The ride to campus is awkwardly quiet. Isla is clearly lost in her own thoughts as she shuffles through her papers and the map of the school. I glance over at the mess on her lap as we pull up to a red light and notice that she has her entire route mapped out with a highlighter. I’m sure it has everything to do with the fact that she’s anxious as shit going to a new school with people she doesn’t even know.
The only two people she knows are me and August. She met a few of the guys we play hockey with, but she doesn’t know them like she knows us. And she has yet to meet anyone who is actually in any of her classes. I partially feel bad for that. I should have offered to take her to try and meet people, but August said he had it all covered.
He obviously had his head too far up his ass to make an attempt to show Isla around and she was too kind to bother asking him. That’s just the way Isla operated. Her parents tried to make it seem like they didn’t have favorites when it came to their children, but Isla was always the one who just went with the flow.
She acted as if it didn’t affect her that she spent all of her free time being consumed by her brother and hockey. And because of that, her parents didn’t really see how unfair it was on her, how she missed out on so much with her friends and other girls her age. Isla never wanted to rock the boat or upset anyone, even if it was at the expense of her own happiness.
And now I feel like a goddamn asshole, driving her to campus only to drop her off. It’s no different than what she’s been used to her entire life and for the first time in a long time, I really want to just punch her damn brother square in the face.
Instead of pulling up to the front of the campus, I pull my car into the parking lot and find a space as close to the front as I can. Isla quickly shoves her stuff back into her bag, except for the highlighted map she has. She glances over at me, perplexed and worried as I put the car in park.
“Thanks for the ride,” she says softly, a smile touching her lips as she throws her backpack over her shoulder. “You really didn’t have to, but I appreciate you doing this. I’m still not familiar with the roads around here, so it was nice to not have to worry about getting lost.”
“I told you that I wanted to drive you and I meant it. I don’t like the thought of you trying to figure all of this out in a new place with new people by yourself.”
Isla reaches for the door handle, a pink tint spreading across her cheeks as she diverts her gaze from my eyes. “Well, I really appreciate it, Logan. Thank you.”
She climbs out of the car, softly shutting the door behind her as I kill the engine and reach for my own door handle. I watch her as she begins to walk away from me, without even noticing as I get out and begin to walk after her.
“Isla, wait up!” I call after her, extending my stride to shorten the distance between us.
Isla stops, spinning on her heel with her eyes wide in surprise. “What are you doing? I thought you were just dropping me off?”
My brows draw together as I tilt my head to the side. “Why would I bother parking in the parking lot? If I were dropping you off, I would have pulled up out front.”
She shifts her weight nervously on her feet, adjusting her strap on her shoulder as she gives me a shy smile and shrugs. “I don’t know. I just thought that maybe you didn’t want anyone to see you dropping me off out front or something.”
What the fuck?
I stare at her, losing myself in the gold and green hues that swirl in her irises. My heart crawls into my throat and I feel uncomfortable with her admission. She thought I would make her walk across the damn parking lot because I didn’t want anyone to see her getting out of my car? I couldn’t care less what anyone thinks and it leaves me speechless—her thinking I could possibly be embarrassed by being seen with her. I wanted to keep what we had hidden, not her. Never her.
“Give me the map,” I tell her, my hand reaching out as I close the distance between us. Isla’s eyes bounce back and forth between mine as she hesitates, but with reluctance, she hands it over to me.
I scan the paper, taking note of her classes and the rooms jotted down in her curly handwriting on the side. Each is labeled with the times and colored with the same highlighter that marks the map in order of her classes. A smile touches my lips when I see her first class.
“Clay and sculpture?” I ask her, raising an eyebrow as my lips curve. I’ve seen Isla’s artistic abilities and they are something to be envious of. But it was something that was all self-taught because she didn’t want to bother her parents with taking an interest in one of her hobbies. That was the fucking selfless Isla I’ve always known. “I like it.”
Isla peers up at me through her dark lashes with a small smile. “Art was always something that I enjoyed and since I have some electives that I can take, I figured I’d try some different art classes even though it isn’t my major.”
I glance up at the front of the school, noticing the crowd of students is slowly thinning out. The massive clock built into the brick tower shows we literally have five minutes to get her to her class that is on the other side of the building and we’re only halfway through the parking lot.
Reaching for her hand, I grab it, lacing my fingers through hers without even thinking about it as I pull her along with me. She stumbles slightly but recovers quickly as she follows along after me, her legs moving faster to keep up with my stride.
“I’ve seen what you can do with art.” I tell her, glancing down at her as she walks along beside me. Her hand feels so right in mine, but reality quickly catches up to me and I drop it, without seeming too obvious as I grab my phone from my pocket and pretend to check it before sliding it back into my pocket. “Why isn’t that your major?”
Isla slides her arm through the other strap of her backpack and clutches them with both hands so I can’t touch her again. She gives me an incredulously look as harsh laughter spills from her lips. “Are you kidding? My parents are supportive, but I don’t know if they’re that supportive…” She pauses, shaking her head as she sighs. “Art doesn’t pay the bills and since I don’t have hockey to fall back on, I need to get a degree in a field that is actually going to let me be self-reliant.”
I stop for a moment, grabbing her shoulder to pull her to a halt as she continues to walk past me. Isla turns around to face me, but I don’t move my hand. “Don’t discredit yourself, Isla. Don’t you dare give up on your dreams. You deserve to do whatever is going to make you happy and I’ve seen your artwork. I believe in you.”
She stares at me for a moment, her expression soft and her eyes growing wet, like this is something that no one has ever said to her. Does no one else believe in this fucking girl? She might not be August Whitley—hockey superstar—but that doesn’t mean a damn thing. She’s Isla fucking Whitley and she can do anything she puts her mind to.
“Thank you.” Her voice is so soft, it’s barely audible, but the sound snakes its way around my eardrum. “I really do have to get to class, though, or I’m going to be late.”
“No shit,” I laugh lightly, spinning her back around before giving her a small shove. “That’s exactly why I’m walking you to class, because your ass is definitely going to get lost.”
“Hey,” she growls, glaring at me as she bites back her smile. “I’m not that bad with directions.”
I roll my eyes at her, chuckling softly as we reach the front door to the main building. “Says the girl who got lost driving to the gas station that’s two blocks from our apartment.”
“That’s not even fair!” She lightly shoves her hand against my shoulder before walking in through the door as I hold it open for her. “I’m new here, okay?”
“Babe… the gas station is only two blocks away…”
I swallow hard, my heart pounding erratically as soon as the word leaves my lips. Isla’s eyes widen slightly but she quickly brushes it away from her expression, her smile falling neutral. “Whatever,” she mumbles, shaking her head in frustration. “If you can get me to my first class, I’m going to prove you wrong and won’t get lost going to any of my other classes.”
“Aw man. And here, I cleared my whole schedule today to make sure I could get you to every room safely,” I joke, a smirk falling on my lips as we walk through the halls, walking closer to the art wing. “Are you saying that you don’t need me?”
We reach the room and she pauses outside of the door as I pull it open for her, flashing me a bright smile. “Nope,” she says with a wink before disappearing into the classroom without another word.
I let the door shut, staring after her through the small glass pane as she moves farther into the classroom and finds a seat at one of the tables. A chuckle rumbles in my chest and I shake my head with a smirk still playing on my lips.
She might not need me, but I need her…
