I haven’t gotten much use out of it yet, but I suppose now is as good a time as any.

“Allie?”

The familiar voice comes from behind me, and I turn to see Damien exiting the school. He’s so not a person I want to see right now.

He steps outside slowly, letting the door fall shut. When he sees the first tear trail down my cheek, he hastens his pace, placing his hands on my arms. “Hey, what’s going on?” he asks worriedly. “What are you doing out here?”

“I need to go home,” I tell him, trying to step out of his grasp.

“Let’s go together,” he presses, smoothly stepping in front of me.

“I’m just going to call Sofia and—”

Damien takes the phone from my fingers, looking at me intently. “I’ll drive you,” he insists, his voice soft. “Come on, let me help.”

“Don’t you have class?”

“This is more important,” he says, looping an arm around my shoulder and guiding me in the direction of the parking lot. “I’ll take you.”

It’s the first time we’ve spoken since our argument at my birthday party. Though I don’t particularly want to spend more time with him, I can’t find it in me to be bothered about getting another ride home. The sooner I leave Pender Falls High behind, the better. Maybe if I ask nicely, Sofia will let me drop out.

I allow Damien to usher me to his car, nodding meekly when he opens my door, then duck inside, grateful to get out of the rain.

Once he’s settled into the driver’s side, he immediately turns on the heat, and I stretch my fingers toward the warmth coming from the vents. He pulls away from the school, and though I’m beginning to calm down, there’s a ball of emotion in my chest that’s threatening to detonate at the slightest misstep. Damien turns on the radio to a station that plays gentle, calming music, and it makes a lump form in my throat.

“Damien,” I ask, after a while of driving in silence, watching the wipers dart back and forth over the windshield. “Why do you like me?”

He looks between me and the road, surprise coloring his features. “What?”

Without warning, Damien pulls over, puts the car into Park, and turns to face me squarely.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Because it doesn’t make sense.”

“Allie,” he remarks, reaching over to take my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. “Of course it does. You’re the best person I know.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”