“Hey. I was just playing ‘Hollow Again’ for Avery. You know…to get an outside opinion.”
“Oh, nice.” He nodded his head over my shoulder at her. “Sick, isn’t it?”
Avery hid her front with a large textbook. “I love it. Liam’s vocals gave me goose bumps actually.”
All of the air escaped my lungs, not just because she’d admitted to liking my singing, but because I also discovered I could give her goose bumps without even touching her.
“Yeah, he’s all right.” Danny clamped his hand on my shoulder and laughed. “Let’s go eat while it’s still hot.”
Everyone circled around the kitchen table, loading up their plates. Avery checked the first box, the second, and then the third, slumping her shoulders as she set her empty plate down, and then she wandered to the pantry to grab a granola bar and a soda from the fridge.
I went through each box when she went back to her room, and once I figured out what she was upset about, I snatched the slice of pizza Danny had been about to eat out of his hand. “You ordered three pizzas with pineapple on them? Seriously?”
“It’s everyone’s favorite!”
“No, it’syourfavorite.” Lexie snorted. “I would’ve stopped him, guys, but he sent me into the liquor store while he grabbed the pizzas.” Lexie shook her head, flicking a piece of the warm fruit from her slice at Danny. “You know I hate pineapple. And so does Avery.”
“She’s also allergic, asshat,” I added.
Danny shrugged. “Whatever. She can pick it off.”
“You’re such a jackass sometimes, Danny.” I snatched my keys off the counter and stormed out of the house.
I was behind the wheel of my truck before I knew what I was doing. The nearest burger joint was only a few miles away, and I was back at the house in less than twenty minutes. I felt like a jerk, inviting her to eat with us and then not having anything she could eat without getting sick. She probably thought that was on purpose.
The crumbled-up granola bar wrapper sat beside her when I came into her room again. I threw two large sacks of food down in front of her, and she jumped.
“What’s all this?” she asked.
“Food,” I answered flatly. I realized that what I had done for her, I wouldn’t have done for just anyone, and I didn’t want to give it more attention than it needed.
“For me?”
“Yeah. Danny’s a selfish bastard. Sorry ’bout that.”
She watched me cautiously. “Um, thanks? You didn’t have to do that. I have a car. I could’ve gone and gotten myself food if I wanted.”
“Okay, fine.”
She leaned away from me when I went to take it back and opened the bag to see what was inside. “I never said I didn’t want it.” She happily popped a fry in her mouth.
“Good.” I had one foot out the door when she mumbled something with her mouth full.
“I can’t eat all of this myself!” she said, holding up a burger.
I sighed, looking back at her pleading eyes. I knew there was still pizza waiting for me in the kitchen, but something about being in here with her seemed more appetizing. My hand tensed around the door handle, and before I could stop myself, I slowly shut the door and sank on the floor beside her, unwrapping a double cheeseburger.
There was a lightness in my head, and I didn’t know if that was because I was sitting so close to her or if it was because I knew I wasn’t doing the right thing. But usually, when I did the wrong thing, there was a buzzing of adrenaline that surged through me. This was similar to adrenaline, but it didn’t feel wrong. It was easy. Besides, it wasn’t like she was in danger of me jumping on top of her when she had this weird mixture of ketchup and ranch smeared on the side of her mouth. Laughing, I handed her a napkin and watched her clean it off.
The wordHarvardcaught my eye on a frame sitting beside her laundry basket. I picked it up and frowned. “You framed your rejection letter from Harvard?”
Avery rolled her eyes. “Christmas present from my mom a few years ago. She said it’s important to keep reminders of my failures, so I’ll remember what it takes to succeed.”
I stared at her blankly for a few moments to see if she was joking. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”
She shook her head.
“You got into Stanford, which is a hell of a lot closer than Harvard. Isn’t she happy you got into a great school and didn’t have to move away?”
