We got into TC’s car and headed toward my high school. After a few minutes, he said, “Do you have any plans for next weekend? We could catch a movie.”
If I said yes, we’d officially be dating. Was that fair to TC when I had a crush on another guy? “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to Cooper about next weekend yet.”
TC frowned. “Do you need permission from him to go out with me? You said everything with him was fake.”
“It is, but I still have to check with him. It would be super awkward if he went to the movies with his family and ran into us.”
TC shrugged. “We could go somewhere he wouldn’t be.”
“I still should check with him. He might have a fake date planned so he can go out with Dahlia, and he needs to pick me up from my house to make it seem believable. I’ll get back to you.” Meaning, I would decide tonight whether I wanted to see TC again, or whether I was going to stupidly sit around hoping Cooper would change his mind about me.
The second option admittedly was pathetic.
TC raised an eyebrow in question.
I forced a smile. “I’ll let you know soon.”
“Okay.” There was some tightness to his voice.
We were nearly to the road that led to the high school. To get to the main building and its parking lot, you had to drive past the swimming facilities, tennis courts, golf practice area, the track complex, and the baseball and soccer fields. It always took a few minutes to reach the parking lot, even when ignoring the lowered speed limit on the road.
Cooper’s phone dinged in my purse.
“I’d better silence my notifications.” I took his phone out and hoped TC didn’t notice that this phone was different from the one I had the homecoming tickets on. The notification was from Dahlia. She’d sent him a message on Snapchat that started withPics of tonight, along with some attachments. Probably from their photo shoot.
Had Cooper draped his arm around her shoulder like he had with me? Had he kissed her on the cheek?
I silenced the phone and shoved it back into my purse.
If Cooper’s mother could see his phone from hers, she wouldn’t be able to open the pictures without Cooper knowing, although she might wonder why Dahlia was sending him stuff. Dahlia knew not to text anything incriminating to him, didn’t she?
TC said, “Earth to Madeline ...”
My head jerked up. “Sorry.” I’d been so deep in thought that I hadn’t heard what he said.
He took his eyes from the road to give me a disappointed look. “That’s harsh. You’re paying attention to your phone instead of me?”
Another apology hung on my lips. Before I said the words,a small animal darted across the road. A cat. “Watch out!” I yelped.
His gaze snapped back to the road, but not quickly enough. A thud sounded against the car.
Had we run over it or just hit it? I twisted in my seat. I couldn’t see anything in the darkness. “Stop the car,” I told him. “We hit the cat.”
He swore and pulled over to the side of the road. I jumped out, turned on my phone’s flashlight, and ran back, searching for the animal.
I hoped the cat wasn’t Mascot, and then I felt bad for hoping it was some other cat, someone’s beloved pet.
My gaze landed on a small fury mound lying near the edge of the road. White fur with orange patches. Mascot.
“Don’t be dead. Don’t be dead. Don’t be dead,” I repeated.
As though answering me, the cat lifted his head and let out a low, plaintive meow. He was still alive but wasn’t moving. He just lay there, dazed and staring.
When I got close, he tried to move. It seemed like only his front paws worked. A small spot of blood had seeped onto his pale coat near his hind legs.
TC reached me. When he saw the cat’s condition, he shoved his hands in his pockets and swore again.
We had to get Mascot to an animal hospital, one that was open late for emergencies. “Give me your coat so I can pick him up.”
