I shut the car door behind myself and wait at the end of my driveway as Hayden pulls out. He doesn’t speed away, and he even signals at the end of the street. He’s heading toward his home, and I can’t stop the barrage of thoughts rushing through my head of what he’s going to do when he gets there. I don’t know whether Tory’s home or not, but it’s only a matter of time before the two of them collide again. This time, it’s all my fault.
17
Tory
I haven’t shot pool with Lucas in ages. It’s what I needed tonight. He knew it.
We got to Eight Lanes when June’s shift began, and we’ve racked up maybe forty games of nine-ball in three hours. Because June’s here, we’re not taking advantage of our usual look-the-other-way pitchers of beer. I have to respect the way Lucas respects June. She doesn’t like him breaking rules at her place of employment, so he waits until she’s not around. I mean, a free pitcher is a tough thing to give up entirely.
I won the last round, so I offer to buy Lucas a slice and refill our Dr. Pepper at the counter while he racks up to break the next game, but June’s off work soon. I’m officially third-wheeling. I’ve done it enough that my Spidey senses alert me. He’s waffling in his response because the good friend in him wants to say yes, but he’s got a girl to spend time with. They’ve missed out on enough time as it is.
“Actually,” I say before he has to find an excuse. “I’m pretty tired.”
It’s eight-thirty. He knows this is bullshit.
“A’ight man, you sure?” He’s grateful I gave him an out.
I fake a yawn and pick up the empty soda pitcher.
“Yeah, I might head back to my dad’s. He wants me to stay here and keep the peace, but I’m not doing a very good job of it.” I walk backward a few steps, grimacing. Lucas knows things with me and Hayden are bad. I told him about the camp letter I found, and he was as shocked as I was. He remembers how excited I was when my parents let me apply. It cost three hunny just for the shot. I did not, however, alert Lucas to the details from earlier—the kiss. I’m not in the mood to be judged tonight. He won’t mean to do it, but he will. The dude’s poker face is shit.
“You gonna come back for the party tomorrow, then?” he asks.
I wince with a tight smile and waggle my head side-to-side before setting the pitcher down at the register near June.
“Tory!” June grunts from behind me. She leans over the counter and pulls on my shirt, tugging me back with a short choke. Her mom’s put a lot of work into the party, and yeah, yeah . . . games. But the thought of being in a circle that tight with her and my brother just burns my throat. I don’t think I can do it. Call me a pussy, but I just . . . can’t.
“You know I wanna be there,” I say, which is a very non-answer answer. I grab my collar and tug my shirt out of her hand and straighten it on my body as I turn to face her. I love this shirt, it’s all black and says the word DOMINATE in the center in dark gray. Now it’s all kinked.
“Tory,” she repeats my name, this time a little more forgiving.
I take a deep breath. It’s hard to say no to June. She has this way of making people do things they don’t really want to do, like buy flowers for a girl who will never be theirs.
“I’ll try,” I say. I’ll probably cave and show up briefly just to make June happy. I really don’t want to, though.
“Okay,” she says, leaning over the counter and throwing her arms around my neck. As I lean in, she kisses the top of my head.
“That was all her, dude. You saw it,” I say to Lucas, holding my hands up innocently. He laughs because he thinks I’m joking, but lately I’ve been hit enough over women that I’m not taking any chances.
“I’ll see you guys,” I say, grabbing my beanie from the counter and stuffing it on my head. It’s crisp outside, the sky clear and full of stars. It’s a no-moon night, so the glitter in the sky shows off a little more than normal. It