"Thanks, Joan."
"Have a good night, hon," she said as she wiped her hands off on her apron.
"You too." I stood up and walked toward the exit of the restaurant. Hopefully I wouldn't be dropping another tray any time soon. I glanced at the TV monitor on the way out. The subtitles scrolled across the screen. They were talking about how crime in the city was getting worse. Apparently Mr. Crawford had sent me to the city just when it was hitting a new record for homicides. There was nothing more pessimistic than the news. There was also nothing like the news to make me feel even more scared in a city I was already terrified of. I stepped down onto the sidewalk.
"Sadie, I am so, so sorry." Eli was standing there with another bouquet of flowers.
Yes, he had hurt me. A little. I'm pretty sure it was more in my head than anything else. But I was so glad to see him. I had been dreading stepping out into the night alone. And here he was. He wasn't late. He had shown up. He really did look sorry. I didn't really know what to say. I didn't have to say anything, though, because he started talking again.
"Look, I know I fucked up. And I never meant to hurt you. It's just...you started freaking out, and you wouldn't talk to me. I just kinda flipped out. But it's because I want to help. You must see that. I care about you and I don't like to see you upset."
I had freaked out because he told me that he was falling for me. Maybe it was just because I was scared. I wanted to trust him. But there was so much doubt in my mind. "When you showed up last night, it felt like you were hiding something from me. I wanted to see your place. And for some reason, you don't want me to..."
"I really did just want to be alone with you. But you can see my place. You can come over for dinner tomorrow night, I promise. And if Patrick and Kins are there, we can all hang out together. It'll be fun."
I exhaled slowly. "That sounds really nice."
He smiled.
"Do you think maybe we could just start over? Pretend that the past few days didn't happen?" Including when you found out about my neck.
He sighed. "God, that sounds fantastic. Hi, I'm Eli," he said and stuck out his hand.
I laughed.
"And obviously I'm insane because I bought you flowers before I even met you." He handed me the bouquet.
"Thank you. And thank you for coming to walk me home." We started walking toward the dorms.
"I want you to be able to count on me. Let's get you home safely."
He was saying all the right things. It made me feel suspicious of him all over again. Stop it. "Can I come with you to your boxing class sometime?"
"Why?"
"I just want to see what it's like."
"It's just a bunch of guys beating the shit out of each other."
"Right." I waited for him to say I could come anyway, but he didn't. He's hiding something. And I wanted to find out what it was. "What gym did you say it was?"
"Um...Epitome. It's a small gym on the other side of town."
I nodded. He seemed worried that I was just going to show up. I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. Just trust him.
"I know we're starting over, but can I ask you a question?" Eli said.
"Mhm." I had about a million for him.
"Why did you freak out? Was it because I told you that I was falling for you?"
And the fire of your touch. "I'm having a hard time getting out of my own head," I said instead. "I think you know enough about my past to understand that." We had stopped outside my dorm. "I'm not like other girls on campus. If you want normal...you're looking at the wrong person."
"I just want you. And I'm sorry I put pressure on you. I know you weren't ready."
"It's okay, we're starting over."
"Right." He smiled. "One more question."