A mask falls over Landon’s face, and he stares at his mother.
“We’re at the fireworks right now, but we’ll be back at the—” Mrs. Tillman stops abruptly like she was interrupted. She flashes Landon a helpless look and shakes her head, like whatever is happening is completely out of her control. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”
I tug away from Landon and draw my knees to my chest, crossing my arms over them.
“No, I don’t think it’s smart to drive back in the dark…” Mrs. Tillman turns her face toward the sky. “We’re near the lake, not far from the boat ramp.”
She’s here. Evie ishere.
How is this even happening?
“Mom,” Landon practically snarls as soon as Mrs. Tillman hangs up the phone.
She shakes her head, looking incredibly uncomfortable. “I didn’t know what to do. She said she drove here to see you. I didn’t want to send her back this late.”
“From home?” Landon asks, incredulous. “That’s at least fifteen hours.”
So…apparently Evie is unbalanced. That’s good to know—I’ll just file that tidbit of information away.
“I’m so sorry, Lacey,” Mrs. Tillman says, turning to me. She grimaces, looking mildly dazed. Apparently, she didn’t know Evie was insane either.
Mom and Uncle Mark don’t say anything, but I can tell they’re questioning the wisdom of pushing my relationship with Landon.
“How can she just drive here?” I demand to no one in particular.
“She’s eighteen,” Landon says quietly. “Same as me. If she wants to hop in the car and drive fifteen hours to confront her ex-boyfriend, there’s not much stopping her.”
She’s older than me. Even better.
Twenty minutes later, a dark green sedan drives slowly through the line of cars, and it stops when it reaches the Tillmans’ Suburban.
“Is that her?” I ask Landon at a whisper.
He gives me a tight nod.
There’s not a lot of room between the SUV and the truck on the other side of them, but Evie manages to maneuver into it.
I sit here, more uncomfortable than I’ve ever been in my life, waiting for the first glimpse of the girl Landon was in love with.
And then there she is. Does she look insane?No, she looks gorgeous. Her hair is a medium brunette shade, and it falls in a perfectly straight sheet to her waist. She has perfect cheekbones, light eyes framed with long lashes, and she’s slender and tall like a model.
And she doesn’t look eighteen—she looks twenty.
She glances my way and then dismisses me like I’m nothing more than an insignificant speed bump in her plan to win Landon back.
“Landon,” she says, her eyes finding his. It’s a greeting, reprimand, and a purr all at once. “We need to talk.”
He glances at our group. Every single one of us, except for Caleb who couldn’t care less, watches the two of them.
Looking plenty uncomfortable, Landon gives her a curt nod. Then he turns to me. “I will be right back.”
I try to smile, but it’s weak at best.
Landon leaps from the truck, and as he steers her away from the group, I try not to admire how good they look together. They look like they stepped off the cover of a summer-themed magazine, one that makes teens everywhere feel inadequate.
I sit with a forced smile on my face, waiting, waiting, waiting for Landon to return. I refuse to look at my phone to check the time, but it’s been at least fifteen minutes since Evie stole him away, maybe more.
“Oh, I forgot your lemon tea,” I absently hear Mom say to Uncle Mark.
