Don't Let Go

Chapter 7

Just before it got dark, we started driving back to school - where I had left my car. 

"Won't you get in trouble because of your phone?" I asked, referring to the way Tristan had let his cell phone be swallowed by the ocean waves.

"Ehh probably." Tristan replies, with no concern in his voice.

"Won't they freak out again?" I continued.

"Probably." he said with a laugh this time.

"Your family - is being protective of you... but it seems like your trying to defy everything they say or do." I frowned when I reached this conclusion.

"Yea well..." he trailed off.

"Well?" I pushed for an answer.

"I don't know..." Tristan started. "In the past, everything was kind of on a need-to-know basis..." he noticed my confusion.

"My family never butt into my life before... I told them what I wanted them to know and that's it... But now, it's like they need to know everything I do, every second of everyday." he gave an annoyed sigh.

"Well... Isn't that understandable... considering..." YOU ALMOST JUMPED OFF OF A BRIDGE. Only I didn't say that last part out loud. But he got the gist of what I was saying.

He shook his head.

"They were like that before..." he said, allowing me to infer before what incident.

"Well what happened that changed everything?" I pushed.

"Doesn't matter. I want ice cream - are you in?" he asked, changing the subject. I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him.

"We're friends aren't we?" I asked.

"Yea." he said confused. "I mean, I don't often ask my enemies out to ice cream." he said seriously.

"Then why don't you trust me?" I asked, ignoring his comment. Then his face got tired.

"What does that word even mean?" he asked, accelerating the car and scrunching his face cutely as he stared ahead at the road.

"What?" I asked.

"Trust. I just don't get it." he said lightly.

"Trust?" I said wide-eyed. "Trust is... trusting someone... Um." I frowned. How do you define trust? He raised his eyebrows and glanced at me with a grin on his face.

"Trust is trusting someone? Really? Because now I completely understand." Tristan said sarcastically.

"Trust is just trust." I groaned.

"I still don't understand the word." he pressed.

"Yes you do!" I argued.

"Just because you don't trust people doesn't mean you don't know what it is." I said flatly. Then another thought occurred to me.

"Do you trust anyone?" I asked, curiously. Tristan didn't show any reaction to this question. I shook my head.

"You don't trust anyone." I gasped at this statement.

"What is trust?" he asked again.

"Tristan stop the car." I said finally. 

"What?" he frowned at me.

"Stop the car." I said urgently.

"Why?" he asked, not slowing the speed.

"Stop the car." I said angrily. He sighed and finally began pressing the break. He pulled over to the side of the highway.