Page 29 of Under the Influence

“Well, that’s going to be hard to do with her everywhere we look.”

He shakes his head, “I know. She isn’t going anywhere either, is she?”

“I don’t think she is. At least, not anytime soon.”

“We need to find out why she’s here. It’ll be easier to take her down if we need to, and we can get her shipped back where she came from.”

I sigh, “Why don’t we just leave this one alone.”

“You’re right,” he agrees. “Jovie will handle it.”

I shake my head, “Not everything needs to be handled.”

“Do you like her?” he asks, getting defensive.

“I don’t even know her.”

He opens the door, “Neither do I.”

I don’t tell him how I wish that I did.

After we load all the wood into the back of my truck, we head over to his house to build the ramp. We know that his mom won’t be home or care what we were doing if she was. We make sure we get the foam under it to float, stand back, and stare at our masterpiece.

“This is a terrible idea,” I laugh, shaking my head.

“It’ll be fine,” Nash beams. “We can go out on the water tomorrow. We’ll take everyone with us.”

This crazy stuff doesn’t even phase him. He’s an adrenaline junkie, and if there’s an opportunity for it, he goes too far. Every single time. He pushes it because he feels like there isn’t anything left to lose.

“I’m going home,” I sigh. “Mom keeps texting me every ten minutes, reminding me of my curfew.”

Nash rolls his eyes, “At least she cares. I’m probably going to have to go find my mom and drag her home.”

“Why don’t you just come over and stay at my house?”

He runs his hand over the top of the ramp, “Nah, I’m good. I’ll just see you tomorrow.”

I give him a stern look, “You know it’s not your job to take care of her, right?”

He nods, walking away without another word, and I feel my heart sink. I hate that he doesn’t have the support system he deserves.

I walk through the front door of my house, my dad sifting through an enormity of papers on the kitchen table. “Good timing,” he smiles. “Mom was about to march down the street to drag you home.”

“Technically, I had about eight minutes to spare,” I grin, reading the time on my phone screen. My smile quickly vanishes when I see all the missed texts from Avery.

I don’t even consider reading them and head up to my bathroom. It’s been a long day, and after baseball and building a ramp, I need a shower. I’m dead tired, so I hurry up and return to my room and close the door.

I pull my drawer open and grab some clothes out, but just out of the corner of my eye, I see movement out the window. Looking out to the one across from mine, I slip my shirt down over my head. I see Cori sitting on her bed, legs crossed, and a computer on her lap.

I yank my blinds up, my movement causing her head to jerk my way. She doesn’t even have blinds up, just some sheer curtains. I pull my window up, waiting for her to come to open hers.

“What do you want, creep?” she asks, leaning out the window. Her hair is tied up in a bun. A sports bra and high-waisted workout leggings are pulling my eyes, but I’m trying not to make it obvious.

“Just wanted to see if you had any coaching advice,” I laugh, causing her eyes to roll.

“What is the point in having runners if the coach wants you to make the play at first?”

She’s not wrong.