Read Online Friend Is a Four Letter Word by Steph Campbell - Free Book Online Page B

on her own for days before she gets there.” She wrings her hands, but Dad smooths her hair.
    “It’s not our choice. We tried our best.”
    I know he’s trying to give my mother some kind of comfort, but part of me shocks at the thought that he’s giving up on me. That he’s basically saying there’s no more anyone can do for me.
    Which is exactly what I wanted.
    Right?
    He kisses me and so does Mom, though she’s crying hard. They make me promise to call. They make me promise not to talk to strangers, to use my AAA card, to pull into hotels that are four-star before I get too tired.
    And then the only parents I’ve ever known, the people who gave up everything for me and have held me too tight my entire life, wave as I pull out of the driveway.
    I let the tears drip down my face, not sure if I’ll be back. Not sure if this goodbye is going to be much longer than any of us expects. I can tell from the way my parents’ bodies slump against each other that aren’t sure either.

 
     
     
    I walk up to the door hold my hand up, but stop mid-knock. What the hell am I doing here? I readjust the strap of my duffel bag—a duffel bag for Christ sake. What am I, a gypsy? This is insane. I suddenly feel like my life has become one long, drawn out, Country song.
    I’ve been driving for days, staying in hotels alone, eating alone at restaurants for the first time in my life and feeling stronger and braver every day. Which is good, because I spent the first five hundred miles thinking about turning my ass back around at every exit.
    But now the solitude of my trip is interrupted by the reality of being here. The place I was headed all along. The place I’m not sure I’ll fit into any better than I fit back home.
    I slide my phone out of my pocket and quadruple check the address I’d saved in Quinn’s contact info, take a deep breath and knock for real this time.
    The door jerks open, and it’s not Quinn.
    Those abs and that smile belong to someone I do know, though.
    Carter.
    I’ve spent the last several months texting him and just talked to him the other night, but standing here in front of him feels almost like we’re strangers all over again. Maybe it’s because some of what we said and especially what we texted was… flirty… intimate. And now—face to face—well, we may as well be standing here naked, as awkward as this feels.
    “Hey?” he greets me with a question. He doesn’t say it, but his expression shows the exact question I’ve been running through my head for miles, the question that would have made me turn around and go home if I wasn’t thousands of miles into this journey already: ‘What the hell are you doing here?’
    “Hey, Carter. I—I came to see Quinn. I had some time off of school.” Lie . “And thought I’d see the Pacific. I’ve never been out this way before.”
    The look of confusion melts from his face and he crosses his arms over his chest, leaning one strong shoulder against the door frame. “C’mon, Shayna. Let me see.”
    “See?” I stutter, wondering if he’s expecting way more than those naughty texts promised.
    “The goods.” He grins as I gasp. The delicate Southern lady I’ve pretended to be for all these months is deeply offended. The rebel badass I put on hold for just as long is seriously tempted to strip right in front of him. Before I can give into that urge, he says, “I mean, I think it’s sweet you’d come all this way to hand deliver boiled peanuts—”
    “Boiled peanuts?” I repeat stupidly.
    “Ah.” His dark eyes go wide for a second. “No peanuts for me? Shit. I was really craving some. I guess you’re here for the earring then?”
    “I—” And then I laugh, and it feels like someone has opened me up and set me free. “You know what? I bought a bunch of fresh peanuts at a roadside stand. If you point me to the kitchen, I’ll whip up some boiled peanuts that will melt in your mouth. Promise.”
    Carter pulls the door open wide so