“Walking home.” His voice sounds tense.
“From where?” I frown.
Luke sighs. “A junkyard in Sterling Heights. I sold my car for scrap. I had it towed, but had to get some shit out of it, meet the guy up there to sign some paperwork, and give him the keys.”
“How… Did youwalkthere?” I balk. That’s over thirty minutes by car from his house, but it would be more like five or six hours on foot.
“No. My fucking jackass of a stepdad drove me up there. Then we had some words, and he left me like the piece of shit he is. So, I’m walking home.”
Before I can even stop to think about it, I’m already heading to the front door, grabbing the keys to my truck on the way.
“Where are you exactly?” I ask as I throw on my shoes.
“Walking up M-53.”
“Ok. But, like,whereexactly?”
I grimace once I’m back out in the oppressive heat. I’m already dying again just standing outside, so I can only imagine how awful it would be walking for hours in these conditions.
Luke must be able to hear the sound of my truck as I turn the key in the ignition because he curses. “Ethan, what are you doing?”
“I’m coming to pick you up.”
“I don’t need you to do that,” he groans, and I canhearthe exasperation in it. “I can deal with my own shit, okay? You don’t need to keep getting involved.”
“It’s over ninety degrees outside, and it’s humid as shit.” The call switches to my car’s radio while I back out of my driveway, and I set the phone down in the middle console as I head toward the highway.
“Ethan, I really don’t—” Luke starts with tension in his voice.
“Shut up, okay?” I snap, surprising myself at the level of authority behind it. “Go find somewhere to wait for me, and I’ll be right there. I’m already on my way.”
Luke is silent before he begrudgingly concedes. We agree to meet at a McDonald’s up the road from him, then we hang up.
I don’t know why I’m suddenly so angry.
When I get to the restaurant about twenty minutes later, I see Luke sitting on the sidewalk in the shade, with his back against the wall and one knee pulled up to his chest.
It’s apparent by the dark denim jeans and solid black T-shirt that he was not prepared to walk over twenty miles to get home when he left this morning. A pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses sits across his nose, and I can’t help but think he looks like acool bohemian ruffian sitting on the ground like that, nursing a chocolate milkshake to the side of his head as if that’s just the sort of thing one usually does. He’s ignoring the confused stares of people stepping over his long legs to get around him, like he couldn’t care less that he’s obstructing their way.
When he sees me pull into the parking lot, he picks himself up from the ground with a very obvious wince. I frown as I watch him walk over to the passenger side door, and he gets in without a word. He flips all the air vents so that they’re blowing directly on him, and I turn up the AC as he puts the milkshake back up to his temple. His whole face is flushed bright red, maybe even a little sunburnt.
“Are you okay?” I ask, unable to hide my concern.
Luke gives me a half-hearted thumbs-up and sighs, closing his eyes as he leans back against the seat. He doesn’t seem interested in saying anything else, so I don’t push it as I pull out of the parking lot, and head toward home.
Eventually, Luke takes the milkshake away from his face and drinks from it. I spare him a quick glance, and I can see how red his cheeks still are, but at least he seems to be doing better. He notices me watching him and sighs again.
Setting the milkshake down in the cup holder, he rolls his head to the side to look at me. “Is this like a weird hobby for you?”
“What?”
“Rescuing people.”
I blink, my brows furrowing with confusion.
“This is like the fourth time you’ve saved me, like I’m some goddamn damsel in distress,” Luke says, his lips twisting into a sly grin at one end. With the sunglasses and his flushed cheeks, it’s a wholelook, and I grumble at the unfairness of life. “It’s starting to seem a little clingy. Are you obsessed with me or something?”
I scoff, giving Luke a sharp glare. “Well, maybe if you stop getting your ass into trouble, I wouldn’t need to keep coming to your rescue. Are you sureyourhobby isn’t being a damsel in distress?”
