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I had a really bad feeling that Emilia wasn’t going to be pleased that Micky had taken off on her, and I was right. She was completely confused when I brought her Micky’s truck keys and a few minutes later, she and Rhett were gone.
It wasn’t until after they’d left that I realized I’d kind of assumed Rumi would be my ride home. It was stupid, and I’d told him that I needed some time apart but I guess I’d imagined that starting later.
Eventually, Bird was begging to go home—his social battery completely tapped out—and I was begging Nana for the keys to her car. After she agreed to ride home with Pop, Bird and I got out of there, both of us letting out a sigh of relief for different reasons.
“Why don’t you hang out with Titus more?” I asked Bird as we drove home. “He seems cool.”
“What the hell would we do?” Bird asked with a laugh. “Go jogging together? No thanks.”
“You can’t tell me you guys have nothing in common. He’s only a couple years older than you.”
“Oh, so just because of that, we should be best friends?”
“I didn’t say you had to be best friends—”
“I don’t want to hang out with that asshole, okay?” Bird said in frustration.
“What the hell did he do?” I asked, turning my head to look at him. It took quite a bit to get Bird riled and whatever happened had to have been significant for him to call Rumi’s little brother an asshole.
“He’s a bully.”
“Titus?” I asked dubiously. The kid was perpetually nice.
“He hangs out with bullies,” Bird mumbled. “And he doesn’t stop them. So even if he’s not an actual bully, he’s a pussy.”
“Were they bullying you?” I asked tentatively. I was trying not to lose my shit but just the thought of someone giving Bird a hard time made me livid.
“No,” he scoffed. “You think I’d put up with that? It was some younger kid at the skatepark.”
“Did you stop them?” I already knew the answer.
“Busted one kid’s nose,” Bird said, tentatively proud. “Gave the other one a shiner.”
“Shit.”
“Well, did you want me to do nothin’?”
“No, but you could’ve gotten into serious trouble or hurt.”
“It would’ve been well worth it.”
We were quiet for a few moments. “Did they leave the kid alone?” I asked finally.
“They ran off like a bunch of bitches,” Bird replied. “With Titus scurrying on their heels.”
“You guys seemed fine at the barbecue,” I reminded him as I pulled up outside the trailer.
“He came up and started talking to me. What, was I supposed to ignore him?”
“Fine,” I said, following him out of the car and into the trailer. “But I still think Titus is sweet. Maybe you should give him a chance to surprise you.”
I put my hands up in surrender when Bird turned to look at me.
“A man that doesn’t stand up for those weaker than him is a fuckin’ douche.”
“He’s not a man,” I countered.
“Nope, he’s a douche.”
