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He pauses "Nova, it’s really my decision whether I want to wear one or not"

I shake ardless of your fucking reason for not putting one on, if anything happens then everyone who ever cared about you will be left hurting andyou and probably pissed off because you chose not to put your seat belt on"

There’s a long pause as my words and sharp tone startle both of us

"No one cares about me, so it’s fine," he states with indifference "And I never wear one"

"I care about you," I insist, and my chest compresses as I realize that it’s the truth The painful, inconceivable, unplanned truth I care about him My breath shakes as I say, "So, if not for you, will you please put it on for oing to refuse I get ready to drive forward, back to the field, and skip out on breakfast, when he sighs and straps his belt on

"There, are you happy?" heback in the seat

"Yes" I shove the car into drive, feeling a little bit lighter, like I ht

Quinton

She’s still pissed off about the seat belt even e arrive at the restaurant I don’t really think it has to do withonto process the fact that she cares about ry with et this coh that she actually cares aboutabout it It’s worthless I’, blood running throughthat ht it was But there’s another part oftime, that relishes in the fact that she cares aboutthe seat belt on, because I really don’t care what happens tobad will happen and I’ll finally be able to be buried with everything one else, beneath the ground, right where I’ive in to Nova, because I remember what happened to her boyfriend and how it probably has so in to her, I’s for her, so I try tothe drive It becoh, like when she fiddles with the keys and adjusts the es of Lexi just memories

She doesn’t talk to ive her directions It takes a few et up to the restaurant because the road is rocky and bumpy and made more for four-wheel-drive vehicles

Finally we pull up to a s neon signs on the s and twinkle lights tri with a few around the doorway Plants and flowers and trees surround the path that leads to the entrance, and the sun shines down through the branches above,fun and cheerful on the outside

She turns off the engine, removes the keys, and opens the door to cliat ry with s out of the car and her back turn to me as she adjusts one of her fallen straps on her red shirt back over her shoulder "Yeah"

Just let her be "I’lances over her shoulder at me and locks of her hair fall across her bare shoulders "For what?"

"For being an ass," I tell her, letting the seat belt slide up into the wall

"It’s fine" She gets out of the car and stuffs the keys into the pocket of her short denim shorts

I climb out of the car and meet her at the front of the car She doesn’t say a word as alk into the restaurant, where it seee to find a small booth at the back, squished between the back door and the kitchen It’s noisy, but our table is agonizingly quiet because Nova’s not talking to me The waitress co with the salt shaker, twirling it around in her hand I’ see to think I should just let her stay upset with

"You just seemed like you didn’t want to wear it because you were…" She spills a little salt and sweeps it off the table and onto the floor with her hand "Because you were sad"

"It wasn’t because of that," I lie, unrolling the silverware from the napkin

"But that’s what it see at the table and it looks like her eyes are getting watery "And I had so stuff because of the sadness" She bites on her tre lip so hard she draws blood

"Nova, I…" I have no fucking idea what to say to her

"It was my boyfriend," she whispers, and tears strea everything" Her voice is tre as she wipes the tears away from her eyes But more tears escape her eyes and drip all over her skin, and the tabletop beneath her ends up soaked with her grief

I’ to this about, because I think about it all the ti because of the sadness But she’s crying, and it hurts to watch, so I end up cli into hers She starts to sob as soon as my shoulder touches hers and then she buries her face intoit with her tears I place my hand on the back of her hand and hold her, because it’s all I can do, because I know death hurts, death breaks, death consuo away

I let her cry for as long as she needs with , she keeps her face pressed against e look, but I shrug it off and wait Finally, when the food’s getting cold, Nova pulls back