Caught

Chapter Forty-Six

"Shorter heels, sure. Sneakers, definitely not," She said. "Plus, I don't think you have time to choose new shoes, you ride's here." She pointed out the window and I glanced outside. Cole's black car was parked on the side of the road and he was heading towards the house.

Jessica tossed me a small purse which held my phone and keys, along with other essentials that were "needed" for the night, according to Alyssa.

"Have fun! We'll see you later tonight," Jessica said as both girls pushed my out my bedroom door.

I made it downstairs just as the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find just what I was expecting - Cole dressed in a black suit, smiling. "Hey, ready for our first school dance together?"

I fingered the bracelet around my wrist, nervous. "Yeah, I'm ready."

His gaze went up and down. "You look... amazing tonight, Lauren."

"You tell me that all the time, think of something original," I laughed.

Just then, Dad walked out of the kitchen, a tub of ice cream in his hands. When he noticed us staring, he spoke. "What are you looking at? It's just ice cream."

I bit my lip to prevent myself from laughing. Cole had a smile on his face as he spoke. "Is there a specific time that I have to bring her home?"

"Whenever her brother gets home will be fine," Dad told him. "Don't do anything stupid, kids. Don't drink and do whatever else teenagers do."

"Dad, are you okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah, yeah... I'm fine." He stumbled into the living room without saying another word.

Cole looked at me confused. I just shrugged in response. He held the door open as I walked outside, then locked the door behind him.

"Anyway, I was wondering, did you eat dinner yet?" Cole asked as I got into his car. I shook my head. "Great, so I could take you out for dinner."

"Oh, no, that's alright. There's gonna be food at the dance, right?" I said in response. I wasn't in the mood for dinner yet my stomach growled moments after he offered. He smiled, putting the car in drive and headed to opposite way from the dance venue.

"It's my treat, Lauren. For, um, getting my sister back," He said, the last bit in a smaller voice. "I hope I didn't get you in too much trouble."

This was the first time he really mentioned the trip since it happened. I could tell it wasn't easy for him to talk about it. I wonder what he saw after I left him...

As if he was able to read my mind, he continued talking. "I - I saw what they did to some of the kids. I - I'm so sorry, Lauren. I'm sorry you had to go through some of that."

"Cole, it's not your fault-"

"But I felt like I - or well, my sister was the reason why you were forced to go back-"

"I made the decision myself, Cole. It's not-"

He cut me off when he stepped outside after parking, with me only then realizing that we arrived to the restaurant. It was really big and by the looks of it, very fancy - the French name gave off a certain vibe.

"This seems way to expensive, Cole," I tell him as I step out of the car.

"I get a discount," He said in response. "I work here part time on weekends."

"Here?" I asked, walking through the door with him behind me. I could immediately tell that this was a pretty hushed environment, so I switched to a whisper. "What do you do here?"