Page 29 of When The Noise Stops

Tiny folded over.

Hawk turned away, shoulders shaking.

Even Sully covered his mouth.

"Fuck all of y'all."

"I didn't say shit," Tiny wheezed.

"Y'all laughing at me though."

I looked at Knox.

He wasn't laughing.

Which somehow made it worse.

"You could've pointed at the damn sign."

His eyebrows went up.

"I did. I said you're too old."

"There were several ways to interpret that."

"Not when you're standing in front of a sign that says thirteen and under. It's directly in front of you."

I walked away. Heard them following.

They caught up with me in the parking lot. I stopped and turned. They looked like they wanted to apologize. I held up my hand before they could speak.

I exhaled. Hard.

"I'm sorry, y'all," I lifted my hands, dropped them.

"That wasn't— I didn't mean to do that here. He said I was too old and my mouth went to the worst room in my head. That's on me. Not on you," I laughed, but it wasn't a real laugh.

"Can we pretend that just didn't happen? I got a five-hundred-dollar bottle of Japanese whiskey back at the house if y'all come down with memory loss."

Tiny spoke first.

"I ain't see shit."

Hawk came next.

"I ain't hear shit."

I turned to Knox.

"Grizz?"

"I remember everything. But I'll take a glass of whiskey."

Chapter 11

The whiskey was a mistake. A big fucking mistake.

Not because it wasn't good whiskey—it was, and Lila was generous with it. It was because Lila was knocked-over drunk.