Extra Credit - S01 E25

8 months ago

Extra Credit - S01 E25

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 25

Calista

I knocked on the door, taking in the chipped black paint. The sun was setting behind the row of townhomes. The halo of oranges and reds made it look like the world was on fire. It definitely didn't feel that way. The plastic bags in my hand crinkled as a light gust of wind blew by and a shiver wracked my body. As I stood on the front porch of Lincoln's house reconsidered Ella's offer to use her car for practicum. Now that the weather was changing I was reminded of how much I didn't want to spend another frigid winter waiting in bus shelters.

After what felt like an eternity, Lincoln answered the door. He was wearing his signature black t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips.

"Hey," he murmured, his voice thick with exhaustion.

"Hi," I replied with a whisper of a smile.

Lincoln shuffled to the side, hand still on the doorknob. "Sorry for making you come all the way out here." He rubbed the back of his head. His dark hair was more dishevelled than usual.

I moved into the foyer, stepping on the backs of my heels to remove my shoes. "It's no big deal. It's nice to get off of campus from time to time." Especially for things that didn't involve practicum.

Lincoln took note of the groceries in my hand. "What's all of that?"

"I picked up some ingredients for my mom's famous garlic soup. She used to make it for me all of the time when I was sick."

Lincoln scrunched up his nose. "Garlic soup?"

"It sounds scarier than it actually is. Promise," I allowed an airy laugh to escape. "I'll prepare it while you're writing the mock-quiz I brought for you."

"Mock-quiz? I thought we were done with those passé ways of studying."

"Passé?" I scoffed, wandering into the kitchen to place the bag of vegetables on the counter. "Sorry, some of us can't beat the crap out of something while listing all of the muscles in the human leg."

Lincoln stood in the threshold, eyeing me with his arms crossed. His shoulder was flesh against the trim of the door. I could feel him analyzing me. The intensity caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand.

"Besides," I pressed on, turning back to him. "It's just a marker to see what we need to focus on more. I was pretty sure you didn't have a whole gym for us to work with here."

"You wouldn't be wrong."

I slipped my coat off of my shoulders. "How's Sadie doing by the way?"

"Better than last night," Lincoln said as he rubbed at his forehead. At that moment I realized how tired he looked. Dark shadows loomed under his eyes. Even his olive skin was paler than usual. I wondered if maybe he was coming down with something too. "She's sleeping right now."

"I'm assuming neither of you did much of that last night."

Lincoln shook his head. Tufts of hair brushed against his forehead. "I tried to get a couple of hours in before I messaged you, when my mom was home, but I had to meet with Coach. I only ended up getting a thirty minute nap in."

I blinked at him. "He had you train? Did he know you didn't sleep last night?"

"Not exactly."

Of course not, because Lincoln Pierce was not the kind of person to mention something as important as that. In his eyes, asking for grace was a weakness. It was the same reason why he was adamant on not needing a tutor. Lincoln wasn't one to ask for help. And that was probably because he was used to dealing with the brunt of his problems on his own. To say I was surprised when he asked me to watch Sadie was an understatement. But even then, it came with a transaction.