Chapter 8: Awkward

“I’m saying he is hurt pretty badly. He’s probably going to be fine, but I think you should come with me. He totaled his motorcycle. He wasn’t awake earlier, but I’m sure when he does wake up, he’s going to ask for you,” Silas explained.

“Did you call his mom?” she asked.

“I did.”

“I have to get dressed.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you mind giving me a ride, though?”

“That’s fine. I’ll be in the parking lot.” Without another word, he turned and left.

Liz shut the door behind her and threw her robe off. She threw it onto her bed, not bothering to hang it back up. She looked through several drawers.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

“My key. Shit, shit, shit,” she said as she threw two more drawers shut. “I need to get one of them damn key finders.”

“Hey, take my key,” I said. I grabbed my key off my nightstand and held it up for her to see.

“Really? Oh, thank you. I owe you one,” she said as she wiggled into a pair of blue jeans she had on earlier. She put on a thick hoodie that looked twice her size. I was almost willing to believe it was something that belonged to Zayn. She slipped into her flip-flops. I wondered if she had forgotten it was raining.

“Not a problem. I hope everything is okay.” I didn’t know Zayn or any of them that well to be super caring for them, but nobody deserved to go out like that. I wished him well. I knew it would kill Liz if something happened to him.

“Thanks,” she said and kissed my cheek, which left me stunned as she dashed out the door.

I locked the door behind her and walked across the room to her side of the bed to turn off the lamp she had left on. Suddenly, sleep hit me hard. Within seconds of my head hitting the pillow, I was out like a light.

***

The following day, Liz wasn’t in her bed, which meant she still had my key, but I locked up anyway and texted her to let her know that I would need to be let back into the dorm after classes. I considered skipping the party at the lake and going back to Deadwood tonight. It wasn’t like I knew many of the kids here at school. Tanner would be there, but something told me I needed to put some serious space between the two of us.

Silas probably wouldn’t be going to the party. He seemed to socialize about as well as me. I could be wrong, but that was how it seemed to be so far.

Liz was obviously still with Zayn at the hospital and probably wouldn’t be going to the party since her boyfriend was in an accident the night before.

The school day went by quickly, and during the final period, I got a text from Liz. She said she would be back in the dorm with the door unlocked before I got out of my last class. I hoped she was right because I didn’t really have anywhere else to go, and I left my key to the motorcycle in the room anyway.

I wasn’t in any hurry when the teacher released us five minutes early because I wasn’t sure if Liz was back at the dorm or not. As I was walking out of the classroom, someone was walking in, and we collided.

“Oh, damn. I’m sorry,” I said before I looked up to see who it was. To my astonishment, it was Silas. He somehow looked healthier than he had the night before—like he had gotten a whole night of sleep and some food or something. The memory of him last night flashed in my head, and I recalled just how destroyed he appeared. “Oh, hi.”

“Hey, um, Liz is back in the dorm.” He rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced.

I pursed my lips and nodded. “So, did you just come all the way here to tell me that?” Awkward—I thought. I’m making it awkward. This is why I keep to myself. I’m not a people person.

“Oh, no,” he said and smiled. “My aunt teaches this class. I came to talk to her.”

Duh—I mentally facepalmed. “Oh. Oh, sorry,” I said and laughed. “That’s what I get for assuming things.”

He shrugged, but his smile didn’t fade. “Don’t worry about it.”

“So, how is Zayn? I hope he is okay.” Why are we being so nice? Do other people’s near-death experiences sway other people to get along?—I wondered.

“He’s great, actually. They released him an hour ago. They told him to stay on bed rest but knowing Zayn, he won’t listen.”

“Wow, they already let him out? I thought it was serious or something. . .”

Silas waved it off. “A concussion and some bruising. He’s fine. I thought it was worse too. When they found him, he was unconscious. They said he got very lucky.”

I nodded in understanding but felt like there was something I was missing. “I see.”

“Actually, Liz probably knows more than I do so. . .” he trailed off and gestured in the direction of the front doors as if to tell me to get moving.

“Oh, yeah, okay.” I walked past him, but I couldn’t help stealing one more glance in his direction. What I didn’t expect was to find him staring after me. For some reason, I expected him to look frustrated as he often did. Silas didn’t like me. Why is he suddenly being nice? Or is this how he usually is, and we just got off on the wrong foot?—I tossed different ideas around in my head. His eyes held some kind of emotion, but before I could tell what it was, he looked away from me and walked into the room.