A Different Light

Chapter 3

Tobias POV

I head to my car and start her up. I can't help but feel a pang of sadness leaving the Silver's. Leaving Hannah... Crazy how just another person's presence can make me feel so much better. 

My phone rings, breaking my train of thought. I groan, looking at the caller ID. Madelyn. f**k. 

"Hey," I say, answering. 

"Hello? Tobias?" she says, sounding pissed. Then again, what's new? 

I roll my eyes. "Yup. Were you expecting somebody else?" 

"No. But I was expecting a boyfriend who wouldn't have ditched me last night!" she practically yells into the phone. God, has her voice always been that f*****g shrill and annoying. 

"Look, Maddie, Hannah was in the hospital and I-" she doesn't even let me finish. 

"So you ditched me for some w***e?!" 

"Don't say that s**t about her. You know none of those rumors are f*****g true," I say, trying to reign in my anger. 

"Do I, Tobias? I don't know what to believe," she says snidely. 

"I'm not going to tell you what to believe. But I think you know that Hannah isn't like that. I mean c'mon- she was just dumped for not sleeping around," I try to reason with her. 

She sighs. "Fine. But why didn't you call me after all that?" she whines like a three year old. 

"I actually stayed at Hannah's last night," I tell her, ready for her explosion. 

"YOU WHAT?! TOBIAS f*****g STEELE ARE YOU f*****g KIDDING ME?!" she screams at me. 

"No. But you know what I have been doing? Suffering through and insufferable relationship with an insufferable relationship. I think it's time that comes to an end," I say. 

"Are you breaking up with me?" she asks, her voice finally quiet. 

"This isn't really how I wanted to do it, but yea, I guess I am." 

"You absolute f*****g as-" I hang up the phone. 

Not thirty seconds later, it rings. I beat my head against my steering wheel. I put the thing on vibrate and put it on the dash. It goes through a few more vibrations and stops before starting up again. On the third call attempt, I pick up the phone. 

"It's f*****g over, Mads. I'm not changing my mind," I say, exasperated. 

"Oooh, I'm so hurt," the voice says on the other end. My heart thumps against my sternum. 

"Hannah?!" 

"Don't wear it out. What are you doing later?" she asks. 

"Nothing. Sleeping probably. No offense to your parents, but that couch isn't very comfortable to sleep on," I tell her, rubbing my neck. 

"I'm sure they'll be heartbroken. I just wanted to say thanks for everything you did. Also I have a favor to ask," she says. 

"Only you would ask for a favor after everything I did for you," I tell her. 

"Eh. Sue me. Wanna take me to get my car later? It's back at the scene of the crime," she says. 

"Yeah. I can probably do that. I'm gonna go home and crash. Wanna call me when you wake up?" 

I hear a tap on my driver's side window. It's Hannah. I roll the window down. 

"Sure thing, sweet thang," she says to me and winks. 

"How long have you been standing there?" I ask her. 

"Long enough to have watched you throw your phone and beat your head on your steering wheel. I was gonna ask my favor in person but this was more satisfying," she laughs and the sound makes my chest tight. 

"You're so weird." 

"Don't I know. See ya soon, hotshot," she turns and head back into her house. 

I run my hand through my hair and will my heartbeat to slow.

This girl is f*****g dangerous. 

I start the car and back out of their driveway, making my way back home. Two stop signs, 2 right turns, and one left turn and my house comes into view. Since I turned 18, I actually have my own house now. My parents' will went into effect since the custodian is in prison. The FOR SALE sign in the front yard tugs at my heart. My childhood home is about to be gone forever. I pull into my driveway and hit the button the garage door opener that's attached to my visor. The door opens slowly and I pull in, shutting the car off before closing the garage door. I head inside and make my way upstairs to my bedroom. I collapse on my bed fully clothed and kick my shoes off. In minutes, I fall into a deep sleep. Images of Hannah infiltrate my dreams. 

Hannah POV

I sit up in bed and stretch, yawning. For some reason, I had weird dreams about Tobias kissing me. Yuck. I'm still tired but I'm more thirsty and hungry than I am tired. I head out of my room and down the stairs. My mom, dad, and Harper are all in the living room. Dad and Harper are playing a board game and my mother is close by reading a book. 

"Oh look! Sleeping beauty is awake," she says, teasing me. 

"Well well well. Nice of you to grace us with your presence," my dad says. "How are you feeling?" He stands and comes over to me, placing his hand on my forehead. 

"Hungry and thirsty," I say to him and make my way into the kitchen. 

I pile together a TBLT with mayo and grab a glass, filling it with water from the filter system on the fridge. My dad comes in after I finish my sandwich and sits next to me. 

"Are you ready to talk about what happened?" he asks me. 

I nod. 

"Why don't we start with why you were there in the first place?" he says sternly. 

"Jason texted me and told me that we needed to talk. Then he stood me up again. Someone posted a picture of the party and he was there- so I headed over there to confront him. Daddy, I only had like one drink. I wasn't drinking," I insist. 

"We know that, we have your toxicology report. Did you talk to Jason?" he asks me. 

I shake my head. "When I got there, he was necking with some other girl in the hot tub. So I ended up eating a whole crock pot of cheese dip and a loaf of bread," I tell him, tears falling down my face. 

"That's my girl," he tells me. "Look, your mother and I aren't stupid. We know you kids like to party and drink. We just want you to be careful, okay?"

"Dad, I was. I drank out of a SEALED water bottle!" 

"Hmm. And you don't remember anything after that?" 

"I remember that my head hurt. I went to the bathroom and I was laying in there with the lights off when Toby found me... And then I woke up in the hospital," I tell him. My head hurts just thinking about it. As if reading my mind, my mother appears with some ibuprofen. I toss them in my mouth and gulp them down with some water. 

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out. 

"It's Toby. He's taking me to get my car," I tell them. 

"Oh good. Tell him thanks for us," my dad says and heads out of the kitchen. 

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" my mother asks me. 

"I'm fine, mom. My head just hurts if I don't keep up on the ibuprofen," I tell her with a reassuring smile. 

I swipe up on my phone. 

"Yes?" I say. 

"It's Tobias. You never called," he sounds like he just woke up. 

"I woke up and ate something and had to talk to my parents. Wanna come get me in 15?" I ask, looking at the clock on the stove. 

"Sure thing, string bean," he says. 

"Hey! I filled out!" I say to him. 

He mumbles something that sounds an awful lot like "don't I know it" and then says, "Whatever you say, dork. I'm gonna take a shower and I'll head on over." 

"See you soon," I tell him. 

I walk into the living room and kiss Harper on the head. 

"Does this mean you don't hate T anymore?" she asks. 

"That's exactly what it means," I tell her. 

"Does that mean we can invite him to my birthday party?" 

"I'll let him know about it. Okay?" I ask her. 

She beams a smile up at me and my heart lurches. Harper is my adopted sister. My parents adopted her when she was just a baby after several miscarriages. I remember my parents going to the doctor's all the time and I once walked in on my mother giving herself hcg injections. In the end, it was decided she couldn't carry a baby to term and they adopted Harper from her teenage mother. I don't know anything about Harper's biological mother. In fact, she even looks like my mom. 

I head upstairs and throw on a pair of black shorts, a light gray tank top, brush out my hair, brush my teeth, and throw a Brewer's baseball cap on. I slip on a pair of shoes and head down stairs. When my feet hit the hardwood, two short blasts of the horn sound and I say goodbye to my family before heading out the door. I smile at Toby and slide into his car. He's staring at my clothes. 

"What?" I ask him. 

"We match," he laughs. 

I look over at him. He's wearing black shorts and a gray cutout tank top that shows an intricate tattoo of a pair of outstretched wings with long tips. Underneath I can see writing but I can't make it out. He catches me staring. 

"It's for mom and dad," he says simply. 

"It's beautiful," I tell him. 

"It sure is," he says, staring at me. Call me vain, but for a moment I thought he was talking about me. 

He backs out of my driveway and heads out of town. We roll the windows down and he turns the radio up. I flip my hat around so it doesn't fly off into the back of the car. I start singing a Miranda Lambert song about her little red wagon and Tobias joins in, singing horribly off key- but he knows every word. The next song is a Toby Keith song. Tobias always imagined he would be like Toby Keith- since, after all, they share the same name. But when Tobias begins to sing the song about another man running his life, I realize the boy really can sing. 

"You sure you wanna go into the NFL?" I ask him. 

"Sure am. I'm gonna play for Green Bay," he tells me. He's been saying the same thing since we were 6 years old and would play flag football with the neighborhood kids. 

"I think you missed your calling. You should be a honky-tonk singer," I tell him, laughing. 

He belts out some more notes and his deep voice gives me goosebumps. I'm glad he doesn't notice... 

We pull up to the house and I fish my keys out of my pocket. 

"Thanks for taking me," I tell him. 

"Wanna go get burgers at Nana's?" he asks me. 

"I would have to check with my parents," I tell him.

"Bring em with. You know Harper can't resist a milkshake," he says to me. 

"I'll ask them," I say with a smile. 

He salutes me and slides back into his car. I dial our home number and my mom picks up. 

"Hey mom. Tobes wanted to know if we wanted to go to Nana's with him," I tell her, starting my car and turning the radio down. 

I can hear my dad in the background saying he would love a Nana's burger, and then Harper pipes in about a milkshake. 

"Great. I will call him and we can meet you there?" 

"Sounds good, honey," she says, and I hang up. 

I pull off the grass and head back towards home. I dial Toby's number and just as he answers, I hear a screech of tires and a crunch of glass. I'm in my car, flipping over and over and over until finally my car lands on its roof. A groan of metal comes from somewhere out in the night and the last thing I can remember is Toby's voice. 

"Hannah?! No no no. What the f**k. HANNAH!" he screams. 

"Tobes.." I croak. And i'm sucked into the darkness again.