“I’m going to go say what’s up to the guys,” Drew says. “Text me if you need an emergency exit.” I nod, and he heads toward some of his friends sitting on the tailgate of a truck.
When I’m back at the bonfire, Savvy has already gotten her manicured claws into Eros’ bicep. When he sees me, his eyes light up with mischief.
“Jailbait!” he hollers, picking me up with my arms stiff at my sides and spinning me around. “Now it makes sense.”
“What?”
“I was wondering where Seb ran off to. Now it makes sense,” he repeats.
“Still have no respect for personal space,
I see?” I say, ignoring his comment. He lowers me to the ground and I put some distance between us. If one is guilty, they’re all guilty. His forehead wrinkles, like he doesn’t understand my change in demeanor.
“You’ve met?” Savvy asks, her tone streaked with jealousy.
“Yeah, we go way back,” Eros says, leaning down to rest an elbow on the top of my head and winking down at me when I shoot him a look.
“So many secrets, Evan,” Savvy says, shooting me a look that says I’m on to you. “What else have you been keeping from me?” She moves next to me to link her arm with mine, our sides touching, like we’re the best of friends. I cut my eyes at her, but she ignores the warning in them.
“How did you guys meet?” Chloe asks.
“We met in Nantucket,” Sebastian chimes in from somewhere behind me. I stiffen, but I don’t react otherwise. “Isn’t that right, Princess?”
“She came to our show. We had some fun. Then she got our asses thrown in jail,” Eros says without malice. In fact, he seems amused.
“Nantucket…” Sav muses. “That was right around the time you changed.”
Say what you will about Savannah, but she’s a smart one. I was different when I came back from Nantucket. For one, I had anxiety at night, always afraid someone was going to break in. Telling myself that it was Sebastian, and there was a reason for it—no matter how unwarranted—somehow helped me deal with that anxiety. It wasn’t random. It wasn’t some unhinged stranger that wanted to cut us into tiny pieces. It was just some asshole stuntman trying to scare us.
That was also the very beginning of my dad’s addiction, though we had no idea how bad it would become back then. I was withdrawn, but I was also bored. So very bored of this town, bored of my friends, and bored with my life. I wanted more. More than fake friends and false perfection. More than playing a part.
“Changed?” Sebastian questions, looking mildly intrigued. “I guess spending time behind bars will do that to a person,” he teases.
“She went to jail?” Sav says excitedly, loving the dirt she’s getting on me. “That explains it. She was a real bi—”
“You know, Sav,” I interrupt. “You’re right. I do have a lot of secrets. Including what you spent your spring break doing. Or should I say who you spent it doing,” I say, and my warning is clear. Her cheeks turn red with anger, and her mouth snaps shut.
“What?!” Chloe shrieks. “You didn’t tell me you met a hottie. Who was it?”
“You don’t want to know,” I say, my eyes daring Sav to push me.
“Evan,” Sav pleads, not wanting me to tell Chloe she’s been secretly fucking her boyfriend for months. “It was no one you know,” she says, turning to Chloe. I take a sip of my beer to cover my eye roll before turning to walk away.
I walk toward the water and sit where the dirt meets the water, uncaring of how dirty my skirt will get. I hug my knees, resting my chin on the top of them.
“Want to tell me what the fuck you think I did?” I hear Sebastian ask before his torn-up black boots come into view.
“Want to tell me what you’re doing here?” I throw back at him.
“Just passing through. We’ll be here for the week before we head back out for the summer.”
“Scintillating,” I deadpan.
“Your friend was right. You are different,” he accuses, his voice full of contempt.
“Because you know me so well.” I laugh. “You’re not exactly the boy I met either.”
“Forgive me for not being happy to see the girl who got me tossed in jail and got my bike impounded.”