Page 93 of Where Roads Lead

“I changed my mind,” he said.

“Okay, in that case, you should come, too, Ava,” Theo suggested.

I bit back a smile. Apparently, the vibes of a hang out with just me, Will, and him didn’t fit the image of what Theo wanted the outing to be.

“Fine,” she snapped. “I’ll go, too.”

“Love the enthusiasm.” Theo grinned, apparently not put off by the tension radiating off the Hugheses at the table.

“Awesome,” I said faintly. “This will be so fun.”

They both scowled in response.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Will

Idon’t know why Elsie wanted to hang out with Theo.

I mean, sure, I hung out with Theo, but I was a guy. We watched sports and drank beer. I doubted that’s what he had in mind for whatever he’d be doing with her.

And when I realized it was just going to be the two of them, it hit me viscerally that I had no idea what he was planning on doing with her. I had no other choice but to interject myself.

The only thing more miserable than third-wheeling him and Elsie, though—was fourth-wheeling with Ava trudging beside me.

“Whose idea was it to go to a corn maze, anyway?” She huffed, throwing the end of her scarf dramatically over her shoulder. “We’re all going to end up lost.”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “I’m sure that’s exactly what he was hoping.”

Which is why I was trailing him and Elsie very, very closely.

I didn’t want to leave any room for accidental separations to occur.

“This is kind of spooky.” Elsie shivered. “I’ve never done one of these in the dark.”

Theo shined his flashlight underneath his chin and let out a sharp ‘boo!’ before reaching out and grabbing her arm.

Elsie yelped in response, apparently terrified.

I rolled my eyes.

“Are you kidding, Elsie? He’s standing right beside you.”

“I’m just a girl, Will.” She looked at me over her shoulder. “You make a loud noise, I react. It’s simple mathematics.”

“Not math, but okay.”

“Science, then.”

“Not even close.”

“Why are you two arguing about this?” Ava said, picking up her pace until she was at the front of the group. “We’re turning this way now.”

“Who elected you as group navigator?” Theo teased.

“I did, since you guys take five minutes every time we have to decide if we’re taking a left or a right. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be stuck in here all night.”

“Are you scared, Aves?” Theo said before turning to look at me in solidarity. “We’ll protect you, won’t we, Will?”