Well, now I felt like a dick.
“I don’t either,” I conceded. “By choice. I don’t really like people.”
Savannah looked at me with amusement. “You picked a people-heavy role.”
“People are dicks,” I explained. “People run over cats and leave them to die. Or throw them at their owners,” I added with a sharp look at her. “Or they hide things so they benefit. People are... shit.”
“They can be.” She nodded. “They can also hug you in the middle of the day when you just learned a horrible secret, even though they barely know you. They can also stand up for you and put themselves out there so you can breathe. They can shut down nasty comments with a look. They can stand up for you when no one else will.”
“I can stand up for myself.”
“I don’t doubt it.” She looked out the window.
The silence grew tense. I kept driving and eventually let out a big sigh.
“I’m also an only child.” I pretended I didn’t notice her look of relief. “My parents are both schoolteachers. They’re both bright... and bubbly.” My nose wrinkled in distaste. “They’re practically hippies without the pot brownies. But put Fleetwood Mac on and you won’t get a coherent sentence out of them for the rest of the day. Mom burns sage for no reason and every reason. Dad realigns his chakra. It’s... hideous.”
Savannah was grinning again. “They sound awesome.”
“Come for dinner, then tell me what an awesome time you had after they apologize to the root vegetables for their untimely murder.”
She laughed, and I grinned. “Is that true?”
“If I never move from this spot. I asked for chicken when I was fourteen, I thought we’d have to sedate my mom, she was so hysterical.”
“So you’re a vegan?”
I scoffed. “God no. The first thing I did when I got to high school was eat a burger and fries in the cafeteria. It was really bad, but no, I like meat.”
“Like Dustin’s meat.”
The car swerved a little as I jerked in surprise. “Ick.”
“Bad comparison,” she admitted. “I’ll apologize to him later.” She toyed with the hem of her sweater. “But... youdolike him?”
“He’s an acquired taste.”
“Do you like it? The taste?”
“This is not how you ask if I like a guy.” I looked at her in exasperation. “He’s a lot, okay? I don’t have any other thoughts about him.” I knew that was the most dishonest thing I’d said all day. I’d been lying to myself since last night, but she didn’t need to know that. “Plus, your boyfriend told him I’m only using him for my story.”
“Are you?”
“Is this why you’re here?” I demanded.
Savannah shook her head. “No. I wanted to know where you were going. You have a really bad poker face, so I knew you were up to something. Now we’re in the car, and we still have about ninety minutes left, and you don’t like music. So... all that’s left is talking.”
“Joy.”
“You’re funny, Hadley,” she said, settling back in her seat. “I think we’re going to be good friends.”
“Well, don’t get too comfortable. The person we’re going to see also thought we were good friends. It didn’t end well.”
She didn’t react like I thought she would. She simply shrugged. “Well, she wasn’t who you thought she was, then.”
“You assume she fucked it up?”
Savannah nodded with a confidence I envied. “Absolutely.” She gave me a warm smile. “I’m an excellent judge of character, trust me.”