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When I got out of work on Sunday, I had circles under my<br />
eyes the same color as the roads I drove home on. This waiting, this<br />
<strong>no</strong>t k<strong>no</strong>wing was pulling at me, making my chest hurt and my body<br />
exhausted. I could <strong>no</strong>t describe how infatuated I was with the idea<br />
of flopping down on my bed and passing out before the clock hit<br />
8:30.<br />
But when I went to pull into my usual spot in the driveway,<br />
there was a car blocking my entrance. A little silver Chevy Cobalt,<br />
the passenger seat of which I had become very familiar with. My<br />
heart dive-bombed my stomach and the handful of popcorn I’d<br />
downed tried to climb back up my throat. I swallowed hard as I<br />
managed to park my car against the curb.<br />
What was he doing here? My feet were so hard to lift they<br />
felt like they were glued to every place I stepped on my trek up the<br />
driveway. I didn’t want to see him yet. Not until he’d gotten the tests<br />
done and they had identified the cause of his freaky mood swings.<br />
I opened the door slowly, like they do in horror movies when<br />
they’re expecting a killer to be lurking in the shadows. Unlike in the<br />
movies, though, the man I wanted to avoid was sitting right on the<br />
couch in my living room, watching TV with my little brother.<br />
Instantly, I felt a surge of instinctive adrenaline that would<br />
have allowed me to throw myself in front of Gunner if I needed to.<br />
When I stepped inside, both of their heads turned in unison. Tucker<br />
looked a little uncertain, but my brother smiled about a thousand<br />
watts at me.<br />
“Hi, Chelsea. I invited Tucker over tonight. I hope that’s<br />
okay.”<br />
My eyebrows crashed downward in a frown. How did<br />
Gunner even get in contact with Tucker? He didn’t have a cell phone<br />
yet. But they did email each other. When did they get to the point<br />
where they wanted to hang out with each other?<br />
“We’ve been emailing for the last few weeks. Gunner had<br />
some questions about some things he’d been reading.” My<br />
boyfriend’s voice was so quiet I could barely hear it over Bruce<br />
Willis shooting things on TV. “If you want me to go, I’ll go.”<br />
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