“Shut up, both of you.” I rolled my eyes and gave them my meanest glare. With one last look at my idiot friends, I opened the door and found Nora there with tears down her face. “Nora, what’s wrong?”
“It’s my dad. There was an accident.”
Chapter Eleven
“What do you mean?”I asked, my soul hurting for her. Her dark-rimmed eyes and the utter shock on her face worried me. She had to have been crying for hours. “What happened?”
She hiccupped, and I put a hand on her shoulder, hoping it was comforting. She leaned into me entirely so her head rested on my chest as she sobbed. “Car accident. H-He rolled o-over.”
“Is he…all right?” I asked, my throat tight and dry as I rubbed her back. Grace and Gilly were dead silent behind me. I gently guided Nora outside my door. I would tell them about this later, but this should be a private moment between Nora and me.
“I th-think so. He’s in the hospital three hours away. I don’t know how to see him. My mother is helpless. Oh, what if he doesn’t make it?”
“You can’t think like that.” I rubbed my hand up and down her arm, hating the way her face twisted with misery. “Who have you talked to?”
“My mom sent a text with the information. I tried calling, but she broke down,” she said, sniffing and clutching my shirt hard. It stung, but I didn’t say anything. “What do I do? What do I do, Fritz? I can’t just stay here. It’s my father! He thinks he’s young and does too much, and my mom fawns over him and…oh my God,” she cried, her body trembling against mine.
“Let’s go.”
“Hm?” She looked up at me, her mouth just a foot away from mine, and her brown eyes swirled with pain and desperation. “Go?”
“I’ll drive you there. Right now. You want to see him, right?”
“Yes. Yes, I do.” She let go of me and took a step back. She stood straighter and met my gaze. “I didn’t even think to ask you. It’s your job! Duh!” She smiled and backstepped toward her place. “Let me change. We’ll leave in two minutes.”
The pang in my chest hung around longer than I’d like.It was my job.That’s why she thought I volunteered to drive three hours for her to see her dad. That meant I’d have to call into work sick, miss part of the morning, and adjust my life. All for her. And she thought it was my job. I pressed my forehead with my fingers to rid myself of the negative cloud her words put over me. This was about her. Her family. Not my weird feelings.
I stepped back into my place, shoved my hands in my pockets, and sighed. “Her dad had an accident. I’m going to drive her up to see him.”
Gilly’s face fell, and Grace set her drink down on the table, frowning. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is he okay?”
“I think. She wasn’t clear. I guess her mom is helpless right now.” I chewed on the side of my lip, hating that I could still picture Nora’s distraught expression. I blinked, wanting to get rid of it, and focused on my sister and Grace. “You can stay here as long as you want. Finish the food, relax. Maybe I can ask if you’ll take care of Nora’s plants if we’re gone long?”
“Sure,” Gilly said, nodding too fast as she moved over to me and pulled me into a hug. “You’re such a good man, Fritz. I know we don’t tell you enough, but you are.”
“I’ll keep you posted.”
Nora had changed into black leggings and another oversize shirt that said PASSION. Her water bottle hung from the side of her goofy backpack. Exactly like the first time I’d seen her at the airport. Out of place, weird, yet still adorable in herNoraway. This time, instead of being put off by it, it made me smile.
“Did you get dinner yet?” I asked, my stomach growling at the uneaten tacos.
“Oh. No. I don’t think I could eat right now.” She clutched her phone against her chest and took a shaky breath.
“Well, I want to grab fast food once we get on the road. It’ll be quick, I promise.”
She sucked her lip into her mouth and nodded, and I couldn’t stop myself from putting my arm around her shoulder as we walked outside to my car. The truck wasn’t fit for the drive, and I unlocked the Beemer. Thankgodmy friend returned it yesterday. Her eyes widened for a second before I said, “Carter’s car.”
“Right.”
It wasn’t a lie. It did belong to a Carter—me. I moved toward her and held out my hand for her bag, but she stared at it, frown lines forming at the corners of her eyes. “I’ll take your bag.”
“Oh, sure.”
She needed direction, and while Gilly would say I was very bossy, I considered it taking charge. I took the bag, put it in the trunk, and went back to the passenger-side door where Nora leaned against it with an unreadable expression on her face. “Get in and put on your seat belt. Come on, Nora.”
She listened, not saying a word, and I shut the door once she was in safely. It felt right, somehow, taking care of her right now. I could be what she needed, even if she thought it was my fake job as the chauffeur.
I started the car, pulled onto the road, and sneaked a look at her, but she stared at her phone with her lips parted in anO.“You hear anything else?”
