The car came to a screeching halt in front of the elementary school. Teddy honked the horn repeatedly, ignoring the glares of the parents who were waiting for their kids in the driveway.
Gabe cringed when he made eye contact with his sister who sat in the driver's seat and he made his way toward the car.
The passenger window slowly moved downward as Teddy glared at him.
"Come on, get in!" she yelled.
"What's the big rush?"
"Just get in! I don't have all day!"
Obediently, Gabe climbed into the car and tossed his backpack onto the back seat. He'd barely closed the door when the car sped off, jerking him back against the passenger seat.
"Whoa! Where's the fire? Why are you driving so fast?"
"Well I figured you probably don't want to be seen with me any longer than you have to, so I thought I'd get you home as fast as possible."
"That's very kind of you." Gabe replied, gasping as Teddy swerved to avoid hitting an SUV that was stopped at the intersection.
"Um, that was a stop sign you know. Just thought I'd point that out in case... Oh, I don't know... a cop is around?"
"Thanks, Gabe. I appreciate it!" Teddy said, turning the corner so sharply that Gabe's fingers dug into the dashboard.
"You know, if Mom and Dad knew how badly you drive, they'd take your car away so fast it'd make your head spin! And the only reason they'd give it back is for you to come visit them in the nursing home!"
Gabe laughed hysterically at his own joke. "Get it? They'd be in the nursing home because that's how long you'd be without your car?"
"Hilarious. Now get out!"
Gabe looked around in confusion.
"What, here?"
"Mom said to pick you up from school and take you home. So now you're home!"
"Um... maybe you need to pay a visit to the nursing home yourself. Because this isn't our house."
"What are you talking about? Of course this is our house!"
"Actually, it's not even our street!" Gabe pointed out.
Teddy blinked, realizing she'd stopped in front of Mrs. Dabney's sister's house. Which sister, she had no idea, considering that the four of them looked exactly alike.
How weird was that?
"Oh..."
"Well, aren't you going to do something about it? Like... Oh, I don't know... take me to OUR house?"
"What?"
Gabe sighed and grabbed his backpack before climbing out of the car. "Never mind. I'll walk. And just so you know, I won't tell Mom and Dad about any of this."
Gabe walked off and then turned around. "But I must tell you, that my keeping my mouth shut comes with a price. Just sayin'."
"Thanks." Teddy said, staring into the distance. "Have a good time."
Without even looking back, Teddy took off down the street, anxious to get to where she was going.
Her heart beat faster as she neared the small park that sat adjacent to her high school and she turned off the ignition.
One last glance in the tiny rear view mirror and she got out of the car, making her way to the wooden bench where she'd first encountered the mysterious boy.
It was unusually crowded for this time of day and she rolled her eyes at all the couples walking hand in hand. They looked so happy that it made her sick.
She was happy once. How could she not have been? She had Spencer.
But now she had no one.
She sighed, fighting the ridiculous tears that still came whenever she thought about him.
So what if she wasn't over him yet? Was that so wrong? The guy did break her heart. And broken hearts took a long time to mend.
But she wasn't sure if this pain would ever really go away.
A rustling noise caught her attention and thoughts of Spencer immediately vanished.
"Juliet?"
