Nate’s waitingfor me in the seminar room. He’s saved me a seat.
When he looks up, he’s frowning and there are dark circles around his eyes. “Hey, where were you? Didn’t you get my texts?”
“Shoot, sorry, I haven’t looked at my phone. I was at Elias’ place. Is everything okay with the pledges?”
“Don’t worry, everything’s fine.” He shakes his head with a small smile and I feel suddenly exposed. Like Nate can see everything we did last night. I know I shouldn’t be embarrassed. Elias definitely doesn’t make me feel embarrassed about what I like. It’s just … someone who has never done it wouldn’t understand. I’ve heard Nate and Evan having sex—unfortunately. Aside from being really loud, it sounded pretty vanilla and ‘normal.’
Nate got a ride from Archer, so after class, I offer to drive him home.
“You know you can bring Elias over to the house?” Nate says as he straps himself into the passenger seat.
So you can hear me beg him not to move while he’s inside me? No thanks.
I’m not concentrating and when the car in front slams on the brakes, I crash right into the back of them.
I gasp from the shock. A sharp pain shoots through my neck. In the panic, my brain does a quick mental scan of my whole body, but apart from the neck pain, I’m not hurt.
I swivel quickly to check on Nate.
“I’m so sorry, Nate, are you okay?”
A weird, hysterical laugh bursts out of him, probably from the adrenaline.
“I’m fine.” He subconsciously rubs the wrist he broke last year and now I’m sure no one’s hurt, panic subsides into guilt and I feel terrible for almost putting him in a situation where he could have gotten hurt again.
My neck is still tender after I get out and exchange information with the other driver. He isn’t a dick about me driving into the back of him and he doesn’t want to call the cops. The smell of weed on his clothes tells me why he’s happy to sort this out between the two of us. I should be relieved, but my neckissore and I worry I might have whiplash or something. I cannot get hurt right now. Not with Indian Wells coming up this weekend. Elias is counting on me to win that doubles point.
I want to just go home and rest, but Nate insists on taking me to the hospital to get checked out.
22
ELIAS
Iput the phone down while I wait for a reply from Ben. Staring at your phone is never going to force someone to reply any faster. Plus, I hate watching those dots appear and disappear while he figures out what he wants to say. I wish he’d just let me see the first thing that pops into his head.
When I pick the phone up again, there’s a text.
Hey its Nate. We’re at the hospital. We just got in a little car accident nothing serious. Ben’s in with the doctor now getting checked over I’ll have him text you back as soon as he’s out.
My blood runs cold. What the fuck? They were in an accident. Ben got hurt.
I throw my tennis shoes on at the door and a hoodie, hitting call on Ben’s number as I rush down the stairs. Nate answers.
“Hey, Elias, everything’s?—”
“Where is he?” My voice comes out as more of a growl.
When Nate doesn’t answer fast enough, I repeat the question.
“He’s at the community hospital in Plainsboro. Elias, you really don’t have to come here. At most he has mild whiplash—it’s just a precaution.”
I start muttering angrily to myself in German about how many times I told him to focus and be careful when he’s driving.
“Hello? Elias? What are you saying? Sorry, I don’t under?—”
I hang up.
It takes forever to get an Uber to the hospital, then figure out where the ER is.
