Author's Note: Thank you for all the kind reviews. I am so grateful. I hope you like this update. Please read, review, and more of all, enjoy. Have a nice day.

Chapter Four

George offered to give Zoe a ride home, but she was not sure she wanted her friends to know where she lived. They probably knew Harley, and knowing she lived with him was too risky if she wanted to remain anonymous.

"Thanks, but, um, Wade's headed my way, and he already offered."

Wade looked at her, a little annoyed, but nodded, "Yeah, uh, she told me where she lives and it ain't too far from me, so …" he shrugged.

George nodded, and he and Lemon headed off toward his car.

"That's for saying I'd do something I never agreed to by the way," Wade hissed.

"Oh, like you have anything better to do." Wade looked at her, stunned by her condescending arrogance, "Where's you're car." When she saw it, her reaction was revulsion.

"You drive this thing?"

"Hey! It may be nothin' fancy, but it runs well enough." He said as he went to unlock it.

"How old is this thing? Is there any paint left, or is it all just rust?"

"It's been in the family for a long time, all right."

"Why don't you just get a new one and dump this thing in a gutter or somewhere?"

"You wanna walk home?" Wade asked, exasperated.

Zoe sighed, then opened the door and sat in the shotgun seat. Wade got in next to her.

"I'm surprised the door didn't come off its hinges when I opened it."

"You know, it's best not to piss off someone when you're life is in their hands."

"What, you're going to do something dangerous with yourself in the car."

"It shuts you up, it might be worth it." He turned the wheel and started driving, "So, where am I taking you exactly?"

"The practice. Harley said he would pick me up unless there was some medical emergency, so …"

"Right." They rode in silence for a while, "So, what's the deal with that anyway, you an' Harley? You stayin' with 'im?" Zoe nodded, "Why?" she didn't answer, "So we're back to the silent thing now?"

"No, I just don't feel like playing twenty questions."

"It was three. And it ain't like we got anything else to talk about."

Zoe sighed, "It's private, okay."

"Did nobody tell you how small towns work?"

"I just don't want to talk about it, okay?" she turned to face the window.

"Geez, you sure are easy to piss off." She was quiet, "Well, I guess that's fun. It's like a game. I could maybe right a book when it's over. 1001 ways to piss off stuck-up New Yorkers."

Zoe growled.

"Or should it be stuck-up New York Girls? I mean, New York boys are probably different. Or hey, maybe I'll just use you're name. 1001 ways to piss off Zoe Hart."

"Don't you have anything better to do with your time?"

"Didn't you imply earlier that I don't?" he countered.

She shook her head in annoyance, "You know, it's guys like you that made god send the flood."

"What, you mean guys who give free rides to rude girls they barely know when they weren't even asked politely? Or guys who keep a secret they don't even understand because some strange girl wanted them to?"

Zoe sighed, "It's not that I'm not grateful-"

"You sure ain't actin' like it. Or is this how they say thank you in New York?"

"Please, nobody bothers saying thank you in New York." Wade laughs, "You've done some favors for me, and I appreciate them, but you are also annoying, cocky, immature, rude, and crude."

"Geez, tell me how you really feel."

"We're here." Wade pulled over, Zoe started to get out, when Wade cleared his throat.

"What?" he rolled his eyes, "Oh, um, thanks for the ride."

Wade smiled, "Now, was that so hard?"

When Zoe walked into the practice, she heard a strangely familiar female voice.

"Lemon?" she asked. As she entered the room, she saw the girl from her class standing in the middle of the room talking to Dr. Breeland.

"Zoe? Hey! What are you doin' here? Hope you're not feelin' sick."

She was, but not for the reason Lemon probably thought.

"Well," Dr. Breeland interrupted, "I see you two have met."

Just then, Harley came into the room, "Hello Lemon, payin' you're dad a visit at work?"

For a second, Zoe thought maybe he meant himself. It wasn't out of the question that he could have had other children; though one so close to her age seemed wrong. However, after thinking about it for a minute, she realized Lemon must be Brick's daughter. Great. Just great. Of all the friends she could have made, she had to end up with Harley's business partner.

"You're Brick's daughter?" Zoe asked for clarification.

"Oldest." Lemon said with a nod, "I got a baby sister named, Magnolia, but she's barely one."

Magnolia? Lemon? Who was naming these girls, Soap 'N Bath?

"Zoe?" Harley turned to face her, his face lighting up, "I didn't know you'd gotten here yet." Zoe smiled awkwardly, "Well, since you are, why don't you just give me a sec to wrap up, and we can go."

Zoe nodded, avoiding Harley's eyes.

"You live with Dr. Wilkes?" Lemon asked, once the doctors had returned to their work.

"Well, um, temporarily. See, I've always wanted to be a doctor, and Dr. Wilkes is an old friend of my, um, of the family, so, I'm spending a year or so studying with him to get some hands on experience. You know, as a favor to them." Zoe had spent a long time coming up with an explanation that would be believable, but not reveal her tragedy making her subject to pity, force her to discuss her parents, or make her the subject of gossip as the local Dr.'s 'lovechild'.

"Well, that's mighty nice of him. Then again, Dr. Wilkes has always been soft. My daddy is a bit more aggressive, which is sometimes good. Not so much when you're trying to get the car for a night though."

"The car?"

"Yeah, there's a party tonight at Addie's house. Her parent's are outta town, and George's car broke down." After a minute, she added awkwardly, "Oh, I would have invited you, but I only heard about it thirty minutes ago."

"That's okay."

"No, you should come. Get in touch with the local party scene."

Zoe pictured square dancing, apple bobbing, and some local kid crooning his original works.

"I'm … not really the party type."

"C'mon. It'll be fun."

"I should really do my homework. I've got a lot to catch up on."

"Blow it off. Nobody sits around at age forty thinking about some questionnaire from ninth grade. But you're first parent-free party in Bluebell, that's a classic moment you will never forget."

Zoe bit her lip. She wanted people to like her, but was she really up to a big party? After all, she had only just started speaking to people again. Besides, the last party she had gone to had been in New York. This would be totally different. The question was, was that a good thing, or a bad thing?

"C'mon," Lemon urged, "Wade'll be there."

"So?"

"So … he's Wade." Zoe looked at her like she was crazy, "I hear he's goin' solo, meanin' he'll be lookin' for a hook-up."

"What? Ew!"

"You're kiddin', right?"

"Even if I went to the party, and decided to hook-up with some random guy, it would never be Wade Kinsella."

"What, you got a boyfriend?"

"No."

Lemon shrugged, "Guess they have a different definition of hot in New York. Don't get me wrong, I love George more than anybody, and no one can get me hotter 'an he can, but in a world with no George Tucker, I'd probably be as crazy about Wade as the rest of the single girls at our school."

Zoe laughed, "Are you telling me that people at school are actually attracted to that crude, juvenile, arrogant buffoon?"

"He's the guy pretty much each girl wants to have a go with in her dirtiest fantasies."

Zoe snorted, "Well, not this one."

"Impressive. I ain't never seen a single girl not go for him before."

"So you assumed I would be just like the rest of the flock?"

"Well, that, and he picked you for Tackle in gym. He usually picks George, and he's only ever nice to girls he's tryin' to nail. Well, an' me, but we've been friends forever, and he and George are tight. He looks at me more like a sister I'd wager, and even if he didn't, even he's not stupid enough to try anything."

"So, if you and Wade are friends, why not just take his car?"

"Like I said, he's gonna be lookin' for a hook-up. Backseat might get occupied, and George and I might want to be alone at some point."

Zoe thought for a minute, "I guess I could talk to Harley. He could drop us off."

" 'Preciative the offer, but this ain't the type of party an adult drops you off at."

"Well, it's not like he's my father." Zoe said with a laugh, trying not to sound awkward.

"Okay, well, great." Lemon said, perking up at the fortunate turn of events. "I'll wait while you ask."

Harley had agreed to let Zoe borrow the car, provided George Tucker was the one driving. Of the three, Harley knew that George was the most responsible. Not that Zoe was irresponsible, but she was still kind of fragile. He did not think she should be behind a wheel. And Lemon, well, she was the sort of girl prone to joyrides and playing chicken. He had considered driving them himself, but he liked that Zoe wanted to go out and have fun; he wanted to give her a chance to spread her wings.

Wade groaned. His truck was acting up. If he didn't know any better, he would think that that Zoe girl had cursed it with her talking about junking the thing; like the car had heard her, and was acting up because of it. Damn, the girl was making his life hell. She made no sense. First she was silent and nonresponsive. Then she was judgmental and angry. She was rude, and stuck up, and she never seemed to thank him even though he went out of his way to be nice to her. She just assumed he would give her a ride, and had to be reminded to say thank you like some kind of two-year-old.

It was not like he had to be nice to her. As far as she knew, he could just walk away, but he did not. The girl could show a little gratitude. He hated that he had made that promise to Dr. Wilkes; if he hadn't, she could be somebody else's problem. Sure, their first encounter had been weird, which had gotten him curious, and she was strange and confusing, so he sort of liked trying to figure her out. She was fun to rile up, that was for sure. Plus, she seemed to really need a friend. And she was certainly easy on the eyes. But she was also annoying. She looked down on Bluebell; that much was obvious. Her royal highness thought she was too good for this place. He did not know what her connection to Harley was, and that was bugging him. Nobody kept secrets in this town. That just was not how it worked.

Okay, so his dad's drinking problem was a secret, but he was not naïve enough to think that could last forever.

The car let out a moan. No chance of him fixing it tonight. He knew he could fix it. He had always been good at that sort of thing, but he would not have it fixed in time for the party. Lord knew, he needed a party right now. He went inside and called George, who agreed to come pick him up. However, the car that rolled up was not George's car; it belonged to Dr. Wilkes. Wade recognized it, but more than that, he recognized what use of it must mean. Sure enough, Zoe Hart was sitting in the back seat. She looked kind of twitchy.

"Hey." Wade said, raising his hand in greeting to George, "I see you picked up a stray." So much for Wade's relaxing evening. Now he was going to have to babysit, so to speak.

"Well, considering she got us the wheels, I'd say it went more the other way around."

Wade got in next to Zoe. He noticed her tense a little, but her eyes seemed to be staring off into nowhere, and she appeared to be holding her breath.

"You okay there?" he asked as he put his seatbelt on.

She didn't answer. Great, back to this.

"So, how'd our new friend score this sweet ride?" Wade asked George.

"She's interning for Wilkes or something. He's puttin' her up for the year."

"Internin'? Really?" Wade asked casually. He was pretty sure there was more to it than that. Her behavior when they first met, how worried Dr. Wilkes got about her, her desire for secrecy. No, there was way more to this story, "Well, that's mighty nice of him. Good man that Wilkes."

The car started up again. Wade noticed Zoe tense even more. She was digging her nails into the seat on both sides. Her face looked completely terrified.

"I just said that I don't understand why I have to go, that's all."

"Ethan," Zoe heard her mom say with a sigh, "We have a reputation to uphold. And if we are ever going to work through things-"

"I don't see how we can."

"Ethan, your daughter, needs her father, and I need a husband. This separation is to give us space. Dr. Hallord says communication is crucial to mending things."

Zoe let her mind start to wander. They were always like this now. Her mom insisted that the separation was only temporary, and they would work it out, and her dad would get angry and say she was making too little of the situation. They would go back and forth for a while, and then there would be a long awkward silence. Zoe did not know who had it worse; her mother, who her dad was always yelling at, or her, who her dad barely talked to or looked at anymore.

Then, she saw it. A truck, heading straight for them. The driver seemed to have lost control of the wheel. Her mother screamed, and her dad frantically turned the wheel, murmuring to nobody in particular, "I can fix this, I can fix it. It will be okay. It will all be okay." But it wasn't, and Zoe knew it. She felt the impact. She felt pain, but she could not place where on her body it was, and then she started to loose consciousness. The last thing she saw was her mother, covered in blood, mouth still open from screaming.

Zoe's face was getting whiter. Wade waved his hand in front of her face, but she seemed to be looking straight through him.

"Stop the car!"

Wade was startled when the statue spoke.

George turned his head around, concerned, "Everything okay?"

Zoe took a deep breath. She looked like she was about to throw up, "Yeah, just, um, motion sickness. I just need some air."

George pulled over, "I'm sorry." He said, "I didn't think I was going all that fast, but I can slow down if-"

Without waiting for him to finish, Zoe shot out of her seat, out of the car, and ran behind the nearest building.

What had she been thinking? Being in a car was weird enough, but at least when she was riding shotgun, it felt … different. She was sitting somewhere else. But sitting in the back with a couple, albeit, a more amicable one, sitting up front, him driving, his significant other sitting next to him. It had been stupid.

Zoe felt herself start to hyperventilate, and tried to calm her breathing. In two, three, four, out two, three, four, in two, three-

"Hey!" a voice called behind her, "you feelin' any better?" It was Wade.

Zoe wanted to call back that she was, but before she could, she felt the bile she had been fighting down in the car start to come up.

"Guess not." Great. He saw her throw up. Why was this guy always the one to see her at her worst?

"You, uh, want to go use the bathroom?" Zoe looked around, and realized the building she was hiding behind was The Dixie Stop, "You should probably wash your mouth out, and be good to have a toilet nearby, 'case there's an encore."

Zoe started to say something, but Wade cut her off, "I won't tell anyone what I saw."

She shut her mouth. Well, that was perceptive of him.

"If you don't wanna be seen, I know a back way in."

Zoe started to say yes, but instead, she just started hyperventilating again. She nodded and went back to square breathing as she followed him through the back door.

He led her to the bathroom and gave her a minute to clean up. When she got out, he wasn't there, but them he came back from the store area carrying a bottle of mouthwash.

"You can pay me back later."

Zoe nodded, and then went back in. Once she was done, she stood there bracing herself on the sink as she stared in the mirror. She did some more square breathing, trying to calm herself down.

Wade waited, flipping through a magazine. He didn't not hear what sounded like heaving or flushing; that was a good sign. When she finally came out of the bathroom, he gave her what he hoped was a kind smile. He hoped she would say thank you, but true to form, she didn't. She just looked at him and said, "I need to sit upfront."

Wade almost chuckled, but something in her eyes told him not to. He nodded.

George had been pretty understanding. Carsickness was not uncommon, and sitting upfront did sometimes help. Lemon had not been happy; she wanted to sit next to George. Still, she had complied. George was probably the only person she ever listened to, which for the moment was convenient. So Zoe spent the rest of the ride next to George, and Wade spent it next to Lemon. George drove, Lemon sulked, and Wade spent the whole time watching Zoe. It had certainly been an interesting drive. If the party was half as interesting, it would be some party. The whole thing had made Wade a little uncomfortable. It was not the vomit; he was used to that from his dad. It was not the seat switching; that really did not affect him. He did not mind that they had pulled over; these parties always went on for hours anyway. He did not even really mind that Zoe had not said thank you. Okay, maybe he minded a little. However, what really bothered him, what he could not shake, was that when Zoe had been looking sick in the car, and throwing up outside, and calming herself in the bathroom, he had been genuinely concerned for her. He thought she might be in trouble. He had cared. And that, more than anything else, terrified him.

.