32
Jessica
He was sleeping in his car when I found him, and he looked worse than usual. His jacket was thrown over his torso, and his arms were wrapped around his backpack like a pillow. He was even drooling.
I cringed, contemplating leaving him to his sleep, but I couldn’t walk away. I knocked on his window, hoping he wasn’t the type of guy to get mad over a smudge, and he stirred.
“Eric.” I knocked again, and he sat up only to fall back down. “Wake up. School’s starting.”
His eyelids opened, and he shot up, grasping his steering wheel. I jumped, but calmed when he turned to me. His mouth hung open, and he shook his head, slowly rolling his window down. “Jessica?” He practically groaned. “What are you doing here?”
I pointed toward our high school. “Class starts in fifteen,” I said, and his brow furrowed.
He arched his neck, grabbing it with his hand, and surveyed the parking lot. It was full. “I guess it is.”
I sighed. “Did you sleep here last night?”
He looked back at me and yawned. “It was more comfortable than home.”
I frowned, looking over his washed out cheeks. “Do you need me to get a nurse?”
He straightened up, nearly breaking his Charger’s seat. “What? Why do I need a nurse?” He ran his hand through his hair and stared into the mirror as if he was expecting blood to trail down his forehead.
I rolled my eyes. “You look sick, Eric,” I said. It was warm now, but I knew it’d gotten cold last night, and his engine wasn’t running. He probably had a cold.
“I’m not sick,” Eric said, fumbling with his car keys. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
He stared. “Yes.”
I put my hands up. “Okay. Okay,” I said. “Just checking.”
He turned away and rolled up the window before climbing out. With one hand, he threw his bag over his shoulder, and with the other, he rubbed his jaw. When he stretched his arm over his head, I turned away, remembering what he looked like shirtless. My cheeks burned.
“Why are you in the parking lot anyway?” he asked, yawning for the umpteenth time. He winked. “You were watching me sleep again; weren’t you?”
“No,” I said, crossing my arms. Not for very long. “My mom dropped me off, and I saw your car.”
He leaned against the driver’s door. “And you thought you might as well look into it,” he said, smirking. “Even though I might have been inside the school already.”
“You’re always late.”
His brow rose. “You pay an awful amount of attention to me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I said, turning away to walk toward the school. Why did I even try?
His footsteps followed, and he walked next to me. “Can I ask you something, Jessica?”
“I guess.” I held my breath.
“It’s about your parents—”
“I’d rather not talk about it,” I grumbled, refusing to believe he’d pry into my life when he strived to keep his so private.
He whistled low. “The search isn’t going so well, I’m guessing.”
I stopped, cocking my hip. “Why do you care?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, facing me. “I didn’t mean to offend you; I was only curious.”
“No offense,” I said. “But I was planning on keeping the whole adoption thing to myself.”
“Until our teacher ruined it for you,” he said, and I glared.
“She wouldn’t have ruined it if you didn’t have a talent for eavesdropping.”
He smiled. “You mean a hobby.”
I groaned and stomped forward. I should’ve let him sleep through the day.
“Come on, Jessica,” he said, running beside me. “I only have a few questions—”
I gripped my backpack’s straps and dug my nails into the fabric. “What are you, five?”
“I think a five-year-old is more mature.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” I said, barely glancing over. His hair was a mess. “Why would you want to know anyway?”
He didn’t meet my eyes, and he shrugged. “I need to know more about adoption—for a friend.”
I shook my head. “I’m not the only one adopted in Hayworth.”
Abruptly, he stopped, and he leaned on his toes as if his momentum tried to push him forward. He raised his brow. “Do you know others?”
“No,” I said. “But it’s not exactly something people advertise.”
His eyes flickered over my face, but he seemed to be somewhere else entirely. His green eyes were blank, and his mouth opened without a word to be spoken.
I stared. Why did he have to be so weird?
He sighed and dropped his shoulders. “There could be a lot, huh?”
I nodded, trying to figure out where he was coming from. “Yeah.”
His jaw locked, and he jumped in place. He grinned and stepped in front of me. “Can I walk you to class?” he asked, and I tensed. “As friends, of course.”
The warning bell rang, and I exhaled. “Sure,” I said, wondering why my chest felt so heavy. I didn’t want to talk about my biological parents to Eric, let alone to anyone, but it had happened, and I’d only been awake for an hour. Ever since reading the newspaper article, I dreaded digging deeper, but I knew I had to, and that was what unsettled me. Confessing my situation to Crystal and Crystal’s mother topped my To-do list, but then what? I wanted to figure out who my parents were, but I already knew the truth. I’d only find gravestones.
Minutes Before Sunset Page 39
