a drink, I’ve heard three completely different stories about what went down with Lyle and me. None of them have been correct.

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