Page 78 of Within These County Lines

I scrambled to escape without looking back.

Xander clears his throat.

“So that’s what happened,” I say. The road comes back into focus.

He exhales sharply. “Damn. And you didn’t want me to mess with him at the party? I’m pissed I only tied his shoelaces together. I should’ve done way more. Let’s go back.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s fine.” I stare at my feet resting on the pedals.

“It’s not fine.” His voice hardens. “That’s abuse, Stetson. That behavior wouldn’t even fly when I was kickin’ ten years ago.”

I wave my hand in dismissal. “It happens to everyone here.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay. You didn’t deserve that.”

My lip trembles.

Someone finally knows. And his reaction, the anger and disbelief, means what happened to me was bad. Which means I was right. The variables finally add up.

Leaving Murray is the right answer.

Xander reaches into his candy bag and hands me a root-beer barrel.

I laugh, wiping the corners of my eyes. “You and this damn candy.”

He grins. “What can I say? Remember, health consequences don’t apply to me, so I eat whatever I want.” He smiles. “See these teeth? Pearl white. Cavity free.” He tugs on his cheek. “You see this skin? Pores fresh. No sugar-induced acne.”

I laugh harder.

“You sure you don’t want this?” He wiggles the root-beer barrel over my lap.

“Yes. It’s the most random candy you could offer me.”

“Are you a chocolate guy?”

I sniff and wipe snot from my nose. “I guess you could say that.”

He rummages through his pockets and pulls out an empty Skittle wrapper, two yellow Starbursts, and a small box of Nerds. “I got nothing for you, then.” He stuffs everything back into his shorts. “The best I can offer you is a big hug.”

My throat constricts as I stare at him. A few beats of silence pass before I collapse into his chest.

His warm hands run up and down my back, steady and slow. “Thank you for telling me what happened,” he whispers. “I’m sorry he put you through that.”

I sob into his shoulder, just as he did into mine the day we met.

Between cries, I mutter, “I think you’re cute too.”

“What?” he asks, pulling back slightly.

“Back at the party, you said I was cute. I ignored it.” I sniff. “You’re always so nice and just say what you feel, and I guess I’m not used to that. If you can say you like me so easily, you can just as easily say you don’t.”

He smiles. “I think I’m coming onto you so fast because I’ve waited so long to feel like this.”

I glance at the roof. “There you go again.”

“Fine. No more talking. I’ll just stare at you instead.”

So I let him.