Page 72 of People Like Us

“We’re trying to figure out rides,” Jack said as I approached, straightening slightly. “The parking lot at the church is too damn small for everybody.”

Andy nodded toward his truck. “I can fit people in the bed of my truck.”

“I can too,” Jack added with a shrug. “As long as nobody minds smelling like gasoline and wet football players.”

Lindsey grimaced. “So…death, basically.”

Jack pointed at her. “Exactly.”

I forced a smile that felt stiff around the edges. “My hatchback can fit a bunch of people too.”

Jack barked out a dry laugh. “Your clown car? Barely.”

“It’s fuel efficient,” I shot back automatically.

“It’s held together by prayer.”

“Which is fitting, considering where we’re going.” That earned me a snort from Lindsey and the faintest twitch at the corner of Morgan’s mouth, though it disappeared almost instantly.

Morgan rubbed her palms against her jeans before speaking quietly. “I’ll go ask the Misfits to come too.” Fear crawled all over her body in tiny visible ways—the stiffness in her shoulders, the way her jaw kept flexing, how tightly she hugged herself like she was trying to physically hold herself together.

My chest ached unexpectedly at the sight of it.

I stepped closer and touched her arm gently. “Hey,” I said softly. “I’ll drive them.”

Morgan looked up at me then, startled almost. Like kindness from me still surprised her.

“Okay,” she whispered.

She lingered for another second before hurrying back toward the school building, disappearing into the stream of students spilling out beneath the awning.

Andy exhaled heavily beside me, dragging a hand down his face. The strain in him had only gotten worse since lunch. He looked wound too tight beneath his skin.

“I’ll take half the team,” he said finally. “Jack can take the other half.”

Jack gave a lazy salute. “Yes sir, Captain America.”

Lindsey hopped down from the tailgate. “I’ll ride with Jack and Emily then.” She glanced around the parking lot before looking back at me. “Speaking of, where is Emily anyway?”

For one awful second my stomach dropped hard enough to make me dizzy. I answered too quickly. “Oh—she started her period and went home to change. She said she’d meet us later.” The lie slid out smooth as syrup. I hated how easy lying had become lately.

Lindsey accepted it immediately with a sympathetic grimace. “Damn. Poor thing.”

Andy didn’t look at me when he said, “We should head out soon.”

Our little group broke apart after that, everyone drifting toward their vehicles beneath the low gray sky. Engines started around the lot one by one. Mud sucked at tires. The damp air smelled like wet asphalt and an earthy scent that rose from the crops after rain.

I walked across the lot toward my vehicle and stopped short when I saw the crowd already gathered around it.

Morgan stood near the passenger side clutching her backpack to her chest while Wyatt leaned against the trunk. Ben sat on the half wall in front of my car beside two girls I vaguely recognized from Morgan’s grade—one with lime green highlights in her black hair and another wearing striped tights beneath ripped shorts despite the cold.

August stood at my driver-side door with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his dark jacket. The sight of him loosened the knot in my chest before I could beg it to stay put. His eyes found mine.

“Where’s Pen and Angelica?” I asked as I reached them, fishing my keys from my pocket.

August pushed damp curls back from his forehead before answering. “Ditched school.”

I blinked. “Why?”