“Hey, can you grab me a soda?” Roy called out.
“Coke, Mountain Dew, or Dr. Pepper?” I asked.
“Whichever one you haven’t held up to your face yet. Which makes you look badass, by the way. I don’t know why you aren’t coming to school. The ladies would be all over you with those bruises.”
I rolled my eyes as I reached for the exact Coke I’d pressed against my eye the other day. I carried the food back out to the living room, tossing it right at Roy’s fucking chest. He stumbled with it, dropping his controller and crashing his car into a ditch. I chuckled as he cursed under his breath. But there were more important things than fucking Forza 4.
Like figuring out what the hell I was going to do about Rae.
“So, how long’s the dad gone now?” Roy asked as he cracked open his drink.
“For the next couple weeks, I hope. At the very least, the rest of this one,” I said.
“I smell a party coming on.”
I shook my head. “Maybe once I’m healed a little. But not this weekend. Marina’s place is fine.”
“Why the hell don’t you wanna show off those bruises? You always did before.”
I shrugged. “Just don’t feel like it this time. The fuck you care about it so much for?”
“Damn. Fine. I’ll put a sock in it.”
“Thanks.”
I flopped back down into my seat, refusing to talk about what happened with Roy. He’d poked and prodded when he first came over after lunch, skipping his last two periods in favor of hanging out here. He did it often, too. Jus
t randomly came over, knocked on the door, and took up space in this house. My father couldn't stand Roy. And sometimes, neither could I. But he was my only friend that didn’t pry about my bruises beyond making a few bullshit comments.
Some worse than others.
We continued our racing game in silence, stacking up the winnings and racing around the tracks. Forza was getting boring, though. We had plowed through all the car racing games over the years, and it was the most mindless game on the damn market. Around and around a racing track, racking up money to modify cars we’d never have. Playing the same racing game as some defunct twelve-year-old somewhere whose mother wanted to pawn him off on games so she could fuck her boyfriend in peace.
If only they knew the life that was headed straight for them, full speed ahead.
“Earth to Clint. You there, man?”
Roy’s voice ripped me from my trance and my eyes fell against the projection screen. Shit, the race had started and I was still hanging out at the starting line. I sighed as I peeled away from the flashing lights, racing around some random city with some random obstacles and some random cars chasing after us. I cut through the town, running some cars over trying to get into first place. I lost myself in the mindless momentum of it all. I sank myself into the tens of thousands of dollars we racked up in this game.
“Just twenty grand more,” I murmured to myself.
A knock came at the door.
I jumped at the sound. It shocked me so badly that Roy gave me a quizzical look. We finished up the race while the knocking continued, and I knew exactly who it was. I looked at my watch, clocking the time. School had gotten out thirty minutes ago. And not just anyone stood at someone’s door, knocking for ten damn minutes.
Roy furrowed his brow. “Who the fuck isn’t leaving you alone?”
I set my controller down after the race came to a close. Roy cursed the game, muttering under his breath about how we deserved more money from that win. I rolled my eyes as I made my way for the door, wondering if I should open it. Did she know I was here? Was my bike parked out front? I hadn’t gotten on the damn thing in a couple days. For all I knew, Dad had sold this bike off as well.
But when she knocked at the door again, I opened it up just to get her to stop.
“You should go,” I said.
Rae looked up at me, but she didn’t say anything. Her jaw fell open in shock and her hand reached out to touch my bruises. I backed away from her touch. If Roy saw her out here, it’d be the end of both of us. He’d never let me live this down, and he’d tease her relentlessly about it in school.
Which meant I wasn’t liable for the condition I left him in.
Rae gasped. “I’ve, uh… I’ve been worried about you.”