Seth told me everything he could remember about their conversation, including the fact that he knew why we were so guarded. Most people wouldn’t give a shit that we were only cousins on paper; as soon as they knew there was any sort of bond between our two families, they’d judge us. I’d been willing to risk that for Trevor, but I had often wondered if he’d ever deem me worth the hell we’d have to survive to find happiness again on the other side.
“Fuck. I know where he went.” If the dam had broken and Trevor shared this much with Seth, it made sense that he’d feel compelled to tell his mom, too. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if strangers knew the truth but he was still hiding from her. But that didn’t answer the question of why he hadn’t come to find me before he left. Now, more than ever, we needed to be together. We needed to present a united front if there was any hope of the moms accepting that I hadn’t pressured Trevor into anything. “I need your keys.”
“You’re not taking my car.”
“Seth, I don’t have time for games right now.Please,I need to get home before he talks to his mom.” I checked the time, realizing he was probably about to pull onto our street.Fuck.
“You’re freaking out and a bit scary on the road on a good day. Let me get a soda and I’ll run you up there.” Never before had I seen this take-charge version of Seth. It suited him well.
“Dude, it’s already after nine. If we leave now, it’ll be pushing midnight by the time we get there,” I argued. While I appreciated his offer, I couldn’t put him out like that. But maybe…. “Okay, fine. I don’t have time to sit here arguing with you, so you can drive. But you’re going to crash in our spare room tonight. I’m too frazzled to have to worry about you falling asleep behind the wheel on top of everything else.”
“Deal. Oh, and since neither of us ate dinner at the party, you’re buying food for the road.” That was the least I could do. When all this shit settled, I was going to buy Seth the biggest steak I could find.
