Page 20 of Wylder and the Almost Rockstar
She refused to leave before she saw him. Tomorrow, she had to go back to school. Ms. Jones orders. But she had to give this one last shot.
Slinking back to the car, she slid in and cranked the heat, thanking the headmistress silently for the use of her car. The heat in Wylder’s car hadn’t worked since it went out last winter.
Maybe she should take Becks up on his offer.
No, she wouldn’t use her brother like that. She wanted to earn what she was given.
Time ticked by and still, there was no activity in the house. She checked the time on the car clock. Eleven at night. Were they all asleep? Probably.
And still, she stayed. Logan wasn’t getting away from her this time.
Rummaging in the back seat for anything Ms. Jones left in the car, she found an umbrella—which totally would have been helpful hours ago—and a blanket. Was Ms. Jones into picnics? Wylder realized she knew nothing about the woman running their school. Did she have a man? She pictured her canoodling with a faceless dude on a picnic blanket and almost threw up in her mouth.
Then the image was replaced by one of her and Sebastian in his truck. For the first time, she knew they were going to be okay. He cared more about his brothers than himself, that was for sure, and it made her want to be friends with him. True friends. Not teacher-student, not exes. What was it about these Cook boys?
The rain pounded harder against the roof of the car, and Wylder leaned the chair back and wrapped the blanket around her. Her phone chimed with texts from both Becks and Nicky.
Becks:Where are you? I’m worried.
Nicky:Your brother is freaking out.
Becks:Wylder, are you staying the night at the Cooks’ house? I’m not okay with that.
Something told her he’d be more okay with her situation than he thought. He assumed she was inside the house, not in her car like a creeper.
She typed quick messages back, first to Becks—I’m fine. Just stalking the Cooks.
Then to Nicky—Tell him I’m still team Anderson.
That should shut Becks up. She’d taken a side in this weird Twitter war. Opening up Twitter, she fired off a tweet, tagging @TheRealLukeCook.
@Wylder:Ever been hit by a girl?
There, now Becks would be happy. With a laugh, she slid her phone into the cupholder and closed her eyes.
A tapping on the window woke her, and she didn’t know what time it was. Opening her eyes, she found the cocky face of Luke staring in at her. She knew it was him because of the smile. Logan didn’t have nearly as much ego or confidence.
Rolling down the window, she shivered as the cold air entered the car. “Can I help you?”
Luke held up two mugs with steam pouring off the top. “Peace offering?”
She sighed. “Fine.” Unlocking the door, she let him in.
Luke slid into the passenger seat and shut the door before handing her a mug. “I didn’t put any cream in it, but you seem like a girl who’d like her coffee black.”
“Honestly, right now I like my coffee any way I can get it as long as it’s hot.” She took a sip, holding in a sigh so Luke wouldn’t get the satisfaction of knowing how much she’d needed this. “What time is it?” She’d turned off the car in the night, thankful it stayed pretty warm.
“Six.”
She almost spit out her coffee. “In the morning? What are you doing up?”
“I’ve never slept well. I usually wake up around four. That’s when my brain is really firing, the best time for songwriting. I saw you out here a few minutes ago. Have you been here all night?”
She should have been embarrassed she practically staked out their house, but she wasn’t. “Yeah. I have to head back to Ohio today for school.”
“I thought you wouldn’t go back without my brother.”
“I never really had that choice. Most people write me off and expect me to break the rules. My headmistress let me come here, even gave me her car. I kind of don’t want to betray her trust.” She couldn’t believe she’d just said that to Luke of all people, but it was true. Ms. Jones had faith in her, and she liked that feeling.
