‘What if he tries to leave? I can’t force him to stay here with me.’
‘I’ll talk to him. But don’t put yourself in danger, okay? He’s not worth chasing down.’
‘Should I call you? Should I take your number?’
‘No,’ he says emphatically. ‘No phones. If the cops are looking for Noah, it won’t be long before they come after me, asking questions. I’ll come back tomorrow, all right?’
‘How will you get back?’ I ask.
‘I’ll call Reyes. Get him to pick me up a few blocks from here.’
‘Are you friends with anyone else from high school? Other than Balthazar?’
‘Uh, yeah. Pretty much all the same crowd.’
I swallow again. ‘Right.’
‘What about you? You still friends with anyone from around here? What about that Marcie chick you used to hang with?’
I pull at a loose thread on my sleeve. ‘She moved to Austin. Enrolled in med school.’
A silence fills the room. I find it hard to look him in the eye.
‘You know, you’re not how I remembered,’ he says.
I keep my gaze fixed firmly on the floor. ‘Probably because this is the longest conversation we’ve ever had.’
Another silence follows.
‘So. Tomorrow,’ he says. ‘Thanks for watching Noah.’
‘Promise me you won’t hit him,’ I say quietly. ‘I get that he’s in the wrong. I know you think he deserves it. Just… please don’t hit him.’
He puts his hands on his hips and stares at me until I feel my heart start to thrum. ‘Fine,’ he says. ‘But if he’s in any way a jackass to you, I’m gonna take back that promise.’
‘He’ll be fine, I’m sure.’
When I open the door to the kitchen again, Noah’s right where we left him.
‘Feet off the couch,’ AJ says, looming over him.
‘Can you move?’ Noah complains, leaning his head to one side, shifting his feet like AJ asks. ‘I’m tryna watch this.’
I realize he’s moved on to some action movie with a bunch of explosions.
‘Stay here with Hollie,’ AJ says. ‘I’ll be back in the morning.’
‘Where you going?’
‘To find out how I can save your ass, dipshit. Don’t leave this apartment. Do not call anybody. You understand me? Lay low.’
Noah’s put his feet back up on the couch. AJ knocks them off. ‘And mind your manners.’
AJ looks back at me and I offer him a half-smile. I wonder whether he’s ever thought about that moment we shared in the closet, or questioned whether it was me that he kissed that night. Looking at him now, it seems impossible that he would give it a second thought.
Noah’s still staring at the TV when I follow AJ back to my door.
‘Like I said,’ he says. ‘Thanks for picking him up tonight. I appreciate it.’
