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“That doesn’t mean you don’t like him.”
“It’s generally considered a hostile act.”
“Maybe you’re mad because you like him.”
I stared at Trevor. He stared right back at me.
“Go help commit the crime, kid, and stop grilling me.”
He laughed. “No.”
“Chicken shit.”
“I don’t want him mad at me.”
“He won’t be.”
“How do you know?”
Because Darius had always saved the worst of himself for me. The thought came quickly, but I swallowed it down instead of saying it out loud. “Because I’ll take the blame.”
Trevor studied me for another second. Then nodded. Fair enough.
Mason burst from the cabin carrying an enormous pile of clothes. “We got it all!” he announced.
Behind him came the others. Their arms equally full. Shirts. Shorts. Socks. Shoes. And…
I stood. “Is that his underwear?”
Bella held up black boxer briefs between two fingers. “Yep. If I’m gonna do the crime, I’m at least gonna do it completely.”
I smiled. They grow up so fast. “Oh, we’re absolutely throwing those in.”
The kids screamed and took off towards the dock as I followed. Trevor came too. He didn’t carry anything, but I didn’t actually give a shit about the team-building activity. I wanted Darius to walk outside and see his stuff floating in the lake.
Petty? Yes.
Immature? Absolutely.
Healing? Ask me in twenty more years.
Mason reached the end of the dock and froze. “Are you sure we won’t get in trouble?”
Once again, I stroked the exoskeleton of my dearly-departed Sprigey the spider as I stared at the lake. My designated group of shitheads had Dee’s shorts, hats, undies, shoes, and shirts all gathered in their grubby grips. And now they wanted to pussy out?
“Yep. Practice your throwing skills and chuck those britches to the moon!”
I demonstrated with his most expensive pair, wadding it in a ball and throwing that bitch so far out it landed on the other side of the water. That sweet spot between where my balls dropped and I left my heart years ago.
I snatched another pair and cracked my neck. “You little shits ready?”
The kids braced themselves and lined up beside me.
“One.”
Darius slept outside.
“Two.”
