Preach walked in silence, his jaw tight.
“Evidently you do, too, Mr. Talks-a-Lot.”
Still nothing. Not outright hostility, just…nothing.
“So, when’s Brodie going to be here to pick us up?”
“I thought there was a rule about talking to you, even looking at you.” He offered up a crooked grin that wasn’t quite a sneer, but also not a full-on smile. “You’re breaking your own rules, you know.”
“It’s ride related, Cher.” I pulled out my phone as we walked down the hallway, which was pretty much empty now that school had ended a while ago, but there were a few kids hanging out around some of the lockers.
“Cher?” His nose scrunched up like he’d smelled rotten food.
“Yeah, you know, like the girl fromClueless. Fails her driver’s license test. She’s the worst driver ever. Likeyou.”
He cut his eyes at me and grumbled something under his breath, but I caught another one of those half smiles. Guess he didn’t appreciate cult classic movies like I did or obsess over how Paul Rudd literally doesn’t age.Whatever.
I checked my phone as I followed Preach toward the exit. There was a text from Alec.
ALEC: How are you feeling, kid?
ME: I’m literally 14 months younger than you.
ALEC: Is my little Nugget better?
Nugget…We were six when he’d given me that nickname. All because I thought I’d found some gold in a river in Iowa and I’d declared that we’d struck it rich. He’d never let it go, would he?
ME: I’m going to change your name in my phone to Butt-Head.
ME: Scratch that, Old Butt-Head.
ALEC: Classic, Beavis.
ALEC: For real, though, how’s the wrist?
ME: Hurts.
ALEC: Sucks.
ME: That’s what she said.
ALEC: Touché.
ALEC: I gotta go.
ALEC: Training sesh is about to start.
ALEC: Text later?
ME: Always.
Alec’s parents were both in the Air Force and we’d lived on some of the same bases growing up. The three of us got into all kinds of trouble together when we were little.
But last year, things between me and Alec had changed… Before we had a chance to figure things out, Emmett had walked in on us while we were in Alec’s bed, and my brother lost his shit. My throat constricted and tears stung as the sound of Emmett yelling at Alec and me echoed through my memories.
Emmett left the next day for Boise for operations Air Force training. The last thing he’d said to me was that he was disappointed in me.
And two weeks later, he was dead.