He leaves the room without shutting the door, and I quickly get up and close it. I pack my bag and wait what ends up being seven minutes for Nolan.
Yeah, I kept track.
We're just about to leave when Elias stops us. His voice chills me, and I barely manage not to grab Nolan's arm.
"Wait," he says.
He barely looks at me when he thrusts his biology book and a folder into my arms. "Everything is in the syllabus. Did you get Arcadia's food?"
"Yeah," I mutter. "Nolan already put her stuff in the car."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
"See ya, bro," Nolan says.
I don't say anything; I just grab Arcadia's leash and follow Nolan out to his old Jeep. I let her into the backseat, and then sit in the front, rolling down the window when the engine roars to life.
I wish I could lean into him. I wish I could ask him to hold me, but I can't.
"Elias told me about your headphones. You can put whatever you want on the stereo."
"…Is that all he told you?"
"He told me you guys got in a fight about it, and he didn't see what was in the text messages. I told him it was a bunch of pictures from the backyard, and he said maybe we could get another camera."
"Oh."
"Why? Is there something else you want to tell me?"
"No. I'm just going to go to sleep, if that's okay."
"Yeah, of course."
I curl up against the window, shifting my weight away from my throbbing left ass cheek, and sleep for the entire drive.
13
people always leave
Saige
"Hey, we're here."
When I open my eyes, we're in Nolan's driveway. He gets out of the car, grabbing his bag and Arcadia's leash. I throw my backpack over my shoulder and follow him up the stairs to the porch and then through the screen door into the house.
Aurora Cove is small, and his home isn't far from mine. But instead of backing into forests and a ravine we threw a body into, his is in an older neighborhood—all smaller one-story homes with large front porches. Inside, it's clean and dark, aside from the television. All the curtains are drawn, the lights are off, and on a cloudy day like today, almost no light seeps through.
Maybe that's why Nolan is always in the dark.
A little girl sits on the floor in front of the television, leaning back against the sofa. She has the same thick black hair as her brother, only hers stops at her shoulders.
"Hey, Avery," Nolan says.
"You brought a dog?! That's so cool! What's her name? Is she nice?"
"Her name is Arcadia; she's Elias's dog. And she is nice, but she'll jump on you."
"Does she know how to play fetch?"
