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The bar was on the outskirts of town in the opposite direction of Rogues. I hadn’t seen the small wooden building set off the main road before.
Malachi took a pull on his beer. “Sometimes. It’s an older crowd. The kids from school…” He trailed off, his eyes scanning the room.
“I get it.” I figured it was the reason he’d brought me here. No one would recognize us.
“It can get a little wild sometimes, but I like the music. And the owner, Teller, is a good guy.”
I interpreted that to mean he didn’t card anyone since we both had a beer and I hadn’t seen the bartender ask for ID.
Turning to face the room, I leaned back against the bar. “I like it.” It was far different from the kind of places I’d hung around in Montecito, but so was The Vault and Rogues.
“I thought you might.”
“You never bring the others?”
Malachi joined me in watching the room. The band was back on stage, gearing up for their next set.
“No. It’s kind of my place, you know?”
I did. Malachi wasn’t like the others. He was guarded. Kept to himself. I sensed it had something to do with Ami, but he didn’t share things easily.
“Yet you brought me here.”
“I know what it’s like to need space, and there isn’t much of that at school, Becca. Everyone’s always so up in everyone else’s business.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his jaw clench. “Sometimes, I just need away from all that bullshit. No one cares here. They come for the cheap beer and the good fucking music.”
We settled into an easy silence, watching the band strap on their guitars. The vocalist dragged a stool onto the stage and adjusted the mic stand.
“I bet you didn’t get much of this where you’re from,” Malachi said with no judgment in his voice, just curiosity, and I wondered what he thought about it all.
“My weekends were spent on my friend’s yacht or at her pool house.”
For some reason, it felt right to tell him the truth. Maybe it was because he watched his best friend fall at the hands of Kendall, or maybe it was because of Simone, the girl I suspected meant more to him than anyone knew. She’d stayed in town last summer with her dad. I remembered Malachi talking about her once like they were more than friends for the summer. And Jay and Vin talked about her like she was from money, which meant Malachi didn’t care about that kind of thing. Not like a lot of the kids at Credence High who stuck together and kept outsiders at an arm’s length.
“And now you’re stuck here.”
I elbowed him gently. “It’s not all bad.”
He laughed, something you didn’t hear often, and I found myself smiling right along with him.
* * *
After the band had finished, Malachi suggested it was time to head home. Truth be told, I wasn’t ready to go back. I’d felt free for the first time since walking into schoolthatmorning and seeing my face plastered everywhere.
“Thank you for tonight,” I said as we reached his car. Malachi nodded, opening the passenger door and walking around to the driver’s side. I climbed inside and waited for him.
“Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.”
“Huh?”
“They have live music on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.”
“Okay,” I replied, uncertain of whether he was asking me or informing me.
Malachi was quiet the rest of the ride home until he pulled up outside my house.
“Don’t let her win,” he said. “Whatever she does, whatever she throws at you…”
I met his intense stare and forced a tight smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”
