invited.
“What’s up?” he says, walking over to my side of the car.
I open the door and get out. “I came to see you,” I say. “Remember? You’ll drive me home, right?” I let my eyes flick ever so slightly toward my mom, and Brody immediately gets the message.
“Yeah, of course.” He looks through the open car door at my mom then raises his hand in a wave. “Hi, Ms. Moore.”
“Hi, Brody,” my mom says warmly. “You’ll have her home by nine?”
“Absolutely.”
She nods, then puts the car in reverse and pulls out of the driveway.
“Hey,” I say to Brody.
“Hi.” His hair’s wet, like he just got out of the shower. He’s wearing track pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, and I realize he must just be getting home from football.
“How was practice?”
“Fine.” He’s still looking at me, waiting for me to say something, to explain to him why I’m here. But his eyes are kind, like he knows I need to do it in my own time. I take in a breath of the cool night air and think about that night a few weeks ago, before this whole thing started, when I was at Raine’s house and Brody tried to kiss me. I freaked out, and at the time I thought it was because I just wasn’t ready to get close to anyone. But now I wonder if maybe I had some kind of premonition, that I somehow knew I was about to get involved in something bad.
“What’d you guys do?” I ask now.
“At practice?”
“Yeah.”
“The normal stuff.”
“Tackle each other and run around the field spiking the ball and talking shit?”
He grins. “Something like that.”
“Was Cam there?” I ask before I can help myself.
“No.” If he’s annoyed that I asked the question, he doesn’t show it. “Apparently him and Lancaster got sent home for fighting this morning.”
I nod, not saying anything, keeping myself from asking if he knows anything else, if he knows if Cam’s okay. Because this isn’t about Cam. This is about me.
“Listen,” I say. “I need your help.”
He sucks in a big breath, and for a moment, I’m afraid he’s going to say no, that he’s done enough, that he can’t risk doing any more for me. If he says those things, I won’t blame him. But he doesn’t. “Do you want to come in?” he asks.
I nod, then follow him up the driveway.
“We can go downstairs to the family room,” he says as he opens the front door.
“Maybe order some pizza. Are you hungry?”
I shake my head. “No,” I tell him, “I just ate.”
“Come on, we can share one.” He smiles, his eyes sparkling.
“Share a pizza?”
“Well, I meant share a slice. If you’re going to have more than that, we should probably get two.”
“Two pizzas?” I grin, thankful for the moment of lightness. “Fine,” I say. “But I want pineapple on mine.”
“The lady wants pineapple, the lady gets pineapple,” he says. We’re moving down the hallway now, and then down the stairs of Brody’s split-level house to the lower level. Brody flips the light switch on the wall, but bulb blinks and then pops before going out.
“Shit,” he says. “There’s another light in the family room, but we have to get through the door first.”
He reaches out and takes my hand, wrapping his fingers around mine, guiding me through the darkness. His grip is warm and comforting and for a second, just a second, I wonder what it would be like if this whole thing wasn’t happening, if there was nothing crazy going on, if it was just me and Brody, going down to the den together, alone in the dark.
He opens the door and what happens next is so fast that I don’t even realize what’s going on at first. There’s the sound of shuffling, and then a girl’s voice gives a shriek of surprise. Then the sound of a click as Brody turns the light on.
I blink in the sudden brightness, and my eyes focus on the sofa in the corner. The sofa on the corner where Cam’s lying, Brody’s sister Kaci on top of him.
Chapter Two
Campbell
“What the
“What’s up?” he says, walking over to my side of the car.
I open the door and get out. “I came to see you,” I say. “Remember? You’ll drive me home, right?” I let my eyes flick ever so slightly toward my mom, and Brody immediately gets the message.
“Yeah, of course.” He looks through the open car door at my mom then raises his hand in a wave. “Hi, Ms. Moore.”
“Hi, Brody,” my mom says warmly. “You’ll have her home by nine?”
“Absolutely.”
She nods, then puts the car in reverse and pulls out of the driveway.
“Hey,” I say to Brody.
“Hi.” His hair’s wet, like he just got out of the shower. He’s wearing track pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, and I realize he must just be getting home from football.
“How was practice?”
“Fine.” He’s still looking at me, waiting for me to say something, to explain to him why I’m here. But his eyes are kind, like he knows I need to do it in my own time. I take in a breath of the cool night air and think about that night a few weeks ago, before this whole thing started, when I was at Raine’s house and Brody tried to kiss me. I freaked out, and at the time I thought it was because I just wasn’t ready to get close to anyone. But now I wonder if maybe I had some kind of premonition, that I somehow knew I was about to get involved in something bad.
“What’d you guys do?” I ask now.
“At practice?”
“Yeah.”
“The normal stuff.”
“Tackle each other and run around the field spiking the ball and talking shit?”
He grins. “Something like that.”
“Was Cam there?” I ask before I can help myself.
“No.” If he’s annoyed that I asked the question, he doesn’t show it. “Apparently him and Lancaster got sent home for fighting this morning.”
I nod, not saying anything, keeping myself from asking if he knows anything else, if he knows if Cam’s okay. Because this isn’t about Cam. This is about me.
“Listen,” I say. “I need your help.”
He sucks in a big breath, and for a moment, I’m afraid he’s going to say no, that he’s done enough, that he can’t risk doing any more for me. If he says those things, I won’t blame him. But he doesn’t. “Do you want to come in?” he asks.
I nod, then follow him up the driveway.
“We can go downstairs to the family room,” he says as he opens the front door.
“Maybe order some pizza. Are you hungry?”
I shake my head. “No,” I tell him, “I just ate.”
“Come on, we can share one.” He smiles, his eyes sparkling.
“Share a pizza?”
“Well, I meant share a slice. If you’re going to have more than that, we should probably get two.”
“Two pizzas?” I grin, thankful for the moment of lightness. “Fine,” I say. “But I want pineapple on mine.”
“The lady wants pineapple, the lady gets pineapple,” he says. We’re moving down the hallway now, and then down the stairs of Brody’s split-level house to the lower level. Brody flips the light switch on the wall, but bulb blinks and then pops before going out.
“Shit,” he says. “There’s another light in the family room, but we have to get through the door first.”
He reaches out and takes my hand, wrapping his fingers around mine, guiding me through the darkness. His grip is warm and comforting and for a second, just a second, I wonder what it would be like if this whole thing wasn’t happening, if there was nothing crazy going on, if it was just me and Brody, going down to the den together, alone in the dark.
He opens the door and what happens next is so fast that I don’t even realize what’s going on at first. There’s the sound of shuffling, and then a girl’s voice gives a shriek of surprise. Then the sound of a click as Brody turns the light on.
I blink in the sudden brightness, and my eyes focus on the sofa in the corner. The sofa on the corner where Cam’s lying, Brody’s sister Kaci on top of him.
Chapter Two
Campbell
“What the
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