“An evening of socializing kind of sounds like a nightmare,” I admit.

“Allie,” she scolds. “Turning eighteen is a milestone. This is not negotiable. You’d do the same for me.”

Taking a deep breath of defeat, I realize I don’t actually seem to have a choice in the matter. “Apparently I can’t say no.”

Zoe reaches over to give me a squeeze. “You won’t regret this.”

I wince, waiting until she lets go to mutter, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

The lunch bell rings soon after, and we stand, collecting our things and preparing to go to our separate classes. After I part ways with Zoe, Damien spots me in the hallway, stopping short.

“Allie!” he exclaims with a grin, striding over to me in a few quick steps and sliding his hand into mine. “There you are. I missed you at lunch.”

“I needed to get some stuff done,” I say.

“Can I walk you to class?” he asks, and I stare at our intertwined fingers, feeling uncomfortable.

“Actually,” I say, reaching up with my free hand to scratch my head. “I need to talk to Ms. Warren before my next class.” I’ve been meaning to ask the English teacher if she’ll let me stay after school to catch up on my ever-growing pile of assignments. Judging by what I’ve heard from Sofia, my grades weren’t all that great pre-accident, and I doubt they’ll be improving much now. School feels like a useless endeavor, but I suppose it’s nice to have some semblance of normalcy.

“Oh,” he says, face falling. He lets go of my hand. “Well, do you want a ride home today?”

“Audrey is picking me up, same as usual.”

“Of course.” He nods, and it’s clear he’s trying to mask his hurt, keeping his voice light. “I’ll see you later, then.”

“Bye, Damien.”

Not wanting to wait around in the awkward atmosphere, I quickly head to the English classroom. The conversation Damien and I had last week has stuck with me, taking what little brain space I have left after all of the other things that keep me up at night. I already assumed he loved me, but having him state his intentions so plainly made me feel like I was suffocating.

There’s too much on my plate right now for me to be trying to fight for a relationship that might not have even been great to begin with. It’s hard to imagine myself ever being happy with Damien. It’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with him. We just don’t seem to go together as well as he thinks we do. The old me evidently wasn’t that interested, either, if she was busy going after Parker.