moving. How could we not be there yet? It felt as if I’d slept for ages. I would have groaned if it hadn’t seemed like too much effort. The second thing I noticed was that my bladder was near bursting and the third…
I was now sitting alone.
My eyes were still closed, but I could sense that Selena was no longer next to me. Mainly because her voice, though speaking in a hushed tone, was too far away. Opening my eyes, I blinked in earnest, hoping that the empty seat next to me was just a figment of my imagination. Where else could she have gone? All the other seats were taken. All of them except—
Lifting my head, my suspicions were confirmed when I found her sharing the last row with Vaughn. They even sat close, whispering to each other.
“Selena?” I cringed, hearing my groggy voice while hers had sounded almost sensual and suggestive. I told myself I was imagining things to calm my racing heart.
“Oh, hey, sleepyhead.” I didn’t return her smile as we stared at one another. I could feel Vaughn’s gaze but refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him.
“Why are you sitting back there?”
“Vaughn was looking a little lonely and sad,” she cooed as she hugged his arm playfully before letting go. “I thought I’d keep him company and cheer him up. Besides, everyone else had fallen asleep, and I didn’t want to wake them.”
I turned my head toward the front of the van, and her story was confirmed when I saw the slumped bodies and heard the light snores. The only one still awake was Ever. Our gazes met in the rearview mirror, and my gut twisted painfully when he quickly looked away. Even in the dark, I could see his hands strangling the steering wheel, making my unease grow. Ever had a damn good poker face, but right now, he had a hard time concealing his emotions. What had made him so angry?
Confused, I turned back and regarded my sister, who was still, for some reason, sitting in the back row.
“Okay, I’m awake now. Maybe you should come and sit up here?”
I realized how it might have looked as if I were being petty toward Vaughn, but with each second that passed, my chest grew tighter, and it became harder to breathe. What could they have been discussing so intimately? Had Ever overheard?
Selena shot Vaughn an apologetic look before moving back into the row with me. I took a deep breath before finally, finally meeting Vaughn’s gaze. The emptiness was still there, but it had only grown since an hour ago. What had happened in the week since I’d last seen him?
A few minutes later, Ever was pulling off the highway, startling everyone when he barely slowed enough. The van took the curve on two wheels, which woke everyone up.
“Dude, what the fuck?” Jamie grumbled. He was always crankiest when he first woke up.
Ever didn’t bother to respond as he gunned the van into the nearest parking lot. My stomach growled, seeing that it was an Applebee’s. Four was gazing at him worriedly, but he ignored her too as he threw the van into park. “Stay here,” he ordered Four. His voice was so thick with anger. He then hopped out, slamming the driver door hard enough that it should have broken glass. A second later, he pounded on the rear window next to Vaughn. “You…get the fuck out of the van.” Not giving his best friend a chance to respond, Ever walked away, letting the night swallow him whole.
Everyone then turned their confused gazes on Vaughn. The only one who didn’t seem at all surprised was Lou, who had eyes only for Selena. As if he hadn’t a care in the world, Vaughn got out and followed Ever into the dark.
“Well, fuck that, I’m hungry,” Jamie announced. Leaning over Bee, he slid open the sliding door.
“Ever said to stay here,” Lou reminded him.
“He told Four to stay here. He’s also not my goddamn daddy.” Without further ado, Jamie climbed out before helping Bee down and heading toward the well-lit Applebee’s. After a beat, everyone else followed, including Selena, while I sat frozen. My gaze eventually returned to the direction Ever and Vaughn had stalked off in, wondering what the hell had happened while I was asleep.
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR mind?” Ever raged. He shoved me as soon as I walked up to him. “Are you off your fucking rocker?”
“Chill out, man. Nothing