Splinters: Part One

Part One | 52

Chapter 52

Josie, Jenny, and Jake

"Be safe! Call me when you get there!" Melissa ordered.

I nodded at her through the window of my car. "I will, I promise!"

"Please be careful, Braydo!" Greg smiled sadly.

Grady waved them off. "Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Pierson. I'll make sure he drives perfectly safe."

They smiled at him before waving at us. I pulled the car into reverse and began driving towards Josephine's new home.

"So do you know exactly where you're going?" Grady asked me.

"I put the address in my phone just in case." I glanced at him. "I'm really surprised your mom even let you come."

"She trusts you a lot," he admitted sceptically.

"Am I not trustworthy?"

"Well you did run away to this state."

I gave him a flat look as we exited the neighborhood and approached a red light.

"On a more serious note, though, have you talked to your parents about..?"

I shook my head. It had been three days since Grady put the idea that Collie could be pregnant in my head. "No. And I don't plan to yet, either."

"Why not?"

"I still don't know if she is or not."

He gawked. "You still haven't asked Collie?"

"She won't answer my calls," I frowned. "I've tried, Grady."

"She's got to at least respect you enough to answer your calls," he mumbled.

"If only."

We were quiet for a few minutes until he sparked another question. "So why are we going to New York to see your friend?"

"Well obviously you already know about me being an orphan and all that, but she was my best friend when I lived in New York."

"At the orphanage?" he guessed.

I nodded. "Yeah. I haven't seen her since last year and I really miss her. Also I want to know what she'll think about this whole situation."

"How old is she?"

"Fourteen."

His eyes widened. "Oh."

I smirked. "She's off limits, Grady."

"No," he shook his head. "I just thought she was our age."

Grady and I spent the drive switching radio channels and talking about school coming up. He was excited to see everyone's reaction to his weight loss, and honestly, I was pretty excited to see their reaction, too. But other than that, I was actually really scared of going back to school. I wasn't ready to see Zech everyday, and now that he's apparently buddy-buddy with my girlfriend, I'll hate him even more.

Eventually, two and a half hours later, we made it to a large neighborhood with decent sized houses. They were no where near the size of mine and Brenden's, but they could easily be understood as foster houses.

My phone told me to turn left into a cul-de-sac where Josephine's supposed residence is. I parked on the curb, peering at her house. It was white and blue and old looking, but I tried not to judge. She obviously likes it here.

"Is this it?" Grady asked.

I nodded, slowly turning off my car.

"Let's go!" he exclaimed, hopping out.