Guilty (A Ghost Bird FanFiction)

1. Homeward Bound

Sang

"He's probably an axe murderer," Summer said idly. "Now I'm rethinking you and this whole carpool thing, Sang. I didn't get to vet him."

"He's not an axe murderer," I said with a chuckle, shifting my phone to my other ear as I twisted around, looking for the guy in question. His name was Luke, and all I knew about him was that he was also headed to South Carolina and didn't mind that the third passenger on this road trip was my wheaten terrier named Hobbes. "And driving will save money for both of us," I continued. Gas alone would be a small fortune, but it was still cheaper than getting a plane ticket last minute.

"How did you find him again? He's not a total rando, is he?"

I laughed. "He's friends with that guy I work with at Has Bean."

"And by that guy I'm assuming you mean Marc, who probably guest-starred on an episode of Gossip Girl? Whose wife I've already met? Hint: it's me."

I laughed. "The very same."

Has Bean was the small coffee shop I'd been lucky to get a job at freshman year considering I had absolutely zero experience as a barista. Marc had joined our team this semester and we got along well, so when I'd mentioned I was driving down to South Carolina for a couple days he'd asked if I minded company.

And now here I was on the first official day of spring break, creepily parked in a strip mall parking lot waiting for Marc's friend and trying to reassure myself that twelve hours in my small car with a stranger and Hobbes would be totally fine.

As long as he wasn't an axe murderer.

Crap, maybe I should've done a more intensive background check. A cursory glance on Facebook had revealed nothing, but that was probably because I'd never signed up for the site myself for a couple different reasons, number one being I only had a few friends — a drastic improvement from where I'd started, to be honest. Summer had tried to explain that the site was a way to make more friends, but at this point she'd already introduced me to Twitter and things there had gone south quickly, so now I avoided social media altogether. She'd claimed I was preventing my smartphone from living up to its potential, but there were some things I just didn't want to deal with — random guys sending me wink emojis being one of them.

"Then hold onto your panties Sang, because odds are Luke's on a break from filming a different CW show," she teased.

I just laughed again as I looked around, spotting a tall guy with a duffle bag. "I think he's here," I whispered.

"Why are you whispering?"

"I don't know?" I watched the guy check his phone as he walked and then glance up, squinting in the early morning sunlight before his eyes settled my way. "I'm pretty sure it's him."

"Why are you still whispering?" she murmured. "Wait, is he scary? Sang if he is just drive away and don't look back. No one would blame you—"

He'd taken a few more steps toward my car and my heart clenched. He was too beautiful for words. "It's not that." I sighed. "You were right," I muttered as a huge smile broke across his face as he approached. "Damn it all, but you were right."

"He's hot, isn't he?" she replied, laughing. "God, I wish I was going with you. This internship—"

"Will land you the job of a lifetime when you graduate," I interrupted. "I'll be fine, he's fine," I insisted. "Talk to you later?"

"We better." After promising to check in with her, Summer grudgingly said goodbye and hung up.

I took a deep breath and prayed this guy really wasn't an axe murderer before opening my door and getting out. "Luke Taylor?"