Split(60)

“That won’t do.”

I stare at him, confused.

He chuckles. “Just sayin’, dude your age, single, you should be hungover as hell on a Saturday morning. Friday nights are for booze, your bros, and hoes.”

“Oh . . .” I open my mouth to tell him I was out last night and kissing his sister. With tongue. But I think better of it and keep my mouth shut.

“Tonight. We’re going out to a bar. You need to loosen up.”

I shake my head, the idea of being at a bar with Cody making me want to throw myself from the truck. “No thanks, I don’t—”

“Nope. I won’t take no for an answer. You’ve been here two months. How many times have you gone out?”

Only one that I know of, thanks to Shyann. “I haven’t.”

He jerks his gaze to mine. “What? But you decked that Dustin prick at the bar the other night, right?”

“Oh, right. So once.” Thanks a lot, Gage.

He lifts a brow. “One time in two months? What the hell is wrong with you?”

You don’t want to know. My skin breaks out in a sweat and I roll my window down to free myself from the suffocating cab.

“Whatever, I’m dragging you out tonight.”

“I don’t—”

“You’re going, if only so I can buy you a beer for helping me out on a Saturday.” We pull onto the job site and already we can make out the jagged peaks of broken glass in the windows.

“Fuck me . . .” He throws the truck into park with force. “Punk *s.”

We move to the front door and he pulls the key from his pocket. I’m hoping the kids who did this just needed a place to hide and drink for the night and the damage is left to the windows.

One foot through the threshold and our feet are frozen to the unfinished floor.

The entire place is destroyed.

Holes the size of basketballs punched through drywall, insulation hanging from some of the bigger ones, and spray paint. Everywhere.

“Dammit to shit, those f*cking pricks!” Cody storms through the house, ducking into bedrooms and releasing string upon string of curses, giving away the devastation lying within.

I move into the kitchen, the cupboards ripped from the walls, electrical wiring pulled and cut. I run my fingertips through a slash of black paint. Dry.

“Dude, come check this out!”

I head back to the master bedroom where I find Cody staring at a wall.

His eyes are filled with anger and they dart to mine. “What the f*ck do you think this means?”

The black words are spray-painted in thick letters from one end of the room to the other.

DIE RETARD

I stare blankly at the wall and shrug. “No idea.”

“I got a bad feeling, man.” He pulls his cell from the pocket of his jeans. “This doesn’t seem like your typical high school prank.” He punches out a few numbers and presses the phone to his ear. “Hey, Austin? Yeah, we’re at the house.” He turns around in the space, shaking his head in disbelief. “You can try, but there’s gonna be fingerprints all over this place from our crew alone.”

My heart races. Fingerprints. If they run mine, my entire past will come up. What will they do if they know where I’ve been? I push that thought away and remember I’m a free man. I only have one thing to hide, and as long as I keep myself out of trouble, that shouldn’t be too hard to do. If Shyann keeps my secret.





TWENTY-ONE



LUCAS


Tonight is the coolest night since I moved here. As soon as the sun dropped, there was a chill in the air and even a distant rumble of thunder. Lightning slices through the sky to the north, warning that a storm is coming.

I secretly hope for a downpour, a flash flood, anything that’ll cut short my night out with Cody.

I squint and balance the wood just right on my thigh while I drive the chisel into the timber, slowly and delicately carving out small pieces that will soon become an elk. With the flashlight balanced on the banister, I’m able to work out here until late.

After spending almost six hours at the McKinstry place, cleaning up the mess of fingerprint dust and destruction the vandals left behind, my hands are already aching. I flex my fist a couple times just as headlights blast through the thick darkness. Tires crunch on gravel until Cody’s truck comes into view.

He rolls down the window. “Come on, man! Jump in before it starts dumping out here.”

With a heavy sigh I’m glad he can’t hear, I grab my things and put them inside, making sure all the windows are shut to keep the rain out. I grab my hoodie sweatshirt and my baseball hat. The more cover the better chance I have of melting into the background tonight.

The first few drops of rain fall as I pull myself into Cody’s truck. “Hey.”

“I hope you’re ready to let loose, man.” He grins wide and for a moment I see a tiny bit of Shyann in her brother. It’s in the pull of their lips, the way they— “Whoa, dude. Don’t look at me like that. This ain’t a date.”

I sink deeper into my seat, hoping he can’t see the embarrassment blaring on my face.

He floors it down the dirt road, and as we pass Shyann’s house, I force my eyes forward, refusing to look for her truck, to see if her lights are on. Now that Cody is home, she’s not mine to take care of. His job to keep her safe.