“This has nothing to do with you, Nolan,” Adam tells him.
“I hear what you’re saying, but I’m telling you now Jude is not far behind me and if he comes out and sees you dragging his baby sister behind you like a piece of meat, he’d have a lot to say about it. So, I suggest you let Thea go, take a step back and calm down.”
The standoff between the two of them goes on for a few moments before Adam lets go of my arm, and takes a step back, covering his face with his hands as he deeply breathes in and exhales a couple of times as he calms down. He rubs his hands down his face and looks at me.
“Thea, I’m—”
“No.” I interrupt him before he can utter a half-hearted apology. What just happened and how he spoke to me, deserves more than a pathetic “I’m sorry.” I need to know what was behind his outburst but now is not the time. I’m too confused, too angry to hear his words and understand them right now.
“We can talk about this in a few weeks, when I’m back home for Thanksgiving,” I continue. “Just . . . go, Adam. Please? It’s a long drive back to Silver Lake. I promise I’ll hear you out when I’m back, but can you just let this go for now?”
Adam doesn’t reply for a few moments, before nodding once. “Okay, sure,” he says, his once-tense shoulders now sagging with exhaustion as he steps toward his car and opens the door.
“Just think about what I said. Maybe be more alert okay? Just to give me peace of mind?” he asks before he gets into the driver’s side.
This time it’s my time to pause before replying with a nod. “Okay, sure,” I say, repeating his words.
As Adam gets into his car and starts the engine, I notice Nolan and Millie having a quiet, intense conversation to the side as Devon walks up to us carrying a load of bags.
“Hey, fucker, you left all your gear by your locker,” he complains, as he drops one of the huge bags by Nolan’s feet.
“Sorry, dude, wanted to say goodbye to this beauty before she ran off into the night,” Nolan replies with an easy smile and without any trace of the tense manner he had few minutes ago. He has Millie in a tight hug much to her displeasure, judging by the exaggerated grimace on her face.
“Ew, gross, Nolan. Keep your hockey sweat off the goods,” she says to him as he lets her go.
Devon ignores their antics as he continues. “Jude has to stay back and talk to Coach. You girls good to come back with us?”
Millie and I nod, and we make our way to Devon’s car, piling in the back as the two boys get in the front. They chat about the game giving their own post-match analysis, and while Millie joins in, she holds my hand tightly giving me the strength I need to try and decipher what the hell just happened.
I’m sitting in the cafeteria, pushing my food around my plate, and trying to muster up the appetite to eat. It’s been a couple of days since my argument with Adam and I’m still feeling antsy about it. I can’t stop thinking about how out of character it was for him to turn up and demand I move into dorms. He’s always been the laidback type, so there has to be something going on behind the scenes to make him react the way he did.
Before I can dwell on it any longer Millie places her tray in front of me and takes a seat.
“My darling Thea, your Fairy Godmother Millie has arrived, and she brings gifts!” she sing-songs as she places a small envelope in front of me. I pick it up and peer inside.
“A fake ID?”
“Yes ma’am,” she nods. “You deserve a night out, and so I’m coming through to make sure it happens. You’re welcome!”
I take the fake driving license she’s had made for me and examine it. I have to say, whoever’s done this has done a good job. It’s pretty accurate, save for my date of birth which has had two years added on to it. To the untrained eye, it looks like the real deal. I’m not opposed to having a fake—it’s a rite of passage after all—so I quickly put it in my wallet ready for use when needed.
“Okay I’m in,” I tell her. Millie’s right. I do need a night out after the crap couple of days I’ve had. I need to take my mind off the drama which seems to be singling me out and getting a little drunk at a bar sounds like just the thing.
“When and where?” I ask her.
“Tonight. And we’re going to The Crease on the Boardwalk. It’s not too fancy so we won’t bring attention to ourselves, but it’s a pretty good venue for having a good time and getting drunk.”
“Who’s getting drunk?” Nolan asks as he and Devon sit down at our table next to us. I’m surprised to see them here, given their schedules never usually match up to ours. The look he shoots Millie doesn’t go unnoticed and I remember the little tête-à-tête they had the other night. There is definitely something going on between the two of them and I mentally make a note to ask Millie about it later.
“Apparently we are,” I inform him. “Tonight. Do you want to join us? The more the merrier.”
“Depends on where you’re going,” Nolan replies. “I’m a soon-to-be NHL superstar with a reputation to uphold. I can’t be seen at any old dive bar.”
Millie rolls her eyes at him before answering. “We’re going to The Crease. That good enough for you? If not, too bad, we’re not changing our minds.”
Devon and Nolan share a loaded look between them before Devon chips in. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Sure,” I say. “Why not? It’s not like we’re the first people to go out on a Friday night and have a couple of drinks. Plus, after the week I’ve had, I could do with a few drinks and a good night out.”