I let out a breathy laugh as I tightened my hold on my brother. “Mom is on her way.”
Nodding, he shifted so his forehead rested on my shoulder, still sitting knee to knee with me.
“May.”
“Yeah, Liam?”
He sniffled and then groaned obnoxiously. “You really got a thing for my best bud?”
Scoffing, I shook my head. “I’m not talking about this with you.”
He shuddered in my hold as he nodded. “Yeah, I don’t want to think about it either, but I need you to know he’s great. Despite the crap, I said, he’s good. I just—I’m broken and drunk. I’m a broken drunk,” he sighed, and I cinched my arms around his middle.
“Oh god,” he moaned. “Don’t do that. I’ll puke all over you.”
Cautiously, I let go of my brother, moving my hands to his shoulders. I held him out, far enough for me to see him clearly. Smiling, I brushed a few curls from his forehead. “Puke on me and I’ll kill you.”
Eyes closed; Liam smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Liam,” I whispered.
He squinted one sapphire eye open at me.
“I’m broken too,” I admitted, a sad smile on my lips. “Maybe, from now on, we can try to talk more? Fix the broken pieces together?”
Closing his eyes again, he rocked back and forth on his knees like he was nodding with his whole body. “I’d like that.”
“Hey, May.” I turned to see Trey approaching, his expression riddled with guilt. “Sorry to interrupt, but your mom is almost here.”
Nodding, I faced Liam, cupping his face in my hands. “Can you go wait up at the road for Mom? I’ll meet you up there.”
He snorted, as he pulled my hands from his face andwobbled to his feet. “Yeah, yeah, just wait until I’m out of hearing distance before anything happens between the two of you.”
My face turned tomato red. “Liam,” I tried to scold, but he waved me off as he stepped up to his best friend.
He grabbed Trey by the back of the neck, bringing the boy to him. Their foreheads rested against each other as he said in a breathy voice, “I love ya. You’re my brother.” His other hand lifted to grip Trey’s shoulder. “But I’m gonna kick your ass when I’m not seeing three of you. She’s my sister, you sick bastard, and you didn’t tell me.”
Chuckling, Trey mirrored Liam’s hold. “I’d expect nothing less. I’m sorry, Liam.”
Liam pulled away, flapping a hand at Trey as he began trudging up the sand to the road. “I’ll forgive you when I’m sober,” he called back.
When I turned back to Trey, he was staring at me, stone-faced. He looked uncomfortable, almost as uncomfortable as I felt. Seeing him in the intimate quiet reminded me of our almost kiss… What would that kiss have meant? I now knew if I could have any superpower, it would be mind-reading, so I wouldn’t be so confused by the boy in front of me.
Did Liam’s frustrated, drunken rant have merit?
Was I just another name on a list, or did I mean something?
I shook my head with a mix of exasperation and confusion. Those were questions and thoughts for another day. For right now, there was one thing I hadn’t said to the brave boy before me that I still owed him: “Thank you, Trey.”
The corner of his mouth twitched up.
I braved on. “Thank you for looking out for me and making tonight very…memorable.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, very memorable.” His tone and eye roll insinuated it would bememorable for all the wrong reasons. I almost agreed with him, but hesitated.
Tonight really wasn’t the worst I ever experienced. It was, in truth, a very exhilarating night.
Tonight, Daniel was awkward, Clayton was horrible, and the Liam situation hadn’t started out too great, but Trey… Trey was perfect. He rescued me, held me, made me feel seen. I lived tonight. I made memories, good and bad ones. That alone felt almost worth it. So, I shook my head.
