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car. I slid the key into the
ignition. My hands were still trembling as I turned it and my car
cranked.
    He slammed the hood, “There you go,
young lady.”
    “ Thank you, Mr. Garvey. You
don’t know how much I appreciate your help.” I was angry at myself
for forgetting everything Tony Dix had taught me about what to look
for when your car was… I swallowed hard. Cables don’t just pop off.
Someone had tampered with my car! The face that came immediately to
mind was Evan. But why? No, it just couldn’t have been him. I
rolled up my windows and locked my doors as I gathered my thoughts.
There was no one else around but I was terrified. “Stupid girl,” I
chided myself. “You’re going to flip-out like Mom if you don’t
watch it!” I slammed my car into first gear and took
off.
    I didn’t sleep well that night. I kept
waking up about every hour and thinking about the events of my day.
I wondered what would have happened if I had accepted Evan’s ride?
Would we have sat outside on the porch swing and enjoyed the
evening together? Would Bev and Matt have said they liked him?
Would I have made it home at all? I closed my eyes and could see
myself as a lifeless corpse lying in a field somewhere. When I
finally did sleep, I dreamed that Kimmy was crying over a coffin. I
expected to see Mom lying inside it, but when I got next to her and
looked down, the body was my own.
     
     

CHAPTER THREE
     
    Jewels’ car was in the lot as always,
but she wasn’t there. Evan’s car was there, and I could see that
someone was in the driver’s seat. I parked a little further away
than necessary and did something that I hadn’t done since moving to
Pensacola. I locked my car doors. My hood was locked down, but, as
I recalled Tony’s words, I knew there was plenty that could be done
to a vehicle from the exterior.
    I hadn’t taken ten steps when Evan
opened his door and got out. “Leese,” he called my name softly, but
I just kept walking. He caught up to me but kept his distance. “I’m
sorry,” he said as he jammed his hands down into his pockets. “I
was a real jerk toward you yesterday.”
    My heart was crumbling at the sincerity
of his words. I looked over at him and realized that he looked
about as rough as I felt. “Tough night last night?” I
questioned.
    “ Yeah,” he responded. “I
almost went home.”
    That stopped me in my tracks. I
suddenly felt very foolish for believing he could have damaged my
car. “Evan, I’ve got a problem with you.” I watched his eyebrows go
up. “I—I like you, but I don’t want to.”
    “ Any particular reason why
you don’t want to like me?” he shrugged.
    “ Yeah—because—I’m—I’m a liar
and I absolutely hate it.”
    “ You’re a liar ? About what?” His voice
sounded strained.
    “ I wish I could tell you,
but I can’t. All I can say is that I hope we can still be friends
when this is over with because I really do like you.”
    His hand slipped out of his pocket and
wrapped around my shoulder in one fluid movement. He gave me a warm
squeeze, saying it was okay. That was all it took for the tears to
pour down my cheeks.
    “ I’m sorry,” I muttered as I
fished for a tissue. His other arm wrapped around me and I suddenly
found myself with my face buried against his warm chest. I felt his
hand reach up and stroke my hair over and over. I liked being in
his arms, it felt safe. “I was such a jerk to you. I don’t know how
you can forgive me.”
    He pushed me back a little and looked
at me. “I was just as much of a jerk as you were. I guess I can
forgive you because I really like you, too,” he smiled.
    We resumed walking and he kept one arm
draped over my shoulders. It felt like heaven, but once again I
figured this was taking a step closer to what I’d been trying to
avoid from the beginning. I stopped and stepped away from him,
turning back toward Jewels’ car. “Hey, have you seen Jewels this
morning? She almost always waits for me.”
    His