Killer

Chapter 34: What Happens in Detroit Stays in Detroit

The next day, I strolled to the student parking lot right after the last bell ended. I noticed how Jace's blue truck wasn't in his driveway this morning when I got ready for my day, wondering if he ever came back home overnight. A part of me wanted to knock on his front door and check on his grandmother to see if she was alright or needed anything on my end, but I ended up not doing so. I hadn't even seen Jace at school all day, either. Whatever we once had was gone. He was probably still upset and meant it when he said he never wanted to see me again.

It was past four o'clock when I got inside Tre's car. My old duffle bag was in his backseat. I met him at the park that was walking distance from my house this morning, and he gave me a ride to school. It was the same place where he picked me up the one time I wanted to go to the police station, where I accused Mr. Burke of a murder he didn't even commit.

I couldn't believe I was actually doing this—leaving Tanglewood for the first time to spend a long weekend in a different city with Tre and temporarily forgetting everything that has ever happened for once. Last night, Tre and I spoke with each other on the phone, agreeing to take a road trip to Detroit since it was an hour from Toledo. We wanted to go to the beach since it was now the first of November and the weather was continuously dropping as the days went by. The beach did sound incredibly nice. I pictured myself by the ocean, feeling the warm water and sand seep through my toes. It was literally a scene of paradise in my mind, but Tre said we couldn't go because we needed to be back on time for Rachel's funeral. Detriot was our best bet. It didn't matter to me where we went; I just wanted a sweet break.

Before I could think much further, Tre interrupted my thoughts and joked. "Well, don't you look like Mehgan Trainor?"

I chuckled and remembered telling him the other day while we were on a three-way call with Mila how I found some songs by Mehgan Trainor uplifting and boosted my confidence. He wasn't wrong, though. My hair was as blonde as hers, and I was quite curvy. I would like to say I did look like her in some similar ways. I was glad Tre remembered those little things about me.

I snapped my seatbelt into place, turning to Tre. I said. "Mehgan Tranior could seriously stop at the gas station for some coffee. If that's fine with you."

"Travis Scott could go for some Reese Cups as well," Tre added with that irresistible smile of his, thrusting his keys into the ignition. I stared at him with my eyes before placing some sunglasses over them.

A few minutes into the drive, Tre gave me a few dollar bills for some snacks for the road trip. I picked out the things I wanted: some Starbucks cold coffee that was in a glass bottle, a bag of potato chips, and a Hershey bar. I made sure to get a bottle of water to stay hydrated for the ride.

I met up with Tre at the cashier, who requested some gas for his car. He searched for his wallet while holding the Reese's cups in the other hand. The guy behind the counter gave me a look I couldn't recognize, but Tre found his wallet as we paid for everything.

Tre pumped gas into his car, and we were back on the road that led into the highway. He popped one of his Reese's cups into his mouth. The white clouds were slowly turning dark gray as it was about to be night soon—daylight savings time had now occurred. Tre turned his head and stared at me with his dark eyes, trying to hold my hand over the console. I ran my tongue over my teeth, finding him holding my hand while he drove so comforting now that Jace was no longer in the picture.

Tre raised his eyebrows as his eyes were on the road. I asked him. "What do you think about this Detriot trip we are going on?"

He smiled. "Very much needed. There has been a lot of weird stuff going on back at home. Detroit just seems like a wonderful getaway for us to think and recollect our minds."