"Yeah? Why?"
"You don't let anyone come in your house. You wouldn't even letmein until the day I had to give you a ride home, and even then it was only because I had to piss so bad."
"You've been over more than that."
"Only because I've already been there. But you actually inviting someone over? It never happens.”
"I didn't have a choice," I say, wiping the sweat off my face. "Jake needs a tutor and I didn't have anywhere else for them to meet."
"Is she coming over again?"
"Probably not. She's kind of pissed at me right now."
"Why? What'd you do?"
I shrug. "Who the hell knows? I'll just find someone else."
"See you guys at the party," Josh says. He's already cleaned up and ready to leave. "You're going, right?
"We'll be there." Danny smiles. "Don't drink all the whiskey this time."
Josh laughs as he leaves.
"Think they'd notice if I didn't show up?" I say to Danny.
"Hell, yeah. You're the star of the game. Why wouldn't you go?"
"I don't feel like it tonight."
"Why not? You sick?"
"I'm tired. It's been a long week."
The truth is I haven't slept much the past few nights. I've been up thinking about Brook and how I've been treating her. I've been a total ass but it's the only way I know how to stop whatever this is that's happening between us. That night we talked I was starting to have feelings for her. Real feelings—the kind I don't let myself have with a girl. I'm not sure how Brook was feeling, but the fact that she was opening up to me, letting me see her tears, makes me think she was having feelings for me too.
I had no choice but to put an end to it before something happened. I had to push her away, and I did that by treating her like I did when we met. I know I hurt her, but that pain is nothing compared to what it could've been if I'd let those feelings develop and turn into something more. If she knew what I'm capable of, she'd be thanking me right now instead of being angry.
Home,Jacob texts.
He took the bus and I made him text me so I'd know he got home safe.
Don't go out,I text back.You know the rules.
I get an eye-roll emoji back.
I mean it,I text.They're watching. They'll let me know.
Last summer, Jacob took off with some friends and didn't tell me. I got home from work and panicked, thinking he was missing or hurt, or dead. He didn't answer his phone and wouldn't return my messages. I almost called the cops but then he showed up, saying his phone was dead so he couldn't call. I about lost it. I had to leave to get away from him so I could calm down. When I came back, I told him I had people in the neighborhood watching him. The next time he tried to sneak out, he thought I was at work but I was actually there, hiding behind the neighbor's house. I called Jacob and told him one of my spies reported he'd left. Ever since then, he hasn't tried sneaking out.
"You can't skip out on the party," Danny says. "You have to at least make an appearance."
"Fine," I say with a sigh. "But I need you to give me a ride."
"Done." He smiles. "I might even give you a ride home if I'm not preoccupied with a certain female."
His latest obsession is Roxy Boone. She's a senior who transferred to our school late last year. She's hot and her name sounds like a stripper so every guy wanted her but she had a boyfriend. This year she doesn't, and Danny's determined to get her before someone else does.
"Have you even talked to her since school started?" I ask.
