Ezra
“Hey, man,” Tucker says through the phone. “Do you think you could give me a ride tonight?”
I check the time on my cell before lifting it back to my ear. “Where?”
“There’s a party in Cambridge. Mabel wants me there, and you know my car broke down.”
“Cambridge?” I scrunch my nose. “Why so far?”
“Oh, come on. It’s only a twenty-minute drive, and it’s a nice area. Do me a solid so I don’t have to look like a loser and askherfor a ride.”
“Fine,” I mutter. “I’ll pick you up in a few.” If I don’t, he’ll probably ask next if I can hook him up with one of the cars at my parents’ dealership. Or loan him some money for a ride. All the guys on the team love asking me for favors. Sometimes I wonder what kind of dynamic I’d have with any of them if I couldn’t offer them something.
I toss the phone onto my bed and search for something to wear. My room smells faintly like cedarwood and body wash, thanks to the steam that flowed in here across the hall during the shower I just took. There’s a pile of hoodies draped over theback of my desk chair, and my textbooks are stacked like uneven towers on my dresser.
My laptop is still open from earlier, paused mid-session on a video game I’ve been obsessed with playing lately. It’s a medieval RPG—role-playing game—and if any of my friends saw me playing it, they’d absolutely make fun of me.
My Fallbrook Falcons letterman jacket hangs on the closet door, reminding me of yesterday’s game and the person I came face-to-face with. The person who never used to ask me for endless favors or keep our friendship at a surface level.
No. Now isn’t the time to think about her. Focus.
After rifling through my dresser, I eventually settle for jeans and a black long-sleeve shirt.
When I head downstairs, Olivia is texting on the living room couch with her tiny dog in her lap. I try to snake past her so she doesn’t rat me out to our parents, but she side-eyes me instantly. “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.”
“I’ll tell if you don’t tell. You’re not supposed to go anywhere until you do the dishes.” She gives me a sassy head-waggle, making her giant hoop earrings slap against her cheeks.
“Ugh, just this once, don’t be a brat. I’ll do them when I get back,” I say. I make for the door, but she’s off the couch in an instant. Her Chihuahua, Chai Guy, instantly falls into step beside her.
“Dad,” she calls.
“Okay, fine.” I hold my hands up. For such a tiny little freshman, Olivia is absolutely terrifying. It’s no wonder all the other cheerleaders at Fallbrook never stand up to her, even though she’s a flier and they quite literally hold her life in their hands. “I’m just dropping Tucker off at a party in Cambridge.” I don’t add that I was planning to finish playing that gametonight. Olivia would roast me for being the only varsity player in Fallbrook history who’d rather play a video game than go out.
She arches an eyebrow. “A party? And you think you’re just going to sneak off and not tell anyone?”
“Try to remember, I’m the older brother here.”
“Age means nothing.” She rolls her eyes and studies me like she’s thinking of the next way she’s planning to torture me. “I’ll cover for you, and even do the dishes for you. But you owe me a favor.”
I groan. “Whatever.”
She beams like I just signed my life over to her. “Bye! Have fun.”
I shut the door behind me before she can think of anything else to spring on me. As crazy as my sister can be, she’s very much like her dog—tiny, vicious, and undyingly loyal. He’s the bad guy, so she doesn’t have to be. Chai Guy would probably tear the hand off anyone trying to hurt Olivia so she could smile, flutter her eyelashes, and pretend to be the nice one.
And though Olivia likes to torture me, she’s done the same for me many times.
I think that’s why it was so hard for me to restrain myself on the basketball court yesterday. After that guy from the Boston Bears made a crude comment about my sister, I had no choice but to teach him a lesson. No one talks about my family and walks away the same.
As I drive to Tucker’s to pick him up, I can’t help but remember what happenedafterthe game. The moment I saw Rue standing only feet away from me. I haven’t seen her up close in years, only from afar, and I had to remind myself not to physically reach out and touch her to make sure she was real, especially when she tripped and fell.
Seeing her face was like a slap, reminding me of my biggest regret in life, the one I’ve been trying to shove down and forget since it happened.
But there’s no forgetting. Not when it comes to Rue Sullivan.
Tucker gets in my Volvo when I park outside. I have to admit it’s sweet being a junior with such a nice car, but that’s what happens when your parents own a dealership. It’s practically a rite of passage for someone like me.
