Chapter 34
Kenza’s POV
We’ve been in the car for what seems like forever. I can’t remember the time we left or how long the car ride even is. It’s been almost silent the whole time with a few exceptions of Alice talking about something. Now she’s asleep and the only noise is the quiet radio playing.
I’m playing some games on my phone but it’s starting to get boring. I look over at Luke and watch him for a little. He’s so concentrated on driving I don’t think he even notices me watching.
“Hey Luke?”
“Yeah?” He asks with a quick glance at me. Then his eyes dart straight back to the road.
“Do you have any idea why we were in the coma together?” I’ve been thinking about possibilities for a while now and I couldn’t even come up with one good explanation.
“I don’t know Kenza. The only thing that I can think about that could connect all four of us is that we were all in comas starting the same day.” He’s right. It’s not much to go on but it’s something. I really hope that one day we can find out what really happened.
“Yeah. That’s not much help though.” I reply and then hurry to continue speaking. “I’m glad it happened to us though. I don’t know what I would do without you Luke.”
“Me too, Kenza. You and the others are such great friends and I can’t imagine never having met you.” He says with a smile. “Hey, were you really about to tell me what my mom said to you and made you blush?” He asks suddenly after such a deep conversation.
“Uhm, I’m not sure. It was like a spur of the moment. As soon as Alice got in I snapped out of it and wasn’t going to tell you.” I answer honestly. I don’t know what happened but when I looked at Luke in the car I wanted to tell him everything. Then when Alice got in I snapped out of it and realized what I was about to say and stopped myself.
“Oh, okay.” He sounds a little disappointed. “Will you ever tell me?” He asks hopefully.
“I don’t know. Maybe? Probably? Depending on circumstances?” I’m sure my answer didn’t help much but I didn’t know if I ever would. It would really have to depend on what happens in the future.
“Alright. I won’t push you anymore then.” He says sadly. I’m glad he’s not going to keep asking, even though it’s not that important I still don’t want to tell him what she said yet. Maybe it’s because I agree with her? No that couldn’t be it. Could it?
“Thanks, Luke. You’re the best.”
“Of course I am, I’m amazing!.” He says jokingly, which makes me happy to see him happy and not sad or disappointed like he was a few minutes ago.
We stay quiet for a little while longer then I decided to find something to listen to on the radio. Flipping through the radio stations, I finally find a station playing some Fall Out Boy and leave it on that. I quietly sing along while watching the scenery and taking a few pictures of some cool things.
After a few songs I got bored doing that so I turned the radio down and started a conversation with Luke. “So we obviously know each other from the coma but is there anything that’s different in real life than it was in there?”
He takes a moment to think. “Well in the coma I didn’t really drive but, as you can see, I can drive great. I used to drive a lot before the coma. I would take Alice to and from school when needed.”
“Really? Your parents actually let you drive when you were 14?!?” I ask in amazement. “My parents would have never let me even sit in the driver's seat till I at least got my temps. “ I flinched when I said my parents but I’m trying not to let it get me down so I ignore it. From the look on Luke’s face I can tell he noticed.
“Yeah. They had no other way for her to get to school and I had drove before.” I was glad he didn’t mention me flinching.
“That’s cool.” I reply. Even though I was trying not to let it bother me it was, a lot. It hasn’t been very long for me and I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. Nobody ever does but I couldn’t even go to the funeral because it happened when I was in the coma. I didn’t say anything more, letting the talking come to a complete stop.
There was a few minutes of silence and a lot of sideways quick glances from Luke and then he asked; “Are you okay, Kenza?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I answer.
“You sure? You don’t seem like it.” He pushes, I want to tell him it’s still bothering me but I don’t want to ruin the good mood of finally meeting Puck.
“I think. I’ll be fine though.” I assure him. I’m trying to make him to quit worrying about me.
“I’m here if you need me. You know that, right?” He tells me.
“Yeah. I know Luke.” I say looking out the window.
“Good. Now let me see your hand.” My hand? Why? He’s driving, why would he want to see my hand? I hesitantly hold my hand out in his direction and ask; “Why?”
“Just give me your hand.” He says, and grabs my left hand with his right. I didn’t understand what he was doing until he laced our fingers together and sat them on the center console between us. My heart started to beat faster and I looked at him confused and was about to ask what he was doing then he answered my unasked question.
“Does that help?” He asks.
“A little yeah.” I answer honestly. The moment he laced our fingers together I felt instant relief and relaxation. It made me feel so much better. “Thank you Luke.”
“Mmmhmmm.” He answers while keeping his attention on the road ahead of us.
I lean back in my seat, keeping our fingers locked, and closed my eyes. Every so often he would rub his thumb across my knuckles and I fell asleep almost instantly, feeling the relaxation from Luke.
