Page 149 of Hopeless
But then he smiles at me like he loves me.
And I go right back to being confused.
“Good for you.”
I scoff.Good for me. It’s like a pat on the head, and that’s not what I want from him. I want him to toss me over his shoulder and drag me back to his house.
But I don’t want to be in Chestnut Springs.
I am so fucking lost.
“What are you going in for?”
“Work,” he replies simply. All that does is make me think he’s doing something with the bar, which reminds me he’s been lying to me out of some misplaced sense of duty.
Heroic motherfucker.
We fall into silence once more as the fields whip by and the skyscrapers over the city come into view.
“Where am I taking you?”
He shifts in his seat, grabbing the overhead handle and looking out the window. “I’ll direct you.”
Cryptic motherfucker.
We head straight into the city.
“Left here.”
I turn.
“Right up ahead.”
Again, I turn, following the road into a cozy, tree-lined neighborhood. Older houses. Some infills. A one-level brick school with a brightly colored playground out front.
I was expecting something different when he said “work”. I have no idea what we’re doing here. At least it isn’t far from campus.
“One more block up.”
My brows furrow as I watch a stream of children make their way down the sidewalk, too-big backpacks slung over their shoulders.
“Just here. On the left.”
I stop on the opposite side of the road and look across at another brick building.
A fire hall.
“What’s this?”
“Kinda figured the big red truck out front might be a dead giveaway,” he replies on a chuckle.
I hear him unbuckling his seatbelt, but I can’t seem to peel my eyes away from the building.
“Right. But why?”
“Job interview.” He tugs the handle and opens the door to exit the small cab.
As he gets out, I ask the same question again, not quite comprehending what’s going on. “But why?”
