Page 112 of Find My Way Down to You

Instinctively, my fingers twine around my bracelet, tugging. When he catches me, I abruptly stop.

A glint flashes across his expression. “You know what you need?”

I blink, shaking my head.

“To practice.”

“Practice?” I repeat. “Prom?”

He shakes his head, then gestures behind me. A gleaming obsidian black Mercedes-Benz sits in the driveway. His dad’s car.

My eyes widen. London cuts off my protest before it fully forms. He grabs my hand.

“You’re nervous. It happens to everyone. This will help.”

“London,” I start.

“Just a quick loop around the neighborhood. Me and you.”

Groaning, I say, “I didn’t even drive myself over here.”

My mom did. She’ll be back in an hour.

“Which is all the more reason for us to do this,” London insists.

I pause to consider him. The electricity in his smile, a wildness behind his lashes. This spontaneity that’s so unlike him. Londonplans. He doesn’t do anything without thinking it through at least twice.

He gives my hand a squeeze. “Auggie, come on.”

“Will your dad be okay with it?”

His gaze flits back to the house. Up to the second floor. Shadows move behind gauzy curtains. The window is open. Tense voices drift down.

His parents.

A muscle in London’s jaw jumps. “He won’t mind.”

I wait until he turns to me. “Are they fighting again?”

Silence stretches. This is a part of himself he still hides. From everyone at school. Even from me, on occasion. I try not to pressure him.

There are things I should tell him that I don’t.

He licks his lips like he might talk about it this time. Then he grins and says, “Tonight’s not about them. It’s aboutyou. You got your license! Let’s go for a drive.”

A desperation grows in his stare. “Okay,” I whisper, threading my fingers through his.

His mouth loosens into a genuine smile. It fills me. Washes away my own doubt.

“I’ll go grab his keys,” he says.

I nod, not wanting to let him go. But I do. Only for a moment.

London doesn’t get far before spinning around. He runs back to me. Drags me in for a hug that I relax into, squeezing him back.

His forehead rests against mine. Green eyes holding me.

“I love you, Auggie. Always.”