"Ok we're here." Said Axel, pulling up to the side walk at the nearest intersection to my house.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off in front of your house?" He looked pretty worried, looking around the area.
"No it's okay. And besides, we had a deal remember?" I asked, stuffing the rest of the food in my bag.
"I know we did, but it's a lot after midnight and I don't feel comfortable letting you walk alone this late." He replied, still looking around like he was waiting for something to pop out of the bushes.
"Dude trust me I'm ok. I told you, I'm a taekwondo champion." I said, opening the door and getting down.
"Huh? Wait! I'm gonna call you, and I'll stay with you on the line until you tell me you're safe ok?" The look of worry on his face was heartwarming, so I didn't try fight it.
Now calling "Sophia Grace".
I closed the door as I answered his phone call.
"I'm going to stay with you on the line ok? And I'm staying here in case any interference is needed." He said, getting comfortable in his seat.
I nodded my head because I was too taken aback by how much he cared to be able to come up with a snarky comment. I closed the door, and waved bye to him and started walking towards my house, phone in my back pocket and AirPods in my ears.
"Any questions left you wanna ask me?" He says yawning.
"Why? So you can conveniently dodge all of them and turn this whole thing against me?" I reply, already missing the warmth of his Jeep.
"I won't. Promise." He chuckled a little, a hint of exhaustion visible in his tone.
A random cold breeze made me regret declining his offer to drive me to my doorstep.
Oh for the love of God man up you spineless coward. It's just air. That's cold, it's not like you're going to die of pneumonia like a fifteenth century kid with influenza who won't make it through the winter!
"Ok fine. You said your parents are divorced?" I huffed, the ability to breathe in this weather getting extremely hard.
"Not divorced exactly, but I haven't seen my dad in a couple of years. He works overseas or something heading this big multinational company that does God knows what. All I get from him is a cheque deposit at the beginning of every month. No phone calls. No post cards. Nothing."
The last word held a lot of anger that it took me aback a little.
"Hey I'm sorry if I opened a wound or something. I didn't mean to."
I took a left turn and this midnight breeze showed no sign of mercy on my cyanotic skin.
"Nah it's ok. I'm used to it now. Ok my turn. Based on your ability to meticulously dodge my questions about your life, there is something about you that you don't wish to reveal to the world. Maybe it's a dangerous secret, or maybe you're just not that trusting."
There was a weird type of silence that followed what he just said. Am I really that easy to read? Or has he been studying me that closely that he deduced these from the little time we spent together?
"Was that a question or a statement?" I whispered warily as I turned right on to my street; Holmes Hill.
"A combination of both maybe? I don't know. I am very observant- not a creep. And I tend to notice everything you know. Anyways. Come on answer."
"I just find a hard time trusting people. It's nothing personal but I've been through a lot. Stuff that I'm not comfortable ever sharing. I'm sorry."
The houses around me were all dark and the dim lit street set a creepy scene for anyone with a vivid imagination such as myself. It's ok, just a few more minutes to go. Don't get me wrong, the area is fancy but I think my parents bought the house before anyone else did and it just
YOU ARE READING
The Corner Store
Teen FictionI fell for a boy with the kindest blue eyes, and a charming dimple. He made me feel loved, and cared for, and most importantly he made me feel safe in his presence. He came right in the middle of a tornadoe and managed to turn it into blue skies. He...
