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“No. Just leave me—”
“Goddamnit, Bex, no! You’ll get hurt.”
I roughly wipe away the tears streaming down my face. From somewhere in the haze of panic, I recognize he’s right. I don’t want him to go to my hometown with me; I don’t want him to see the diner like this—ifthere’s a diner to see—and most of all, I don’t want him to see my mother. But I need to get there as quickly as possible, and he’s my best option.
“Fine,” I mumble.
He relaxes visibly. “Good. Get in the car, baby. Let me just grab the keys.”
Cooper and Sebastian approach, Cooper holding out a set of keys. He tosses them to James, who catches them with ease. “Got them. Let’s go.”
In this moment, I’m too strung out to argue, so I just climb into the passenger seat as James starts the car. His brothers get into the backseat. I type the diner’s address into the map app on my phone, and in the silent car, the slightly robotic voice of the directions starts to talk.
With each mile, the pit in my stomach tightens.
Chapter 24
James
After a tense drive, I finally slow the car. We’re in a downtown area; to our left is a post office, and to the right, a coffee shop. I’ve never been to this town before, but it reminds me of Moorbridge, minus McKee’s influence.
As I pull into an open spot, Bex gasps. The sound frays my already-tense nerves, and I hit the brake a little too hard. There’s a thud in the backseat, and Cooper mutters, “Ouch, asshole.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the red and blue flash of sirens.
Bex flings the door open before I can put the car in park. After we got on the road, I managed to wrangle exactly one piece of information from her: there was a fire at the diner. She’s lost in her own world of panic, refusing to let me in. I tried holding her hand on the drive, and she looked at me like I just dropped my pants in public. I tried to push her for more details, and she snapped at me. At this point, I’m just glad she let me drive her here.
But I’m not leaving her alone. Not now. She needs someone to support her, whether she likes it or not.
I run after her, vaguely aware of my brothers following close behind. She’s in the middle of the street. Jesus, she’s lucky she hasn’t gotten run over. I hustle her to the sidewalk, and she must be stunned, looking at the fire trucks, because she doesn’t protest.The air is hazy with smoke, but it doesn’t seem like anything is still on fire.
When we get to the end of the street—safely, on the sidewalk—Bex approaches a group of firefighters who are rolling up a hose. One of them lights up when he spots her; he’s about our age, maybe a couple years older, with a buzz-cut and sweat dripping down his face. “Bex, hey. Your mom said you were on your way.”
She knows this guy? I know I shouldn’t care, but I do. I inch closer to Bex.
“Kyle,” Bex says. “How bad is it?”
How does she know this guy? Did she go to high school with him?
He grimaces. “It could be worse. The fire was upstairs, mostly.”
Bex glances at the building, her teeth digging into her lower lip. “Upstairs? The apartment?”
“Your mom will need to stay somewhere else while the damage is fixed. Smoke ruins more than you’d think.”
“Was there any damage to the diner?” I ask.
Kyle glances over at me. “Who’s this?”
“I’m James.” I hold out my hand. “Her boyfriend.”
Behind me, either Seb or Coop coughs. I ignore them. The last thing Bex needs right now is this dude hitting on her.
Kyle shakes my hand, but he keeps looking at Bex. “The diner is pretty much fine, maybe needs some repairs. The building needs to be inspected, of course. Your mom was upstairs when it happened, but she’s okay.”
She gets a funny look on her face, like she’s not sure whether she’s going to burst into tears or start screaming, and strides over to the diner.
“I wouldn’t get too close yet,” Kyle calls.
