Page 74 of Save Me

I hung my bag on one shoulder. “I went to bed early.” Which was kind of true. I’d come home and shut myself in my room for the rest of the evening. I gestured to the hall. “We better get going.”

He moved to the side for me to walk ahead of him and I did. “I’d like to start over and properly meet your boyfriends. I was thinking we could all have dinner tonight,” he said as he followed me.

I stopped in my tracks in the center of the living room and turned to face him. “Really?”

“I know they’re important to you. They were here for you when I wasn’t. I would like to make an effort to get to know them.”

It was nice that he was trying to make an effort and I supposed it was his way of trying to make things right. “Alright. I’ll invite them.”

The two of us locked up and headed to my school. Just as I pulled out of the neighborhood, red and blue lights flashed behind me.

“What did I do?” I asked Logan as I pulled over.

“You didn’t do anything,” Logan said as he opened my glove compartment to retrieve my registration. “Just cooperate.”

I was scared, but Logan’s calm demeanor helped me keep it together. I rolled down my window as two cops got out of the squad car. One went to my window and the other went to Logan’s.

“License and registration,” my cop barked.

I held my hand out for my registration, which Logan was still holding. Logan leaned over to look at the cop at my window. “You going to tell her why you pulled her over?”

“Speeding,” the cop lied. I had just pulled out of my neighborhood. I hadn’t had time to get my car up to the speed limit before they’d pulled me over.

“What’d you clock her at?” Logan asked.

“License and registration,” the cop barked again.

I wiggled my fingers at Logan. He had told me to cooperate, but here he was not doing that. Logan gave me the registration, but handed it over with his badge as well. I handed them, along with my ID, to the cop.

“You two with the sheriff’s department?” Logan asked.

“That’s correct,” the cop at my window confirmed with a haughty tone as he opened Logan’s badge bifold. The cop reacted slightly to seeing it, then looked at his fellow cop through my car.

Logan pulled his phone out of his pocket. “If you continue on with this intimidation tactic your boss, Sheriff McAllister, put you up to, I’m going to need both of your badge numbers right now,” Logan said, with this cold, authoritative tone.

The cop closed Logan’s bifold and handed everything back to me. “That won't be necessary. It appears we pulled over the wrong car.”

* * *

School was…well, it sucked. I walked Logan to the principal’s office and then I went to find Colt and Creed before class started. For most of the day, it was as if I were outside my body looking in. This morning had rattled me and I couldn’t focus.

At lunch, as I sat with Colt, Ethan, Isabelle, and a few of Ethan’s football buddies, I felt the urge to leave. I wanted to get up and just start walking. I’d walk all the way home if I had to. The sound of Amber’s laugh two tables over only made the urge stronger.

“Where’s Creed?” Ethan asked. “I thought yesterday was his last day of lunch detention.”

“He’s meeting with our coach.” Colt sounded off when he spoke and that had me looking up at him. Colt’s eyes met mine and I saw the hint of sadness in his face.

I stood from the table and left the cafeteria. I made my way to the building that housed the school’s pool. The swim coaches’ offices were located inside. When I entered the building, I spotted Creed sitting in the bleachers, staring at the school’s giant pool.

I climbed up and sat on the bench next to him. “You okay?”

“I quit the team.”

I’d had a hunch that was going to happen. Ever since he’d admitted he hated competing. These past two weeks being suspended from the team hadn’t seemed to faze him. If anything, he’d been glad to have the excuse not to go to practice. “How do you feel right now?”

“Relieved.”

“Then why do you look sad?” I asked.