BRIDGER (22 page)

“Except Emily.” He slammed his locker shut and walked away.
 
“I’m going to the car.”

“Not that way, you’re not.”

Huffing, he turned around and stomped past me in the other direction.
 
I followed behind, grabbing Mary from the doorway she was standing in, talking to Reese.
 
He followed suit as well.

Reaching the parking lot behind the school, Liam pushed the doors open and let in a biting, cold rush of air.
 
He pulled it shut, turned to face us and leaned against the door.
 
“You didn’t say you all lived in the Arctic Circle.”

It was impossible not to laugh at him. “I wanted to warn you, but it was just too funny to watch you pack all your summer clothes.”

He sighed, looking at Reese.
 
Reese had grabbed me from behind, pulling me into his usual stance.
 
What was once okay was obviously not so okay any longer.
 
Liam came over, slipping through Reese’s embrace and taking his rightful spot.
 
Mary made a move to come closer to Reese now that Liam had separated us.
 
I hoped he got the point Mary was trying to make.

Reese, having the four-wheel drive Jeep, had driven us all to school that morning since it had been snowing.
 
“You guys wanna come back to my place, or Ash, do you wanna go to yours?”

Liam answered for me.
 
“We’re going to yours, Reese.”

It was obvious that Memaw’s berating was still on his mind.
 
Opting to avoid Hurricane Memaw was probably a good idea for now. We’d go to Reese’s place.

It was a silent ride back after the initial testosterone thrill.
 
Mary and I were in the back, holding on for dear life as Reese did donuts in the public pool parking lot that was beside the school.
 
After a few rounds and before anyone could throw up, Reese pulled out and onto the road.

Liam was white-knuckled, holding onto the dash.
 
“You’re quite possibly the worst driver I’ve ever met in my entire life.
 
That includes my ninety-year-old grandfather back in Ireland.”

Reese chuckled.
 
“I’m the best getaway driver you’ll ever find.
 
In case of emergency, you'll know who to call.”

If only he knew that we could have used him the week before.

We got to Reese's house in record time for him.
 
He was proud.
 
“Fifteen minutes in inclement weather?
 
Dude, that’s a Guinness Record.”
 
He patted the Jeep’s hood and then trudged through the three-foot snowdrift in the driveway.

We followed behind and upstairs to their now-shared room.
 
The stark difference between their sides was almost comical.
 
While Reese’s looked as though a nuclear bomb had gone off, you could actually see the floor on Liam’s side.
 
It was amazing, considering there had been a general consensus that Reese’s floor may be nonexistent in places.

Reese had given Liam his bed, opting for the full sized outdoor hammock he had rigged into place instead.
 
Mary and I stood in the doorway, watching the guys throw their belongings down.
 
Reese turned on the ridiculous big screen TV he had in his room, relaxing in the hammock.
 
“Toss me a coke, Ash, will you?”

Mary was on it before I could reach the mini fridge, grabbing one out and flipping it to him.
 
He snatched it out of the air and blew her a kiss.
 
Mary grinned.
 
For everyone’s sake, I hoped those two ended up together.

As if reading my mind, Reese got up and sauntered over to us.
 
Turning and seeing that Liam had sprawled himself across the bed, he walked up, grabbed my hips, and pulled me in close as though Liam wasn’t three feet away. “I haven’t had a good hug since you got back, Ash.”

There was no time to respond, because in that instant Liam yanked Reese backwards and pushed him against the back wall.
 
The picture of him and I that had been hanging on the wall was now on the floor, glass scattered across the room.

Reese spluttered, shocked by the sudden attack.
 
“What the heck’s wrong with you, man?”

Liam’s back was to me, but I could imagine the seriousness his face displayed.
 
“Don’t. Touch. My. Girlfriend.”

“Look, dude, we were friends way before you ever came into the picture.”

Liam slammed him once more, then walked back to the bed.
 
“Then
be
friends.
 
But don’t try to hit on her, especially in front of me.”

Reese laughed.
 
“This is my house.
 
You’re just a guest.
 
And I can talk to her any way I want.”

“Don’t you think if she wanted you, she’d have been with you by now?”

Silence.
 
Mary and I were in shock.
 
Reese’s mouth gaped open, then snapped shut, looking down.

Mary broke the silence.
 
“I think we’re gonna go now.”

Turning and taking a step toward the stairs, she grabbed my hand.
 
The last thing I saw was a frustrated Liam and Reese looking like he could cry.
 
I was going to become a nun and save everyone some stress.

EIGHTEEN

“I told you Reese wanted you.”

“Mary, please shut up.”

She turned on the radio.
 
Mary drove like an old person in bad weather.
 
That meant we were basically going backward.
 
It was probably possible to walk home faster, but I might have frozen to death in the process.
 
Sitting in the car and keeping all my fingers and toes seemed smarter.

“I can’t compete with you.
 
Why do you get to have two pining over you?
 
It’s so disgusting,” she laughed, but we both knew she was only half joking.

Maybe losing a toe or two wasn’t such a bad thing.
 
Today was going from ugly to institutionalize-worthy.
 
“I don’t want Reese.
 
Take Reese. He’s all yours.”

Mary caught onto my mood and parked in the driveway silently.

We walked in through the garage, going directly into the kitchen.
 
Mom was already working on dinner, while Chris was sitting at the bar doing homework.

I tossed my book bag against the bar, the thump causing Chris to jump.
 
“Hey punk, do you have much homework tonight, or are you willing to get whipped in Rock Band?”

Chris looked jumpy.
 
Eyes latching onto anything but me, he started texting furiously on his phone.
 
“Uh, I dunno, Ash. I might have plans.”

“That would mean you have friends.
 
We both know Mom stopped paying for that a long time ago.”

It was like a light switch was flipped.
 
Chris slammed his phone on the counter, then stood up.
 
“You know what, Ash?
 
Maybe someone might enjoy my company.
 
You ever think of that?
 
That someone might think I have a lot of good stuff to say?”

I was flabbergasted.
 
This was a new side of Chris. We always joked.
 
He scooped up his belongings and stormed away before anyone could say anything more.

Mary broke the silence.
 
“Well, seems like Chris has finally reached his teen angst years.”

She was leaning against the sink, drying off an apple she'd found.
 
Mom seemed shocked, but stayed out of it.
 
The doorbell rang.
 
Sighing, I went to see who it was.

Liam.
 
Of course it was Liam.
 
My heart skipped a beat, but not from excitement.
 
He was alone.
 
“Please tell me you didn’t drive over here.”

“Sure did.
 
Wrong side of the road and all. Did a couple laps around the neighborhood before I came here and only caused two minor pile-ups on North Enon.”
 
There was no trace of a smile on his face.

“You didn’t.”

His face broke out into an apologetic grin.
 
“Of course not, goof.
 
It’s weird driving on the opposite side, though.
 
No wonder they want me to take a driver’s exam before driving over here.”

I looked out to see Reese’s Jeep parked haphazardly across the driveway, blocking all coming and going until it was moved.
 
“I know Reese didn’t let you take his baby.”

“You’d be surprised how kind he can be with some persuasion.”

Persuasion was probably putting it lightly.
 
I could see the kicking and screaming that probably came along with Liam driving the Jeep out of the Williams’s driveway.
 
Liam broke through my reverie. “You know, I haven’t seen your room.”

“It’s pretty boring. You’re not missing out on anything,” Mary called from the kitchen.
 
“But I’ve spruced it up by putting a twin mattress on the floor, complete with the Little Mermaid sheets Ash had lying around.”

“Little Mermaid? What’s that?”

I grabbed Liam’s hand and dragged him out of the house before Mary could say anything more. I put my hand out expectantly in front of Liam. “Keys, please?”

He smiled. “What, you don’t trust me?”

“You don’t know the way around town.”

“You don’t trust me!”

I laughed. “You’re right. You’re an accident waiting to happen.”

He sighed and fished in his pocket for the keys to the Jeep. “You’re going to have to let me drive some day.”

His expression made me grin. “That day is not today, sir.”

We hopped in the car and headed off. I still hadn’t told him where we were going, but he hadn’t asked, either. We rode in silence for a moment before he put his hand on my leg. “So where are we going, chauffeur?”

“I was thinking Clifton Mill.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a really neat place not too far away. During the holidays they put up thousands and thousands of Christmas lights, making the whole place really neat. I figured with the sun going down, we could go see it.”

He smiled in silence, looking out the window. “The snow is gorgeous. It’s a bit cold for my taste, but it’s pretty. Do you go to this Clifton Mill much?”

“No, but I always really enjoy it when I do,” I pulled the digital camera out of my coat pocket. “I thought we could send some pictures to your mom.”

“Sounds good to me.”

When we got there, I took him into the big, red, barn-like restaurant.
 
I heard him sigh. “You hungry?”

He smiled. “Kind of.”

We found an attendant and got a booth that overlooked the waterfall lit up by blue Christmas lights. As we waited on our food, he took in the sights. His eyes twinkled with the colors of the lights. As amazing as it was that we were here, his actions from earlier were eating away at me. He must have noticed. “Ash, what’s wrong? You look like something’s bothering you.”

I didn’t want to ruin the moment. He was enjoying himself and I knew Reese had made a dumb move today. “Look, it’s about Reese. I know he can be a serious idiot sometimes, but –”