Five minutes into the trip, and I felt her focus on me again. I glanced at her and saw she looked at me with an almost quizzical expression on her face.
“What?” I asked, feeling amusement, knowing she was probably about to dig a little deeper. Normally, that would annoy me if someone wanted to be nosy, but for some reason, with Harlow, I liked that she wanted to know more about who I was. We were stuck in the vehicle together, so it was only natural she wanted to ask some questions. But what surprised me was that I wanted to answer them, that I wanted her to know about me.
“Are you liking Silver Creek so far?”
I felt my jaw clench before I realized I was doing it. “Honestly? The people here are fucking assholes.”
She started laughing, and I felt myself grin that she was so easygoing. God, she was so damn cute.
“So true, Aiden.”
Fuck, I liked how she said my name.
“Yeah, the people at the school suck,” she added, and I was surprised she admitted it and felt the same way. I’d seen the people she hung out with, the popular crowd, although she didn’t seem like them. She didn’t seem like a fucking prick like the majority of them did.
I sure as hell thought the same thing. “Well, if I’m being honest, the last couple schools I’ve been to have all had the same shitty people.”
She made a sound of agreement, and then we sat in that comfortable silence for a couple more minutes.
“Do you have any plans for after graduation? College, a major picked out?”
The truth was, no one had really given a shit about me to care what I had to say, no one but my mother. I felt a little off balance with Harlow wanting to know, caring. She didn’t even know me, yet she acted like she was really interested in what I had to say.
I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, not used to this attention. I hadn’t answered, and I felt the comfortable feeling that had once filled the interior of the car between us start to get tense.
“I’m sorry I’m prying. You don’t have to answer.”
I glanced at her and saw she stared out the passenger side window. I’d made things awkward with my silence. I didn’t want that. “No, you didn’t pry. I’m just not used to people… giving a shit about what I have to say.” I focused on the road again, but I felt her look at me. Long seconds passed with her doing just that, but I refused to glance at her and make this even more weird.
“That’s really sad,” she finally said softly, and I heard the genuine sincerity in her voice. “Nobody deserves to not have people give a shit about what they have to say.”
I did look at her then, and I felt my heart lurch in my chest. “I’d like to go to college after this, if nothing else than to make something of myself and my mom proud.”
She gave me a sweet smile, and I tightened my hands on the steering wheel again.
“Are you and your mom close?”
My throat tightened and I nodded. I had this very strong urge to confide in her. “Yeah. I’m all she has and vice versa.” I cleared my throat and shifted on the seat once more, feeling really strange saying this shit to a virtual stranger.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, so softly I almost didn’t hear her.
“For what?” She shrugged, and I focused on the road, telling myself to stop looking at her.
“I’m just sorry you guys are all you have to each other.”
I pulled to a halt at a set of stoplights and didn’t know how to respond. I could hear how much she meant those words. I had the sudden urge to reach out and hold her hand. Of course, I didn’t do it.
“What do you want to do when you get to college?” She changed the subject, and I was thankful.
I thought about her question for a moment, even though I already knew what I wanted to study. “Mechanical engineering,” I finally replied. “Although I don’t know if I’m smart enough for all that. But I like fixing shit, working with my hands.” I gave a sarcastic laugh. “But my future is probably destined in being a grease monkey and working under the hood of cars.”
“It takes talent to be able to figure out what’s wrong and know how to fix it. Not a lot of people, me included, can do that.”
I looked at her for probably the fiftieth time since she’d gotten in my car. God, who was this girl and why was she so incredible?
“Just turn left up here,” she said and pointed in the direction I was to go.