Little Tommy Becket.

Chapter 5

“What happened to your car?” I blinked. He was talking. Kevin Smith was talking to me and once again I was rendered speechless. His slightly dishevelled look and rosy cheeks turned him from clean cut to edgy, making me swoon momentarily. “Tori are you feeling alright?” Kevin looked concerningly towards me and I melted at his soft features.

I cleared my throat loudly, “I’m fine. I’m just distracted.”

He nodded, “So what’s wrong with your car?”

“I wish I knew!” I laughed bitterly. Kevin turned his attention to my broken car and began to analytically inspect the exposed engine.

“What happened exactly?” He asked.

“I’m not sure. It just jerked once and then sputtered along until it died. It even smoked.” Kevin seemed perplexed at my description and I giggled. “You’re as clueless as me aren’t you?”

His already red cheeks blossomed until his entire face was cherry red. “I admit I’m not the most clued up when it comes to mechanics but I can find someone who is.”

“Who?” I asked.

“A buddy of mine from high school works at a garage nearby, I’m sure he can help us out.” I squealed inwardly at the mention of “us.” Somehow Kevin had turned me into a sixteen year old fangirl. “I’ll give him a call.” Kevin reached for his phone before I was able to utter a reply.

“Dean, I need a favour.” I listened as Kevin explained my situation to his friend Dean. As soon as our location was given, Kevin ended the call. “He’ll be here soon with a tow truck.”

I nodded. “Thank you.” He smiled in return.

“Why don’t we get out of the cold and wait in my car for Dean?” He asked motioning behind me.

“That sounds like a brilliant idea.” We walked the short distance to his car and I quickly climbed in. “Ah, toasty.” I sighed into the cosy car. Kevin made a choking sound beside me and I turned in my seat to find him looking at me with a strangled expression. “Is everything okay?” I asked.

He nodded and then faced the front. We sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments until I heard the loud vibrating of my phone. I glanced at the screen and saw Miriam’s name flash. I turned to Kevin and held my phone up. “Do you mind? It will only take a minute.” I asked apologetically. He nodded and I answered.

“Hey Miriam, is everything alright?”

“Of course. I was just calling to see where you were. You told me you would be home by now and I need to get home myself.” I cringed.

“I know I said I would be home but my car just broke down and I’m still waiting for the tow truck. I’m not sure when I’ll be home. Is there any way you could stay just a little bit longer?” I pleaded.

Miriam sighed heavily through the phone. “I can stay for another hour at the most.”

“That’s all I need. Thank you.” I ended the call and immediately began to chew at my fingernails. I promised an hour but I wasn’t even sure I would be done in an hour.

“Get bad news?” Asked Kevin.

“I guess you could say that.”

“Want to talk about it?” He asked.

“I just need to get home within the next hour.” I answered briefly.

“Is your boyfriend going to cry again?” He asked sounding slightly irritated.

“Who said anything about a crying?”

 “Earlier in class you mentioned your boyfriend crying when you left and now you’re saying you need to get home. It isn’t hard to put two and two together.”