Accidentally on Purpose

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"You still look good anyway," he said airily as he turned around and walked away. Before he was gone out of sight, though, he looked over his shoulder and said, "See you later."

I was still blushing as I leaned against my locker, my heart feeling like it was about to burst inside my chest. It wasn't long until Gina finally spotted me with a giddy smile on my face, standing there like an idiot that I was starting to become.

"Good god," she commented as she walked up to me. "Why didn't you tell me when you called last night that finally you got laid, Hannah?"

My face reddened in mortification. "What? I didn't!"

She smirked at me. "Well, that definitely isn't what everybody's saying."

My forehead knitted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone's talking about you and Jonah," she said teasingly. We both walked through the hallway, ignoring the looks that people sent toward my way. "How you two supposedly had the best night ever."

I groaned. "For god's sake, Gina, we haven't even kissed! How did anybody even know that Jonah and I hung out last night?"

She shrugged. "You guys were at a public place. They were saying you two were making goo-goo eyes at each other all the way through the event."

Lightly smacking her on the arm, I huffed. "Shut up. We did not."

"Mmmmm-hm. Whatever you say, best friend."

[]

I'd really thought that nothing was going to bring me down, but apparently, I was wrong.

It was during a hazy night, in the middle of a dark, empty road, when I found myself sitting behind the wheel. I'd recognized this dream a thousand times before, but nothing could ever prepare me for what was about to come.

I remembered it being so cold, even though the heater in the car was turned up to its highest level. Light snow was falling onto the road, and the glass window was slowly getting frosty from how freezing it was. I pulled down the sleeves of my sweater so they covered all of my fingers, my numb hand moving slowly to turn the steering wheel.

I was shaky, and I didn't know why. I was scared, I was confused, and I wanted to go home; but this road was foreign to me and I'd never properly driven a car before and I didn't know what the hell I was doing behind the wheel. There was a faint murmur from the radio, a song that I didn't recognize, but it only made the whole situation more chilly instead of calming.

A motion from my right jolted me in my seat, and it was then that I realized that there was someone slumping against the passenger seat, his eyes closed but his face blurry in my eyes. Somehow I knew that he was sleeping, and that whatever I did wouldn't be enough to wake him up. I turned my focus back to the road in front of me, ignoring the low mumbling that came from the stranger.

I didn't know how to drive; I didn't know what I was doing and I was slowly freaking out. I mean, I knew how to drive, but I wasn't good at this and I'd never once driven alone without my dad in the passenger seat, telling me what to and what not to do. I was with a stranger, but I was alone and he couldn't help me calm me down because he was asleep. I wanted to call out his name but my mind just couldn't remember what his name was, so I stayed quiet, trying my best to recall everything dad had taught me about driving safely.

I didn't know how it was possible, but the night only got darker and darker, and it was as if I was slowly driving into a black, endless hole. I didn't know which direction to go—I didn't know if I was going the right way. Heck, I didn't even know where I was going. I was scared, confused, and freezing, and I wanted to go home. But I didn't know where home was.