Sasha stares down at the keys like they’ll burst into flames, all signs of lighthearted fun out the window as a dark shadow casts over her face.
Her entire body freezes, completely locked up, and the only person who seems to notice is me.
So I throw her a lifeline, “I can go.”
Blair and Miller both nod enthusiastically, so I stand off the couch and grab the keys off of Sasha’s lap and watch her blow out a breath. Her eyes meet mine, appreciation and relief clear as she mouths the words ‘thank you’.
I wink at her, knowing that wewillbe having a conversation about what just happened.
I won’t push, I never will, because I know how it feels to be pressured into talking about something you aren’t ready to talk about.
But I will always leave the door open for her.
So with Blair’s keys in my hand, I walk out the front door and unlock his car. I’m barely touching the handle when I hear footsteps padding on the concrete behind me.
I expect it to be Sasha, but when I turn around, I see Lucas standing there instead.
“You saw that, right?” He says.
I nod tightly, “yeah.”
He eyes me for a second, gauging what, exactly? I’m not sure. “She trusts you,” he finally says, “use your head and figure out what she was saying back there, and then be there for her.”
“But she wasn’t saying anything.”
“Yes, Davis. She was.”
It’s not until I’m putting three cases of beer into the back of Blair’s car that the gears in my head start to turn.
I start to see what Lucas was talking about.
And the fact that he understood before I did makes me want to wrap my hands around his throat.
She’s terrified of cars.
How the fuck could I be so god damn stupid?
Her brother died in a car accident, she always turns down my offers to give her a ride, shuts down whenever someone brings up the idea of her getting into a car and avoids the topic at all costs.
Of course she’s scared of cars.
Hell, I would be too if the person closest to me in this entire world died in one.
Jesus.
Slamming the trunk closed, I get into the car as fast as I can and rip out of the parking lot. The second I park in the driveway, I say fuck the beer and book it into the house, searching for a pair of grey eyes.
I find them almost instantly.
“Pixie,” I strangle out, rushing towards her and throwing my arms around her. “I’ve got you,” I whisper,ignoring the looks the others are throwing in our direction.
Her arms wrap around my waist, squeezing tightly as her body wracks with tremors I know are a result of the tears staining my shirt right now. “You figured it out, didn’t you?”
Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, I keep her close. “I did, but not without a little help from a perceptive friend of mine.”
Lucas is a weird dude. He seems to have everyone figured out except for the girl he calls his own.
I mean, the guy was as blind as a bat when it came to what was going on with Claire, her feelings for him included. But everyone else? He can sense something’s up from a mile away and figure out what that something is with minimal detail.
