The Rest of the Story(36)

“Did you hear that?” he asked, pulling back from me.

“Yeah. What was it?”

We were both quiet. His arms were still around my waist. A beat later, I heard a girl’s voice, distant but clear. “I always do what you want! The least you can do is return the favor once!”

“That sounds like Bailey,” I said softly, not sure why I was whispering.

“You want me to let you drive the boat home when you’ve been drinking,” a male voice replied.

“Goddammit, Jack. I didn’t say that!”

Blake looked at me. “Her brother,” I explained. “I should probably—”

“Yeah,” he said, stepping back to wave me past him. “Let’s go.”

Quickly, I made my way around the building and into the light of the Campus. As my feet hit the sidewalk and I passed the bulletin board, I realized how loud their voices actually were.

“I set this whole thing up,” Bailey was saying. “I told everyone you guys were going to be here, and then you finally show up and just want to take the boat—”

“Because you’re not driving it,” Jack shot back. “Look at you! You’re slurring!”

“I am not slurring!” she shouted, and she wasn’t, to my ears. “I’m pissed!”

Now, coming around the final corner to the row of units, I could see a small group—Colin, Rachel, some of the servers—gathered around my cousins, who were face-to-face. I hurried over.

“Give me the keys to the motor,” Jack said now, sticking out his hand.

“You couldn’t just hang out for an hour,” she said, and I thought of how she’d organized this from the start to bring both sides of the lake together, folding Colin in. “For me.”

He wiggled his hand at her, impatient.

“You’re an asshole,” she said.

“Whoa, whoa.” Colin stepped up beside her. “Let’s take it down a notch.”

Jack pointed at him. “You stay out of this. It’s your fault she’s drunk in the first place.”

“Me?” Colin objected. “I didn’t force anything on her.”

“She’s underage!” Jack said. “Still in high school. Did she tell you that?”

In response, Bailey surged forward, slapping both hands against his chest and pushing him backward. As he stumbled, then caught himself, I spotted Roo just behind him, watching all of this with a tense look on his face.

“Bailey,” I said to her softly.

“Just get out of here,” she told Jack, her voice cracking. “You don’t want to be here, go.”

He held out his hand again. “Give me the keys and I will.”

She shoved a hand into her pocket, pulling out a key ring and winging it at him. “Fine. Here.”

Even though she was upset, her aim was good enough that he had to shift right at the last minute to avoid getting hit. The keys hit the ground with a clank. He bent down, snatching them up, then turned and started to walk away.

“You’ll thank me tomorrow,” he said over his shoulder. “When you realize how close you came to doing something stupid.”

“I wasn’t going to drive home!” she replied. “We both know I wouldn’t do that.”

“What we know,” he replied, “is that death is no joke. So stop fucking around.”

Furious, Bailey started to charge at him again. I looked at Colin, who was beside me, but he just stood there, so I reached to grab her, pulling her back. She was shaking, an actual heat coming off her skin as I tightened my grip around her wrists. On Jack’s other side, Roo was watching, too.

“Take a breath,” I said into her ear. “Bailey.”

After fighting me for another moment, she finally went limp. Jack was almost to the road now, his own pace brisk, but Roo remained where he’d been.

“I wasn’t going to take the boat home,” Bailey said to him, her voice tight. “Roo. I wasn’t.”

“Okay,” he said quietly.

She exhaled a half sob, half breath, running her hands through her hair. I’d been so caught up on what was happening I hadn’t noticed everyone else had gone back into Blake and Colin’s place, leaving the three of us alone. I watched as Bailey saw this as well, processing what it may or may not have meant, before she spoke again.

“I’m leaving. Come on, Saylor.”

I looked back at the guys’ apartment, where the door was half-open, voices and music drifting out from inside. It seemed rude to just take off, especially since I’d been lip-locked with one of the hosts only moments earlier. And didn’t she want to say goodbye to Colin?

Apparently, the answer was no. She was already halfway to the road.

I looked at Roo again. “What just happened?”

He was watching Bailey crossing the grass. Jack was long gone. “Depends on who you ask, I guess.”

“I’m asking you,” I said.

Now, he did meet my eyes. “She wanted him to stay. He wanted to go. And drinking and boats don’t mix.”

The accident. I blinked, it only just then hitting me that we were talking about his dad, and that night all those years ago, when my mom was with him.

I squinted through the dark, to the road. Bailey was about a block down now. “I should go, I guess.” I kicked off Trinity’s shoes, picking them up in one hand, then started across the grass.