I ran to an isolated hallway. I bent down at the waist, catching my breath. "Breathe in, breathe out," I repeated the words over and over again.
"Daisy!" Keegan sprinted down the hallway toward me. I stayed motionless, waiting for him. "Babe," he whispered, when he reached me. I shook my head walking straight into his strong arms without hesitation. Falling deeper into his chest, he tightened his hold around me. His hands rubbed my back while he kept whispering in my ear that whatever it was, I was going to be okay. Walking backwards with my head still buried into his shirt, we retreated until we were no longer in the middle of the hallway.
"What happened?" he asked, keeping his hold on me as we sluggishly slid down onto the cold floor, leaning our backs against the hard lockers lining the wall behind us.
"Do you remember the friend my parents said they were worried about on Thanksgiving?" I asked.
He nodded his head. "Tara?"
"Tessa," I corrected. "I just got a text message telling me she is in the hospital. I guess she-she tried to kill herself."
"Fuck," he bit out. "Do you need to go home and see her?"
"I - I'm not really sure," I stuttered. "I want to but it's all the way in Indiana."
"We better get going then," he said, pulling himself up and holding out his arm for me. "We can fly or drive, it's your choice, babe."
I looked up at him blinking.
"Fly or drive?" I asked, repeating his words in disbelief.
"Which one?" His held his hand out farther for me.
"Drive," I answered suddenly, grasping my hand around his and allowing him to lift me up from the floor. I didn't have money for a plane ticket and there was no way I was letting him buy me one.
"Do we need to stop by your house and grab anything or are you good?" He asked me.
"I'm good." The majority of my stuff was still back at home, anyways. "Unless you need to stop by your house."
"Nope," he shook his head. "If I need anything, I'll just buy it whenever we get there."
FOUR HOURS had passed when we got our first snowflake, sprinkling down on Keegan's windshield. The car ride had been hushed since I called my mom, who was shaken up about the entire situation. Tessa was like my sister and a second daughter to my mom. She didn't give me much information on the phone, just reassured me that Tessa was okay but wouldn't be getting released from the hospital for a few days.
I sighed, admiring the fallen flakes with Tessa still on my mind. "I love the snow, " I muttered. Tessa, Tanner and I had always reverted back to small children whenever the snow would build up on the ground, dragging out our sleds out into the cold and having snowball fights.
"Eh," Keegan said, maneuvering lanes and honking at the car in front of us.
You don't like snow?" I questioned, incredulously. "If you don't then you have major problems. Everybody loves the snow."
"I never said I didn't like the snow. Don't go putting words in my mouth," he smiled. "I'm a fan of snow when I'm on a ski trip or vacation, shit like that. What I don't like is snow when I am in a hurry and have to drive down the interstate with fucking morons."
He had a point there. Everyone was driving under the speed limit like it was the first time they had ever seen snow. "We usually don't get too much snow in Atlanta," he explained, and the huge wipers on the windshield squeaking back and forth. "You guys get this shit a lot back home?"
"Usually.”
"Then you are coming this year with us to the cabin on New Year’s.”
"Huh?"
"We are all going to Lane's parent's place in the Smoky Mountains for New Years this year. You like the snow, so you're going."
"Eh, I think I might have something going on." I definitely had nothing going on.
"Don't lie. I know you think you are too sad to have fun and shit but that is what's going to help you. You don't need to sit up in your damn room all the time."
"I'm not sad.”
"You are,” he said, shaking his head. His hand swept into the glove compartment, pulling out an iPod and handing it over to me. "Let's play a game." I wanted to play a game like I wanted a bullet to the head.
"I'm not really in the mood to play a game," I informed him, squirming in my seat. I wasn't trying to sound unappreciative of the fact he was driving me thousands of miles to go see my friend, but it just wasn't the idea of fun to me at the time.
"It's an easy game, really. We both pick a song that reminds us one of one another. I promise we won't giggle together or have more fun than you can handle."
"Fine. But you have to go first."
"Got it," he called out, turning the volume knob on the radio. A song I'd never heard before began to spill out of the every speaker in the car. I tucked a strand of hair back letting the lyrics soak me in.
"What song is this?" I asked.
"It's called Let Her Cry by Hootie and The Blowfish."
I nodded, letting the words speak to me. It was like they climbed into my brain, captured every thought running through it and chose that song about their discovery. I was this song's muse.
"Do you like it?" He asked, studying me.
I swallowed. "I do."
He smiled. "This is one of my favorite songs."