Between The Lines

25.

He was waiting outside the facility, hands in his jacket pockets. A rough breeze gusted by. It was colder the closer we got to the hills. "How'd it go?" He asked like he was forced to.

I sighed. "I know you don't like her, but she's my friend, okay?"

"She hit you with a car."

"And I'm over it-I was over it six months ago, a week ago, and today. Can we just move past that, please?" I held out my hand.

He gaped at me. "Now?"

"Yes now. You said you were going to let me practice. I need my license soon."

"Your mom's waiting to take you dress shopping."

I shrugged. "Just tell her to meet us at Wal-Mart. Eli can give us a discount-unless he's in class. And I can make it there. I've driven before, you know."

"It took three hours just getting here. We got lost."

"You handle the map this time, since you weren't listening to me before. I was smart enough to mark the right route with Hi-Liter." I moved forward. "Keys."

He sighed. "You're still the craziest girl I've ever met."

I swiped the keys from his hand, laughing. It was still weird, but nice, to be referred to as the 'crazy' one. We got in and I turned the heat on full blast. "See anyone here?" He already knew what I meant whenever I asked that the few times we were alone.

Gabriel shook his head, covering the vents on his side with his hands. "No. It's a detention facility for women, not Alcatraz. Be careful. Let it warm up first."

The vehicle made a hacking sound, like it was clearing its throat. "I didn't know trucks caught colds." Raff's truck was an automatic-much easier-but Gabriel's truck was Raff's truck's standard grandfather. This one required more studying. "So," I said in the silence, "what color should I wear?"

He scoffed. "It's a fall dance, so... you should wear green."

"But... it's fall."

"Well, everyone's going to expect fall colors. Why don't you just wear that?"

I glanced down at my clothes. "This?"

"Yeah, your Halloween costume."

I punched his shoulder. "You-"

His phone rang. "Ha ha-saved by the bell. Hello? Oh, hey-" Gabriel frowned. "What? Right now? Do you want us to...? Yeah, okay.... See you in a bit-bye." He put his phone back into his pocket and just sat there.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, it was nothing. Just Eli. Bethany's gone into labor."

"What?"

"Yeah," he said, casually looking out his window, "we're going to have to switch because I do not want you behind the wheel of this truck as it goes ninety miles an hour down the freeway-which we should've taken to get here instead of the scenic r-"

"Move!" I hastily jumped out of the cab and ran around the front. Gabriel was laughing at me as I got back inside, slamming the door behind me. "Pedal to the metal, man! Let's go!"

"Calm down-you're not the one having a baby. Eesh...." He peeled out of the parking lot, the truck coughing in protest.

"I don't want to miss anything."

"Well, it's Saturday. It'll probably take an hour and a half to get there-and that's including when I get my speeding ticket. So much traffic.... Want to call her and tell her to hold it in?" He raced onto the onramp, the freeway seemingly clear.

"You can't tell a woman in labor to hold it in. Do you want to die? Besides, these things don't happen that fast," I said. "It's not like she's just going to pop right out, like toast. There's all this-"

"Ew-no details. Just find me an exit closest to the hospital."

I unfolded the ridiculously large map. "I wonder what they're going to name her...." I chewed on the end of the Hi-Liter.

"Why don't they name the baby after you? Danity Sans...."

I shook my head, finding the exit closest to the hospital. "Why would they do that?"

He shrugged.

"Maybe they should name her Gabriela," I suggested, tracing a street off of the exit.

"Funny."

I marked the route that led straight to the hospital. "Well, Bethany should decide since it's going to be a girl."

Gabriel frowned. "What? Eli should name her. The baby's going to have his last name anyway." He passed a painfully yellow Charger.

"Bethany's the mom."

"Eli's the dad."

"That's not a rule-wait, what?"

He passed a black Honda. "What do you mean what?"

"Eli's... Bethany's.... Eli Bethany...."

He shook his head. "You're just repeating their names." He passed a blue Prius.

"Elizabeth Sans.... It has both their names in it."

Gabriel dug into his pocket and tossed his phone onto the map. "Call them and tell them-just in case we don't make it."

"Start changing lanes-our exit's coming up." Better safe than sorry, I texted Eli 'Name suggestion: ELIzaBETH from Dani.' I wanted credit. "Shouldn't you slow down?"

"Well, where's the-oh, I see it." He merged onto the off-ramp. "You texted him the name?"

"Y-" The phone chimed again. I put my hand to my mouth once I read it. "Oh, my God."

Gabriel glanced at me. "What? What's wrong?" We had to stop at a red light. I held the phone out to him. He let out a laugh. "No way! That's awesome!"

I shook my head. "I don't know.... I'm only seventeen."

"They're not expecting you to start godmothering now. Answer him."

I thought for a minute, and then replied. "The light's green. Whoa." Gabriel had just stepped on the gas, having not been paying attention. "I'm texting my mom and Raff to be there."

Gabriel was already pulling into the hospital parking lot.

I frowned. "I thought you said it'd be an hour and a half."

"That was when I thought I'd have to flirt my way out of a speeding ticket." We got out of the truck and ran towards the lobby.

"So you were assuming the officer would be a woman?"

He shrugged. "You never know. Elevator?" he suggested.

"No-the stairs are faster."

"Ah, right, right." We passed the same nurses smoking under the No Smoking sign.