Drake didn’t agree.
“He’s not here with us. Don’t let him get to you, Drake. I’m here with you, not back at school with him.”
“Do you really think it makes it any easier for me? Especially knowing he’s going to get to hold you one day. You can’t stay angry with him forever. It’s not who you are.”
She sighed. “You keep pretending you know me, and the truth is, you don’t really know me at all.”
“I do, trust me, I do.”
She wasn’t going to argue. What was the point?
“You know, one day you will thank me for not letting you beat down on Ree.”
She snorted. “Don’t hold your breath.”
“I said one day, not today. I know right now you’re pissed at me. You’re probably hating my guts and you know what, you’ve got a right to that.” He shrugged. “I can’t stop you.”
“Good, because I don’t hate your guts, Drake. I’m just pissed at you for a lot of reasons.”
****
Drake could handle pissed.
He hadn’t wanted to pull Pru off Ree, but he knew deep down she wouldn’t have wanted to hurt the other girl.
Ree wasn’t where her anger was No, it was at him and his parents, and he had to learn to accept that she was going to hate him for a time. He’d dragged her to his car, threw her inside, and took off, leaving the school.
This was nice, though. At least he got to spend time with her while he told her the truth of what he learned. He would do anything to extend their time together, but he wouldn’t push it. This was for them, for one last moment together.
“How have you been?” she asked.
“Do you really want to know?”
She sighed. “Sure, why not?”
“I’ve been better.” He may as well be honest with her. There was nothing about what they were going through that he liked or even agreed with.
“Me too,” she said. “I’m trying to get over it.”
“I know.”
They were both hurting.
“Sometimes I wish I hadn’t gone to that party.”
“I know.”
“It would have been so much easier if I’d stayed away. If we’d hated each other. You know, you being your mean self, and me, well, just fighting against you.”
He laughed. “It wouldn’t have made life easier, Pru. I think we can both admit neither of us truly hated each other.”
“I don’t know. I think if I said it enough times, I’d start to believe it.”
He looked over at her and saw she smiled at him. “I’ve missed this.”
“Yeah, and you’re going to have to get your fill for now. Are you going to tell me what it is you wanted to say?”
“Soon. I want to … prolong this for a little while longer.”
“Okay. I don’t mind.”
He stared at her hand resting in her lap.
They hadn’t been apart that long, but for him, it was too much. Reaching out, for this day only, he took her hand.
“Drake, do you think this is wise?” she asked.
“Yes, it is.”
She tried to tug her hand away.
“Pru, please, you’re with me now. We may as well do this properly. I’m going to hold your hand and then I’m going to tell you the truth of what I learned, and together, we’re going to figure this out.”
“But we both know there’s no way we can work. We’re only prolonging the inevitable.”
“Or we can both come up with a way to be together.”
She groaned. “We’ve been through this. There’s no way.”
“You don’t know all the facts yet,” he said. “Don’t start thinking we’re over until we know more.”
“We’re yo-yoing back and forth and I don’t get it, Drake. Why can’t we just accept that this is it for us?” she asked.
Drake gripped the steering wheel even tighter. He knew he’d fucked up by trying to push her away and he saw the error of what he’d done. Now, he had a way to fix it, or at least he thought he did.
“Can we just hold off all conversation of us being completely over? At least until I tell you the truth about everything?” he asked.
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
He nodded. He drove for another half an hour, coming to a stop at a diner. He took a deep breath, wanting to feel like this was it. This was their chance to finally be together. He hoped Pru would know what to do.
“Drake, are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine. I just … you know, I have to deal with everything.” He released a breath and stepped out of the car. He didn’t want to tell her straightaway how much hope he had that she would be able to find a solution for both of them.
When he was at Pru’s side, he took her hand, and together, they walked hand-in-hand toward the diner. He took the lead, finding them a nice quiet booth to eat in.