Chapter 9

I woke the next morning around eight.

I would’ve freaked, but Joe rolled over, put his arm over me, and tugged me in for a side-hug. “No one’s here,” he murmured. “Trust me. We’re good.”

He was right. Even two hours later, the latest I allowed us to sleep, no one was around.

“My dad golfs on Saturdays.”

“What about your mom? Peach?”

He yawned, raking a hand through his hair as he padded to the bathroom. “Mom’s probably sleeping. Her book club doesn’t mess around. When they drink, they drink.” I heard the shower turn on, and he yelled over it, “And gossip. They wine hard and gossip hard.”

I stood, edging to the opened door. I almost gulped, but he didn’t seem to care. This was a different level of intimacy. Then again, maybe it was because we’d slept together. Yeah. That was it. Either way, I was feeling nerves and flutters in my stomach that I didn’t recognize. I’d never felt like that. Ever.

“What about your sister?” I asked, not moving inside the bathroom.

Joe looked over, his hair getting mashed down from the water, and he gave me a side-grin.

God. A whole new level of flutters exploded in my gut at that sight.

The shower doors were frosted, so I couldn’t see anything from his chest down. But I could see the silhouette of his body, and I think that was enough. My whole neck and face were getting warm now.

“She won’t be back till this afternoon, or even tonight,” he drawled. “She might stay till tomorrow too. We could hang out all day, if you wanted.”

I perked up at that suggestion—no home, no angry or absent parents. But also no brother who I knew needed me.

I shook my head. “I can’t.” But wait—I remembered a conversation. Robbie was going somewhere today. “Wait. Maybe I can.”

“Yeah?” He was shampooing his hair, and I tried not to watch as the suds fell down his body, his nice lean body, the body that felt so strong when he held me.

I tore my gaze away. Was I becoming like Willow? Was that what was going on? I couldn’t see her, talk to her, be with her, and so I was starting to become her?

I grabbed my phone and sent a text.

The shower turned off, and I kept my head down as Joe stepped out and began toweling off. He came back to the bedroom, going to his closet as my phone pinged a response.

Robbie: Mom and Dad are taking me to a school. I thought you knew? Where are you?

“What?” I typed back a response.

Me: What school? I’m coming back early.

“What’s wrong?” Joe came to sit next to me. He had jeans on and bent over to pull on socks and shoes. He was close enough that I felt the brush of his shirt before he sat up and leaned backward on his bed.

“Robbie’s going to some school today.”

“Oh.” Joe snapped his fingers, pointing at my phone. “There’s a private place not far from here. All sorts of gifted and smart kids go there.”

I twisted around to face him square. “You’re joking.” My stomach took a nosedive. I wanted him to be joking. This school was made up, a figment of his imagination.

“What?”

He wasn’t. This had become my new nightmare. My phone pinged another response from Robbie, but it almost fell from my hands.

They were taking him away. I knew it. I could feel it.

Willow had left, and they were taking away Robbie.

Who was next?

“What’s wrong?” Joe leaned forward again, his voice soft. He took the phone from me, reading Robbie’s message aloud. “It’s fine. I want to go. I’ll see you tonight. Love you, sis.”

He handed my phone back, but I almost didn’t want it. And seeing that, he put the phone on the bed, tossing it by his pillow.

His shoulder nudged mine gently. “You okay?”

No. I was so not fine. I didn’t know if I ever would be again.

But all I said was, “I’m down to hang out today.”

Sometime between grabbing an early lunch—where Joe ordered food for me and didn’t give me a say in the matter—and returning to the house, our plans changed.

We walked in and heard shouts and laughter coming from the backyard.

“What?” Joe frowned, tossing our bag of food onto the counter and going to the back door.

Peach ran in, opening and shutting the door behind her. She didn’t see me but greeted Joe with a wide smile. “I call pool party today!”

“What? No.”

“What?” She mocked him, fluttering her eyelashes. “Yes. And get ready, douchebag. Your friends are coming over. I called ’em. And some people from your grade. Stephanie Witts and her friends are already here.”

“Mom and Dad okay this?”

Peach didn’t answer. She’d spotted me, and I watched the life drain out of her. “Oh. You.”

I rolled my eyes, but Joe beat me, saying, “She’s a friend. Back the fuck off, Peach.”

Her mouth snapped shut. His growl worked wonders.

The doorbell rang, and the door opened. “Yo, Joe!”

Tom, Nick, and another guy barreled in. They stopped short when they saw me.

They didn’t give Peach a second look. It shouldn’t have pleased me, but it did.

Tom’s eyes went wide. “Hey, Mackenzie. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Nick added, “Yeah, long time no see. You ditched us after movie night.”

The third guy pointed to me. “This her?”

The back of my neck got hot. “Are you asking about my sister?”

“Sister?” the guy echoed.

“No. Erin, man,” Tom told me. “You took her down. You’re infamous.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “He means you’re a big deal in our group. At least among the girls.” His eyes went to Peach then, who still stood watching the exchange. “Hey, Joe’s little sister.” He tossed a smirk at Tom, who seemed flustered.

Tom went into the kitchen, and Nick lounged back against the wall, his eyes sliding from Peach to the rest of us.

Joe ignored all of it, asking around a clenched jaw, “You guys knew about this?” He nodded to the backyard, and I turned to inspect what was happening.

A bunch of girls stood around the pool, clad in bikinis, and there were a few other guys with them. I recognized Erin and assumed those were her friends, but there was a separation out there. Some girls were in the pool and playing a game with a bunch of guys while Erin and her friends stood on the sidelines.

“Yeah. Your sis put the word out. Pool party at the Jensen household. Everyone’s coming.” Nick was still salivating over Peach’s uncomfortableness.

She looked down at her fingers, picking a nail.

I felt Joe’s gaze and looked over, meeting his eyes. I saw the apology there and knew our hangout had been replaced with a party with a bunch of his friends. I shrugged, trying to give him a small smile to let him know I was okay.

I didn’t want to be there with them, but I wanted to be there with him. I’d take it how I could get it. This was better than an empty house, and I wasn’t going to turn my phone on. An hour ago, Gianna had sent me a text asking why I left, but she was almost twenty-four hours too late for me to respond.

“So,” Nick said. His grin was wicked. “Peach. Do anything fun last night?”

She turned and fled.

As soon as she closed the patio door, Tom was across the room and punching Nick in the arm. “You’re such an ass!”

“What?” Nick laughed, rubbing at his arm as he moved down the wall, closer to where Joe and I stood. “It isn’t my fault you were texting with your buddy’s little sister.”

Joe’s eyes clamped shut, and his hands moved through his hair. He pulled them out, leaving his hair sticking up in an adorable mess. Swinging stormy eyes over his friends, he grabbed Tom and shoved him against the wall. “You’re into my sister?”

“No!”

Nick snorted. Even I knew that protest was too much.

Tom’s shoulders slumped down. “I don’t know. We were texting last night. She asked where you were, if you were hanging with us, and it kept going from there.”

“He texted with her for three hours. I heard the damn phone beeping the whole fucking game.”

Tom shot Nick a glare. “There’s no way you could hear my phone. We went to the summer league basketball game. The entire gym was loud as hell.”

Nick shrugged, his wicked grin still there. “I stand by what I say.” His eyes were hard. “It’s wrong, and you know it.”

Joe rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He pushed Tom back against the wall again, but there wasn’t much heat in the action. “Don’t fuck with Peach unless you’re going to marry her. Got it?” He tapped Tom’s cheek and then swung his gaze my way.

The third friend grunted, his hand in the air. “Uh . . .” He cleared his throat. “You’re insanely hot.”

Tom and Nick grinned, and the tense moment was gone.

“Hands off. Joe laid claim long ago,” Nick said.

Joe pointed between the newcomer and me. “Pete, Mackenzie. Mackenzie, Pete.” He added, “Pete’s Nick’s cousin. He visits when he wants to get high.”

“Yeah,” Nick drawled, throwing his arm around his cousin’s shoulder. “He comes to the cool table then.”

Pete shrugged off his arm. “Hate to break it to you, cousin, but Joe’s the cool table. He’s the basketball star. Not you. You aren’t good enough”—he began edging backward, his arms already in the air as if to ward off a hit—“at anything!”

“Shut it.” Nick went after him, delivering two quick punches to Pete’s side. The two wrestled before Nick ended up pinning Pete. Only then he flicked him the forehead and got up. “Loser.”

“Asshole.” But Pete was grinning.

They were both grinning, and when both were on their feet, I waved to Pete.

“Nice to meet you.”

“You too, and I go to Frisberg. It’s a few hours away, so I’m not around that much, but if I do show up, it isn’t just to get high, Joe.”

Joe only grunted in response. He didn’t seem to care too much.

Nick added, “We call him Peepee sometimes. Feel free.”

“Hey!”

Peepee rounded on Nick, and soon insults were flying back and forth. But Nick eased up on the jabs at Tom.

After everyone raided Joe’s kitchen, we headed upstairs, drinks and snacks in our arms. I was thankful we’d made the bed before leaving, and I was doubly glad I hadn’t left anything behind, putting my suitcase in Joe’s truck, where it still was. No questions, just the way I liked it. And finally, I was glad the guys continued giving each other shit as they sat to play Warcraft.

They weren’t watching me because of Willow, and unlike the movie night, as I sat in Joe’s room and listened to his friends joke, I felt normal. It was small. And I knew it’d be gone soon, but I felt it, and I savored it.

“Hey! Fuck no, man!”

“Ah!”

Tom and Nick had the video controllers, and as Tom bent to the side, trying to get his car to turn all the way left, Nick jumped up and down. He bit his lip. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, and I knew at any moment the room would explode in cheers or curses—probably both.

I glanced to the door and saw Joe watching me. He gestured with his head to follow him out, and I scooted off the bed as Nick won the race.

He dropped the controller and thrust his arms in the air in victory. “YES!”

“NO!” Tom shook his head.

Pete stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth and reached for Tom’s controller. He mumbled around a mouthful, “My turn.”

I slipped out of the room.

Joe waited at the end of the hallway, nodding for me to keep following him.

I trailed behind. He led me down a back way to the basement. We could hear footsteps above, along with giggling.

I arched an eyebrow. “Let me guess, the female brigade is above us?”

Joe ducked his head as he opened a refrigerator. “We’re out of drinks in the room, and I know my parents keep more booze down here. The guys will want more to drink. Peach and her friends can have the main floor.”

I gazed around, noting the more casual-looking décor. It was one large room with a living area on one side and a kitchen on the other. There was a pool table in the back, along with a basketball game, two couches, and three super-sized beanbags in front of a large television screen. Two wooden tables sat in the kitchen area.

It looked like every teenager’s dream apartment. The only things missing were a movie projector, a popcorn machine, and maybe a stage for karaoke.

Willow would’ve salivated over the room.

Joe pulled out some more rum, and I slid onto one of the barstools.

“Is this where you guys really hang out?”

He nodded. “Tom’s too.” He looked at me. “Well, you know that.”

“Is Cora coming over?”

Joe was done with the drinks. He moved to the cupboard and pulled out bags of chips and cookies. Then he slid some Cheetos toward me.

“That’s a negative on Cora.”

My eyebrows went up. “What do you mean?”

“She tends to avoid anywhere Erin might be.” He paused and amended, “Usually.”

Ah. I nodded. “Doesn’t want to get thrown to the wolves, huh?”

He pressed his lips together, closing the cupboard and leaning against the counter. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “Cora’s never liked to go anywhere Erin is. We didn’t know why. I knew it had to do with Erin, but Cora never explained it. I did shoot her a text, though.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket and showed me her response.

Cora: If Erin is there, hell no.

“She’s never said it so clearly like that before.” His eyes seemed to soften. “I think it’s because of what you did. I would’ve listened to her before. She just never thought I would.”

“You seemed oblivious to Erin’s bullying, so I don’t blame Cora.”

“I know.” His hands gripped the counter. “Erin and I didn’t really have a relationship. We just fooled around during a time last year, but it’s on me. I should’ve paid more attention.”

Well, that made me feel bad. I shrugged. “Give yourself a break.”

His hands relaxed.

“Most guys are idiots,” I added. “They don’t see past the boobs and smile.”

He groaned, his eyes sparking. “Thanks for that.” He began to gather the drinks and snacks.

I took what was left and slid off the stool. “No problem. I believe in realism. I like to keep my friends grounded. The more realistic they are, the more humble they seem to be.”

“You mean you squash their egos into the floor.”

“That too.”

As we headed back, Joe turned around to use his back to open the door. Our eyes met and held, and I felt an instant sensation. It was us. No sister problems. No exes. No bullying. Nothing. Just him and me, and I let out a soft sigh before I realized it.

His eyes warmed.

I’d had this feeling before, but it was stronger this time.

I coughed, lifting my foot. “You caught me at a disadvantage today. I like to really grind my friends’ egos into the ground with heels. The sharper the better.”

He grinned, shifting back a step. “Thanks for that. I needed it.”

“Always here for you. Call me Ego Crusher.”

He barked out a laugh, and his hand touched the small of my back.

It was a tiny gesture, a silent touch, but it wiped away my amusement. I’d started to laugh, and then it was gone, transformed into something else. My body warmed like it had last night, and the feeling intensified, as if it were supposed to be the two of us, as if everyone else was the outsider and not wanted.

I suddenly didn’t want to leave that basement, didn’t want to deal with everything that lay beyond these walls. My breath caught in my throat, and my eyes watered. I blinked rapidly. A surge of grief rose up, but I stuffed it down. It was too strong, too threatening. I couldn’t handle it.

“You okay?”

No.

I never would be again. Didn’t he know?

I sighed. “You’re having a pool party. You ready to par-tay?”

He shook his head. “That’s right.”