Fries Before Guys (SWAT Generation 2.0 2)

Because I sure the fuck hadn’t heard it from Avery.

Not that I’d heard much of anything from Avery in the last week.

Hell, the only time that I saw her now was when we happened to be passing each other on the way out of the duplexes. Her getting on the goddamn bus, and me just coming home from work in hopes that I would get there in time to take her.

I hadn’t.

Not once since she’d left my place.

Which pissed me off.

“Just a minute ago,” Katy answered. “I saw her when I was going to get you a shirt.”

“You did?” I asked in confusion.

“Yep,” she said. “I saw the car out there and thought… I need a new SUV. And that one is just right there. I know it was kept in great condition. So when I saw her outside talking to Rowen, I thought I would just ask her.”

“Wait.” I paused on our way to our vehicles. “Avery was home?”

And not at school where she was supposed to be?

“Right,” she said. “She had an Uber pick her up and take her to her appointment. Apparently, the halo comes off today.”

I gritted my teeth and tried not to get pissed.

It didn’t work.

“I’m going to have to cancel our lunch plans,” I found myself saying. “I’m going to go to her doctor appointment.”

Katy rolled her eyes.

“You’ve got it bad, little brother,” she teased.

I did.

And I wasn’t even going to deny it.

“I like her,” she continued as if I hadn’t ignored her. “She’s a great person.”

She was.

Avery was a beautiful human being, inside and out.

And to see her be so independent was humbling.

I wasn’t even that independent when I was her age.

“All right then.” Katy patted my shoulder. “You go meet with your girl. I’m going to go get my drive on. How about we meet at your place for dinner? Bring Avery.”

I rolled my eyes at her order, then got in my SUV and started it up before googling how to get to her doctor.

I found it easily enough.

But getting back there to see her wasn’t nearly as easy.

“Listen,” I said to the woman. “I’m her boyfriend.”

Or… at least I wanted to be. Pretty badly, actually.

But it was like the moment that I told her I wanted something more, she backed off as if she was protecting herself from where we might lead.

The receptionist smiled at that and led me to an exam room.

“The doctor will be in to see y’all in a few,” she said.

I walked right in, my brow lifting in surprise when I saw Avery’s face.

“Derek!” she said, standing up quickly.

Her excitement to see me seemed like a good sign.

But looks were always deceiving.

“Is this him?” the woman with Avery asked.

I’d yet to see her before.

I’d gone to one other appointment with her and we’d seen the doctor’s PA, not the doctor herself.

Which I assumed was who was in front of Avery now.

“Yes, Dr. Neil,” Avery said shyly. “This is him.”

I wondered what had been said about me, but instead of asking, I walked up to stand beside Avery.

“I was just explaining to Avery how this was going to go,” Dr. Neil explained. “She was telling me that you were her ride home. I told her we had to use a bit of sedation here because of the pins.”

I looked down at Avery and she widened her eyes.

“I’ll be right back with a nurse,” Dr. Neil said. “And we’ll get started.”

Dr. Neil left, leaving the door partially open as she went.

“I swear to God,” Avery said urgently. “I had my phone out to text you. Look.”

I looked, finding a partially written text message that said, ‘Hey, I know you’re busy but I’m about to…’

I sighed. “You know I would’ve come to the entire appointment if you’d only just told me.”

She opened her mouth and blew out a breath of air.

“Derek, do you realize what you’ve done for me over the last couple of months?” she asked.

I tilted my head sideways. “Yes, I do.”

She looked at me imploringly.

“Then you know that I’ve asked you to do a lot and have done nothing in return,” she said. “I honestly hate having to lean on you so much. Especially when I have nothing else to give back to you. You don’t need me. And honestly, Derek, that really sucks.”

I looked down into her eyes, reading the sincerity there.

“Up until a week and a half ago, I had dinner every night,” I said.

Her mouth snapped shut, her teeth clacking audibly.

“I had someone to talk to every night about my day,” I continued. “Sure, I had to drop you off and pick you up, but again, I enjoyed doing that because I got to spend time with you.”

She looked down at her lap.

“I thought that you felt that, too,” I continued.

She brought her hands up to her face and scrubbed it.