I smack his chest. “No, Row. This is the place where dreams come true, yeah? Yes! And do you know why those rules were made?”
Rowan rubs his chin, trying to push me off. “Your dad would kill you if you got distracted.”
I shrug. “You didn’t need to go that deep there, buddy.” I release him and walk backward. “Do you know why dreams come true?” I point at him. “Because of the rules.”
“So, you’re making me walk around the block because you needed air? Are you going to start crying like that one time because I ––”
I stop in my tracks. “Row, where is the location of my bedroom?”
“Upstairs,” he deadpans.
“No, it’s between Benson’s and Blue’s.”
It takes him a moment to register what I’m implying, but once he catches on, he raises his eyebrows and says, “Oh.”
“Yeah.” I wave my hand towards my mouth. “All I hear isoh, Benson babyfrom one wall and thenoh, Blue oh my godon the other. I need the fucking fresh air with an equal.”
“An equal?”
“Yeah,” I say, looking at the house three doors down from us. “You, me, and Percy need to stick together.”
“Weren’t you just saying that Blue is your new favorite guy?”
I wave that off. “That was last week, and now he has a girlfriend.”
I stop and smile at him because it’s showtime.
“Where the fuck are you going?” Rowan whisper-yells at me as I dart off into our neighbor’s yard.
I wave my hand over for him to follow, and he only does so with an eye roll.
“We’re gonna get arrested for trespassing!”
Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes.
“If we get caught ––”
“We’re not getting caught.” I shove a branch out of my face, and it snaps back into his. “You should be honored I let you tag along, honestly. People would pay for this.”
“It’s eleven o’clock. We’re walking into a bush.”
“It’s a hydrangea, Row. Show some respect.”
We stand for a second, and he’s right that it’s cold as fuck out here.
“Here’s the thing about Hawthorne Street,” I tell Rowan. “This is sacred ground, man. This is the last good street in America.”
“It’s a cul-de-sac.”
“It’s a brotherhood.” I gesture at the dark houses, the porch lights, the whole sleeping block. “You know what we had? At the start of the year? Five of us. Five. The house rules in full effect. No girls, no distractions, no falling in love, ride it out together to the bitter end.” I count them off on my fingers and run out of grievances at three. “And what do we have now? Benson — gone. Blue — gone. You and Percy are the only soldiers I’ve got left, and Percy doesn’t even talk.”
“You and me and Percy,” Rowan says, flat.
“You and me and Percy. The last men standing.” I clap him on the back. “When the dust settles, brother, it’s gonna be the three of us in that house, eighty years old, no women, no rules broken, just—” I glance back over my shoulder at the house.
I’m thinking about how fleeting this all is.
“—just dignity,” I finish.
