before. He pried the panel off the underside of the steering column and started twisting wires together. Since he lost the keys last summer, he had to hotwire the thing every time he wanted to start it.
The engine sputtered, and all the warning lights flashed. Aaron sighed and let the engine die.
He didn’t have to check under the hood; the oil pooling under the car gave it away: a cracked oil pan. Behind him, Amber was demanding that Clive and Dominic give them a lift home.
“Are you crazy?” said Dominic, pointing to the bloody wads of toilet paper stuffed up his nose. “Look!”
“Wow,” she said, “you’re comparing a nosebleed to almost killing him.”
“Why don’t you drive him if you’re so concerned?”
Her eyes flashed in Aaron’s direction, suddenly fearful. “Because I don’t want to,” she said.
“Make him walk,” said Clive.
“How about I just tell your father?” she said
Clive went pale.
And that settled it.
***
Aaron knew it was a bad idea, but they were fresh out of options. The buses didn’t run past ten, and after paying twenty each to get inside the Pelican, he and Buff couldn’t pool enough for a cab. Nor did Aaron have any intention of waking his parents, as that would lead to too many questions.
Aaron didn’t bother saying goodbye to Amber. There was something in that last look she had given him that seemed to erase everything that had happened on the dance floor.
“Anything happens, we got each other’s backs,” Aaron murmured, as he and Buff slid into the backseat of Dominic’s beamer, behind the guys who had just tried to sink Aaron’s Mazda in the Pacific Ocean.
“Always, Buddy.”
“Let’s take these fuckfaces home,” said Dominic, once they were all in the car.
“I bet you know where I live,” said Buff, “since you egged my house fifty times.”
Dominic spun around. “Make one more sound, Normandy, and you will not make it home alive.”
“What are you going to do, Breezie, call another bullshit play like you did back in the Junior League rugby championships?”
“I was right with you,” said Dominic. “We could have scored and you know it.”
“Yeah, if you listened to me.”
“There were scouts that day,” said Dominic. “I’d be playing for the Eagles right now.”
“A prissyboy like you?” said Buff. “Go play football if you want to be a hero.”
“Both of you shut it!” said Aaron, feeling things were escalating.
Buff was talking about an old offshoot of rugby that died off in the thirties, during the exchange of international culture that followed the discovery of halves. The tougher, more dynamic rugby had won out.
They dropped Buff off first. Dominic rolled down the window, sniffed, and spat bloody snot at him—and then Aaron was alone.
“Now you have to fix my oil pan too,” he said to Clive, sounding braver than he felt.
“You knew how it was,” said Clive. “You knew what I had with Amber.”
“Actually, I’m still confused.”
“Didn’t she tell you the truth?”
“That’s not why she ran after me.”
Clive’s lips whitened. “She’s my half,” he said. “And if you touch her again—”
“You’re seventeen,” said Aaron. “You don’t know who your half is.”
“I thought we’d be past this by now, Harper.”
Aaron leaned forward. “How about when you kiss her?” he said. “Does she kiss back like a real half?”
It struck a nerve, and once again, Aaron wished he’d kept his stupid mouth shut. Clive swiveled his body and clamped his hands around Aaron’s throat, digging his fingers into his jugular.
Dominic slammed on the brakes. “Clive!”
Aaron clawed his face, but the guy held on.
“Clive, let him go!” Dominic yelled.
Aaron’s felt dizzy, and he was only half-aware of Dominic trying to drag Clive off of him. He was more focused on Clive’s hand as it reached around his head, his thin fingers probing the back of his scalp—until he touched the farthest point back.
As if he’d pressed a button, the strength deflated from every muscle in Aaron’s body, and the last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was the pain, like molten lead dripping into his brain through the back of his head—that and wishing he’d had more time to live.
Because he really wanted to see Amber again.
***
After Amber dropped off Tina Marcello, she drove home, relieved she wouldn’t have to deal with Clive after what happened with Aaron—and convinced Aaron had been put into her life just to tempt her.
The drive home was miserable. The smell of Aaron’s sweat was all over her body, in her hair, and she couldn’t breathe without tasting him. She needed boiling water, shampoo, a