“Yea, ok…”
The words are right, but the tone is off. I can’t figure it out now, and I don’t want to push, so I take a step forward, wrapping her in my arms and covering her mouth with mine.“Promise?”
“Promise,” she says, before turning and walking out of the auditorium.
* * *
It’sthree hours later and I’m putting a dent into a fifth of Jack. The party rages on behind me. Austin’s parents have tons of land and no control whatsoever over their son, which is a winning combination for his classmates.
I meant what I said to Willa earlier—I understood that she wasn’t in a good headspace to come to the party, but fuck if I’m not lonely without her, which is stupid. Never in my life have I needed a girl. I don’t need anyone. I’m Knox Fucking Gallagher. Ok, I need my boys, but that’s different. We’re brothers—family.
I’ve texted four times with no response. I think it’s bordering on creepy, but in my inebriated state, I don’t really give a damn. I miss her. And I’m worried about her. She hasn’t said much about her family, just that her mom left when she was little, and now it’s just her and her dad. I get the feeling things aren’t so great. I’m tempted to go over there, but my drunk ass isn’t going anywhere right now.
I wander around, chat up a few people at the fire pit. Most of my classmates are happy drunks, and Tanner found a guitar, so he’s playing like he’s auditioning forAmerica’s Got Talent,while his audience is too drunk to know the difference.
I’m digging through the cooler looking for water when I hear my name. I look up and Willa’s there, as though I conjured her.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
“I changed my mind?” she says, biting her full bottom lip in a way that makes me crazy.
“Good. That’s good. That’s so good. I was gonna come check on you, but…”
“But you’re drunk?”
“Nah, I’m not drunk like those assholes.” I point behind me in the general direction of Westfield’s most recent graduates. “But I’m not feeling any pain either.”
“That’s what I want. I don’t want to feel any pain either,” she tells me.
“You wanna get drunk in a tent with me in a field full of other people who are also getting drunk in tents?”
“Um...no. That’s not exactly what I had in mind. But I want to be with you.”
I’m wasted, but not too far gone to miss what she’s saying. Reaching out, I take her small hand in mine and lead her across the field to where I pitched my tent. And yes, thirteen-year-old me wants to make a joke about that, but eighteen-year-old me refrains.
We step inside the tent. It’s small, but roomy enough. I toe off my shoes and lie down, and Willa does the same.
We lie together for a moment, silent and content to just be wrapped up in each other’s arms.
“Bad night?” I ask, worried about the response I’ll get.
“Yea,” she shrugs. “I mean, it wasn’t awful or anything. Just...lonely? My dad wasn’t even home. So I came here.”
“I’m glad you did,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“I’m glad I did too,” she says, pressing her soft body against mine.
* * *
Willa
I almost kept driving.
When I came home from the lake last night, my dad was yelling into the phone and pacing in a panic.
It’s not the first time he’s been fired from a job, and knowing my dad, it won’t be the last.
But it was definitely the worst. Because when I got home after graduation, earlier tonight, the house was empty. There was no trace of my dad, and anything of value was gone—including my bed. I’m guessing if I hadn’t driven myself to graduation, my car would’ve been gone too.
