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I don’t knohat to say to hi him as he tucks his head down and wisps of his hair fall into his eyes His hand startsthe lines of the massive leafless tree in the distance The uneasiness quickly erases from his expression as he falls into his peace with his art, and I get lost in hts of why he didn’t kiss me and why he looked so sad when he was about to
I start to dry-heave as the burn of the alcohol forces its way back upuntil , and the gravel below is drenched inmy mouth off with the back ofle ainst the charcoaled sky I start counting them, one by one, and my mind and body start to relax
I res open and then slaht, I look over at the door, hoping it’ll be Delilah and I can get the hell out of here But it’s just Nikki
She looks livid, her face red as she storavel driveway "Fuck you… and fuck your stupid art"
The door opens again and the guy with honey-brown eyes walks out with an unlit cigarette stuck between his lips Standing at the top of the stairs, he cups his hands around the end of the cigarette, lighting it while Nikki slips off one of her fluorescent pink stilettos
"You’re an asshole, you know that?" she cries and then chucks her shoe at him
He blows out a breath of smoke as the shoe flies by his head, but he doesn’t even flinch Nikki stouy steps back and bends down to collect her shoe He walks to the top of the stairs and extends the stiletto out to her and she snatches it froain," she spits, wiggling her foot into her shoe as she sturavel "You’re ridiculous… you’re like a…" She gets her foot into the stiletto and she stands upright "Do you even feel anything at all?" She folds her arms and taps her foot as she waits for hi, his chest rising and falling as he releases the smoke out in front of his face "Not really," he says with a frown, brushing his thuarette Ashes scatter all over the ground
She clenches her fists, lets out a frustrated screa across her shoulder as she whirls He watches her car backs away, then he rests his ar and stares off into the darkness of the trailer park
The longer he stands there, thehere Should I just get up and leave? Stay put until he goes back in? I’ to sweat, because I can’t make a decision
"So did your parents really na at me
It takes me a moment to answer "My dad had one when I was born He loved it and he loved "
He nods, then turns around and reclines against the railing, slanting his head to look at in to shakehow to respond "Well, it’s parked in the garage at my mom’s house, but it’s not his anyives h I don’t want to, I add, "He died six years ago He left the car toit" I have no idea why I’ him this I never talk to people about my father, except for Landon and soet it," he states This look crosses his face; sadness, er, tinted with shame "Sorry about Nikki She’s just pissed off at azes off, looking lost, and I notice how red and bloodshot his eyes are He’s probably stoned and by ely, that thought makes ize for her" I placethe dirt off the back of s "It’s not your fault Nikki is always kind of bitchy, if I’ht"
A smile starts to form at his lips, but it dissolves by the time I take my next breath "Well, that’s nice to know That it’s not just ainst the railing and prop ainst the wood There are only the steps between us, but he seems really far away froht?"
He shakes his head as he puts the cigarette into his"I’m just here for the summer Tristan’s my cousin, and I need a place to crash He stepped up" Ss with a miserable look on his face
"Tristan’s nice," I say, shuffling my toes back and forth in front of me "I’ve known hiuy" He frowns at the ground, his brow puckered "He can totally look past stuff, you know" He lets out a faltering exhale, and when he looks up at me I nearly fall down It’s too much He looks so much like him, and I don’t knohat to do My heart feels like it’s rupturing open again I want to run, hide, and not go through this again, but I also what to take the pain away from him, like I couldn’t do the first ti a tentative step toward hi the door open a little
"Oh, sorry," he apologizes, extending his hand His paled charcoal "It’s Quinton"