Divagate

Chapter 17

Ew, I'm the absolute fucking worst.

"I'm so glad that you're ok." He mumbles. The guilt gets worse. Suddenly, Lincoln releases me and holds me at arms length, eyebrows creased. Internally, I freak the fuck out.

Oh, fuck! He knows!

"You are ok, right?" I'm sort of fine, but I'm more worried about him. Lincoln looks like a hot mess.

His hair is disheveled, and his clothes (the same ones he wore yesterday) are rumpled and wrinkled. It's obvious that Vince is right about Lincoln barely getting any sleep. There are dark circles under his exhausted-looking eyes, and it seems as though the only thing keeping him awake at the moment is the fact that I'm standing in front of him.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. You, and I mean this in the best way possible, look like shit." Lincoln's laugh is quiet and appears to take a lot of energy,

"Thanks for noticing." He smirks, sarcastically running a hand through his hair. "It's a new look I call 'my friend is missing'."

"Very creative." I say with a slight grin.

"Speaking of you being missing, why were you gone for so long?" Well shit. There's no way that he's going to stay awake for the amount of time it'll take me to explain what happened.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, let's get you to the truck so you can take a nap." He seems more than willing to comply. I let Lincoln lean on me as we make our way back inside and downstairs.

Vince and Darwin, who already has his shoes on, are waiting for us in the kitchen. Any indication that Darwin had been crying is gone. The way he's standing with his hip against the island makes it seem as though nothing ever happened.

If he's acting normal, then I should, too. I don't make any eye contact with Darwin as Lincoln and I pass him.

"Alright, let's go." Vince says, spinning the keyring of the truck keys around his index finger. Lincoln walks ahead to pick his seat while I put on my shoes. Vince follows him out the door and I hear the truck start.

I finish tying my shoes and stand up, coming face to face with Darwin's chest. I don't let my eyes meet his, yet he leans down so his mouth is near my ear,

"Stay up with me tonight," his breath tickles my skin, almost giving me goosebumps. "I need to talk with you again." Still keeping my eyes down, I nod. Without anything else, Darwin stalks outside.

I exhale the breath that I didn't realize I was holding. I don't want to let my mind wander thinking about what Darwin wants to talk to me about, so I head outside, shutting the door behind me.

Darwin climbs into the passenger seat and slams the door shut. Through the windshield, Vince signals for me to go to the backseat on the driver's side.

When I reach out to grab the handle, Vince reverses. With a groan, I step to the side, trying to get to the door handle. Yet again, Vince reverses the truck. I shoot him a glare through his window, but he ignores it, laughing like this is the funniest shit he's ever seen.

For the third time, I walk towards the door. Vince, like the dumbass he is, keeps moving the truck back so it's just far enough away. I've had it. I stop, and once his window is level with me, I flip him off with both hands. His laughter doesn't stop. Finally, Vince puts the truck in park and lets me in.

"What the hell, Vince?" I scold, doing my best to conceal the smile that wants to show. Vince continues to giggle like a little girl. Neither Darwin nor Lincoln look very amused.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Vince says, pulling the truck around the circle drive and taking off down the driveway. He expects us to laugh along with him, but the truck stays silent. "Come on! You have to admit that it was pretty funny!"

"I don't think Lincoln thought it was funny. He was trying to sleep." Darwin mutters. Lincoln confirms Darwin's statement with a yawn and a gruff "mhm". Vince's laughter dies down,

"Sorry, Linc."

"You better be." Lincoln mumbles as he tips his head against the window and closes his eyes. I catch the smallest smile from him for a split second. I knew he wasn't actually mad.

After a while, soft snores come from Lincoln. The truck hits a few potholes, but Lincoln doesn't wake up. I take this as a sign that I can whisper and not disturb him.

"So where did you set up camp?" I ask Vince, leaning forward so he can hear me better.

"About half an hour away from here." He whispers back.

"Ok." I fall back into my seat and stare out the window, listening to the sounds of Lincoln getting much needed rest.

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Salut, tout le monde!

This was a shorter and boring chapter. So, sorry about that. It'll pick back up soon, don't worry!

Also, while I was writing this chapter, we hit 70 reads and got our first vote! Yes, I'm aware that ratio isn't great, but it's definitely something!

We've seen a few interactions between Lia and Darwin, and Lia and Lincoln. Which couple do you like more?

Thanks for reading chapter 17!💕