“Just try it.” He nudges the basket in my direction.
Hesitantly, I reach forward and grab one and dip it. Bringing it to my lips, I take a deep breath before I pop it into my mouth. Slowly, I chew and realize that it tastes delicious.
“Better than I thought it would be.”
“Can’t go wrong with something fried or something with ranch.” Chase laughs.
He continues to toss questions my way while sidestepping them when I ask. Dude’s a mystery that doesn’t want to be figured out. After I’m done eating, I drop my napkin onto my plate and lean back, enjoying my food coma.
“This was a good idea.”
“I agree.” Chase moving has me opening my eyes. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, just let me run to the restroom real fast so I can wash my hands.”
“Sounds good, I’ll meet you at the front door,” he says as he gets up. “Did you see where the restroom is?”
“Yeah, I saw the sign by the front,” I tell him as I slide out.
Brushing past him, I head toward the restroom. Once inside, I look at myself in the mirror. My messy bun is falling since Chase kept playing with it. Turning on the faucet, I wash my hands real fast while singing the Happy Birthday song in my head to make sure they are clean. Once done, I dry my hands and start fixing my hair.
What does it matter, Willow? It’s just Chase and you going home.
Shaking the thoughts from my head, I leave the restroom. I take one step outside and feel a hand grab my arm. I jerk away and chop at the bend of his arm, at his elbow.
“Ow, fuck, Willow!” Mr. Kendall groans, dropping my arm to hold his.
“Holy shit, Mr. Kendall,” I yell, holding my hand to my chest. I feel my heart pounding like crazy. “You scared the shit out of me,” I hiss.
“I’m sorry.” He raises his hands. “I didn’t mean to. I just saw you and wanted to talk to you for a minute.”
“About?” I cross my arms.
“I want to help you, Willow.” He steps closer. “You deserve better than this town.”
I roll my eyes. “So you’ve said.”
“I’m serious, Willow. I’ll do whatever I can to help you get out of here.” He steps closer again. Taking a step back, my back hits the wall.
He’s caging me in.
“Willow,” Chase barks.
I whip my head toward the end of the hall and see him charging my way. Mr. Kendall steps back, giving me space. Pushing off the wall, I walk toward Chase. I grab his arm, holding him in place.
“I’ll see you tomorrow in class, Mr. Kendall,” I say over my shoulder.
“Are you sure you should be getting tied up with the Rockfords, Willow?”
I turn, giving him my attention while holding on to Chase. I feel him tense under my hand. “Who I spend time with is up to me, Mr. Kendall. Have a good night.” I turn, pulling Chase with me. At the end of the hall, I release a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding.
Chase slips from my grip, making me spin around.
“Maybe instead of worrying about who Willow is spending time with, you should worry about the wrong impression it puts out when you corner a student,” he says eerily calm.
Chase puts his hand once again on my lower back and ushers me outside.
“Chase,” I whisper.
