“Time to go,” I hear one of Everett’s teammates snap, pushing someone down the hallway.
The crowd starts to thin out as I stand there, frozen in the doorway of the den, watching Nikki cry and rock back and forth, having a total meltdown. Everett is hugging her, trying to console her. He doesn’t look at me. I’m forgotten.
That is, until Nikki spots me at the door, her tear-streaked face twisting into a scowl.
“What the hell? Stop gawking at me, you freak. Get out,” she snarls.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. Everett only briefly glances up, his face unreadable as he tends to his hysterical sister.
Turning away, I rush to the back of the house. A couple of football players are directing traffic toward the street, telling people to leave. I skirt around them, roaming the backyard, hoping to find my cousins. But I don’t see them anywhere. I don’t see Kabir either.
I stop in front of Bo, the wide receiver Jasmine was flirting with earlier. “Hi. Did you see Jasmine or Kab—”
“They left,” he tells me. “And you need to go too.”
Great. I’m pretty sure Everett has his hands too full to give me a ride, and it’s not like I know a lot of other people. I wander out to the front of the house, hoping some stranger will take pity on me. When we arrived, cars were parked all over the front lawn and on the road, but now the place is cleared out.
I grab my phone and call Maggie, but it rings to voicemail. Same for Dan. I text Jasmine, then Connor, and am greeted with radio silence.
Perfect. I’m going to have to walk home.
A weary feeling weakens my limbs. Doesn’t matter that I woremy combat boots tonight, boots that’re made for walking. After the news that just knocked the wind out of me, I’m so exhausted, physically and emotionally, I might actually collapse onto the ground.
Halfway down the driveway, a rough voice calls to me from the darkness.
“Hey.”
I whirl and find a motorcycle parked near the trees, the chrome parts glistening slightly in the moonlight.
Then I see Chase, all in black. He emerges from the trees, his eyes shadowed and predatory, focused on me. Slow and calculating, he all but swaggers out of the darkness like he owns it.
Great. As if I don’t feel hated enough. “Hey,” I mutter.
He steps up onto the driveway. “What are you doing out here all alone? Thought you’d be with Everett.”
“He and Nikki are dealing with some…stuff. So I’m heading home.”
I turn to continue my walk, the long journey stretching out before me. The ride to Everett’s house had been about fifteen minutes. What would that be, walking? At least an hour. Maybe two.
“You’d better not walk.”
I turn again, only to find him directly behind me. Uncomfortably close.
He motions, just barely, with his chin. “These roads are dark and narrow. A car comes by and doesn’t see you…”
I stare at him, waiting for more. I thought he’d be happy if that was my fate, considering he always looks at me like he wants to kill me.
“My ride left,” I say flatly. “So I have no choice.”
“Sure you do.” He hooks a thumb behind him. “Hop on.”
“No, that’s all—”
“Get the hell on, Ryan.” His voice is not any louder, but it’s certainly more authoritative. It stops me at once.
Then I frown. “Don’t tell me what to do. I don’t want to ride on your vehicle of death. So thank you, but no thank you.”
I take another step away from him, and then another. Just when I think he’s going to let me go, I hear, “Vehicle of death?” He sounds amused.