What the hell? What just happened? Where is she going?
Matt stood from his chair and began to leave after
Kara, but Aaron glanced at me and grabbed his shirt in one of his fists.
�Sit down.�
He glared at her retreating back.
�Whore��
He muttered the word loud enough so he knew everyone at the table heard him as he sat back down.
Sharing another look with Aaron after which he waved me away, I stood up, too preoccupied with my worry to notice the dirty look Mike shot me, and nodded towards the table.
�I�ll see you guys later.�
I maneuvered my way through the waiters and patrons standing between me and Kara. The darkness that met me eyes once I exited the building didn�t prevent me from finding the petite woman packing in the parking lot.
�Kara!�
Her frantic steps stopped for a beat before continuing in an oddly rhythmic pattern. Coming up from behind her, I grabbed one of her arms in hopes of her stopping and looked at me.
�Don�t touch me!�
*
When I spun around, too distracted to process the voice that�d called my name, I�d expected Mike to be there, ready to attack me after blowing off his little brother again. Finding Nick instead, looking like I�d just slapped him, my anger was sucked out of me and replaced by pure frustration.
�I�m sorry. I thought you were� someone else.�
He nodded slightly in acceptance of my apology and watched me intently like he was gauging my current emotional state before figuring out what to do next.
He�s so sweet.
�Just� please don�t touch me. Not right now. Not� not after that.�
I yanked the band out of my hair again, wincing slightly at the sharp pain it caused at my scalp. Running a hand through to untangle my hair, I looked back up at him. A curiously concerned expression was in his eyes.
�What just happened? What did Matt do?�
Uh oh. I can�t answer that.
I shook my head and waved the questions away with my hand.
�It doesn�t matter.�
He looked at me for a second in confusion.
�Obviously it does or you wouldn�t have left so quickly.�
A loud crowd of people came out of the restaurant and gave reason for Nick to grab my elbow, leading me to his car.
�We�ll talk on the way home.�
*
Kara flinched the moment I touched her, so I dropped my hand when I knew she was following me away from the evil people inside.
What the fuck did Matt do to her?
Fueled by anger, she held her head up as she walked for the first time since we ran into each other over twenty-four hours ago. She didn�t give me the chance to open her door for her, swinging it open and climbing in before I knew what was happening.
I�ve never seen Kara angry before.
Getting in myself, I turned the car on and pulled out of the parking lot as a harsh silence blanketed all our mutual frustrations.
What just happened in there?
�What about Aaron?�
My thoughts of all the horrible possibilities of things Matt could have done to her in the fifteen minutes they�d been near each other were broken at her question.
�He�ll find a way home. If I�d known Matt was going to be there, I wouldn�t have felt it necessary to go with him.�
The moment his name left my lips, she kicked her shoes off into the floorboard and pulled her legs into the chair, curling up into a ball while staring out the front window. In the passing streetlights, I swore she was still shaking as I pulled onto the highway.
�What happened, Kara?�
She shook her head carefully.
�Nothing.�
God damn it woman!
�Kara, it�s obvious something happened. You wouldn�t be acting like this. You wouldn�t have just left like that.�
�It�s nothing. I just couldn�t stay. You didn�t have to follow me.�
But I wanted to make sure you were okay.
�I couldn�t just let you leave.�
Resting her chin on her knees, she didn�t reply.
�What did he say to you?�
There was a momentary pause when the silence became oppressive with the mounting frustrations we both seemed to have.
�It doesn�t matter. Just let it drop. I don�t want to talk about it.�
Damn it, Kara. Why the hell won�t you tell me? That just makes me think it�s worse than I�d originally thought.
�You�re pushing me out again, Kara.�
I pulled off the highway, wishing the ride to end soon so I could wrap her up in my arms and calm her down.
�I never let you in.�
*
Out of the corner of my eye I saw his entire body tense up after the words left my mouth, his grip on the steering wheel turning his knuckles white.
I�m such a liar.
Nick didn�t reply and the closer we got to his house, the harsher the silence became. Each second that passed increased the fear forming in my stomach. We passed house after house in his neighborhood, and he never relaxed.
I finally ruined it completely. It�s over. I should just leave now and save us both from a lot more pain.
Pulling the car in front of his house and putting it into park, he leaned back in his seat and ran one of his hands through his hair.
�Go inside and get some sleep.�
He won�t look at me. Oh god, I really fucked this up.
�Nick, I��
�Just go inside, Kara.�
�But��
�Get out of the damn car!�
*
I just yelled at her. At Kara. At my Kara.
But she just said� I�
She has to be lying. She let me in earlier today when she told me about her step-dad. She definitely let me in the last time we saw each other.
I could feel her looking at me and in my peripheral vision, I saw her bottom lip tremble while she reached out to open the door. I heard her slip out and land softly on her feet before she glanced at me again and shut the door.
It wasn�t until she was half way to the door that I could bring myself to look at her as she left.
Why did you have to say that to me? I just might start believing you.
�If you�re gone, maybe it�s time to come home
There�s an awful lot of breathing room
But I can hardly move
If you�re gone, baby, you need to come home
�There�s a little bit of something me
In everything in you�