average human’s Reviews > What Is Love > Status Update

He’d had a game yesterday or I probably would have gotten pestered to hang out with him then. He didn’t have a game today, though. I should go out with him. I shouldn’t press my luck any further.
Memories of Mother hitting me with the rolling pin played in my mind. Then the time she had punished me with the heel of her Valentino pump. I still had scars from that on my lower back. Then the memories of Clay pulling up the back of my school uniform’s skirt while he held me bent over Mother’s desk so that she could strike me with the fireplace poker across my butt and the backs of my thighs. I’d missed school for a week after that punishment and had to sleep on my stomach until the pain of sitting didn’t make me vomit anymore.
I’d gotten a few hours of rebellion and freedom with Roe and his friends the other night. I’d gotten a break from Brandon for the past few days. It was time. I had to do what was expected of me.
The bell rang and something in me just shut down. I felt like I was on autopilot as I left class and made my way to my locker. When I made it there, my arms felt too heavy to lift to put in the combination and get my things.
I needed to go out with Brandon.
It didn’t matter how much I was dreading it.
What else was I going to do, anyway? I needed something to do for however long it took for Clay to give up and leave my house. The perfect excuse for not being there would be Brandon.
Fuck my life!
I could already predict how the night would go. I’d have to push around my food at dinner, pretending to eat it. Then he would try to convince me to go back to his place or mine. He would touch me, kiss me, and try to push things further than I wanted. Then I would have to stop him and possibly upset him. No, it would undoubtedly upset him. Until I spread my legs for him, he wouldn’t be happy. I was pretty sure Mother felt the same way.
It made me sick.
If I kept thinking about it, I would vomit.
I just wanted to run away.
Where will you go, Lottie?
With what money?
She will cut you off and hunt you down before you get far enough.
If my grandfather had liked me, I would have gone to him. I had a feeling that he knew I wasn’t really my father’s daughter. Since my father’s funeral, I had seen him once a year for the past twelve years, when he briefly visited town each summer. To keep up appearances that we were a true and close family, Mother and I would be invited over for his annual extravagant dinner party he held for his friends and business acquaintances here in Summerhaven. He’d normally only speak to Mother, but in a few instances, he had spoken to me in a curt and to-the-point manner. Mostly to make sure I was doing everything that was expected of me to get into Brown.
A voice spoke behind me. “Are you all right?”
It was Roe.
I glanced over my shoulder for just a second. He stood there with his attention glued down at his phone. He was trying to look inconspicuous while talking to me and I appreciated it. The hall still had a lot of students that were making their way out.
His question made me realize that I had been standing there for a while just staring at my locker. “I was thinking about running away.” I intended to make my voice light to seem like I was joking, but it came out sounding drained and weak.
“Run away to my side of the bridge,” he offered, and I wanted nothing more than to do just that.
I let out a sigh and finally reached up to unlock my locker. “I can’t. I have to spend time with him.”
He was quiet as if processing what I’d said as I collected my things.
“Yes, you can. Make something up to get out of whatever he’s asking,” he finally said. “Then get in your car and follow me out of here.”
I dropped my head a little. There was so much risk. I was no longer numb and rebellious as I’d been a few days ago. I was back to being terrified.
“I’ll wait until you come out,” Roe said before walking away.
Broken bones. That was what I was risking if Mother found out. I didn’t want to think about how she’d murder me if Brandon found out.
Shit, I’m going to cry.
I looked up at the hall’s fluorescent lights and blinked a bunch. I was so tired and over everything. I slammed my locker closed, for once not caring what sort of attention it drew.
Getting angry was a lot better than feeling sorry for myself. It didn’t change my situation, but it gave me a little bit more strength.
Fuck it.
I pulled my phone out and sent a text to Brandon, explaining that I had plans with Clay, who was waiting at home for me, but maybe we could do something this weekend. Then I texted Prue to tell Clay that I wouldn’t be home because I was hanging out with Brandon.
I walked out of the school. As I headed for my G-Wagon, I scanned the parking lot for Roe. I found him pretty quickly. He was parked next to my car.
I paused for only a moment in front of his motorcycle. “Okay.” It was all I said before climbing into my vehicle.
Roe’s bike roared to life just as I got buckled. I glanced over to see him waiting for me. I quickly got my car going and followed him out of the parking lot.

43%

Roe led me to a one-story brick house located deep within a large residential neighborhood on the south side of the bridge. There was an old car in the driveway and Roe parked his motorcycle next to it. I parked in the street by the curb directly in front of the house. Before getting out, I took off my blazer and only bothered to bring my phone, wallet, and keys.
Roe was waiting for me just outside my car. He tilted his head toward the house. “This is my home.”
His house had tan bricks, brown roof shingles, and brown-framed windows. A stone path cut through the middle of the yard’s freshly mown grass to lead up to the front door. I could feel Roe’s eyes on me as I took it all in.
“Wyatt’s already home,” he said as he started heading up the stone path.
I followed. “Wyatt lives with you?”
Roe’s keys jingled as he unlocked the front door. “Yeah. His parents—” He trailed off as he opened it. He gestured for me to go in first. “It’s his story to tell.”
I nodded and walked in. Just inside and to the right was a living room. An L-shaped, light charcoal couch and black leather recliner faced a big flat-screen TV on the wall. Under the TV was a black console cabinet. On the far right wall, where part of the couch was up against, there were two acoustic guitars hanging as well as black-and-white pictures of motorcycles and a metal Harley Davidson sign. In the center of it all was a photo of a man on a parked motorcycle with a little boy sitting in front of him holding the handlebars. I wondered if that was Roe and his father. To the left of the front door was a long hallway. Straight ahead I could see a dining room and part of the kitchen.
I could feel Roe watching me again.
I looked back at him. He had shut the front door and was just standing by it, still as a statue. “Are you staring to see what I think?” I asked and glanced around again. It was so different from what I was used to. “It feels warm and comfortable.” The moment I said that, I realized I wasn’t exactly clear in my meaning and quickly added, “I’m not talking about the temperature.”
“I understood what you meant,” he said.
“What do we have here?” a voice I knew belonged to Wyatt said.
I glanced toward the hallway. Wyatt was coming down it.
“There’s a beautiful joint thief in our living room.” He stopped walking just as he stepped out of the hall, his beautifully unique eyes fixed on me. If he knew Roe was standing by the front door, not more than five feet from him, he didn’t bother acknowledging him.
“She’s hanging out with us,” Roe said.
Wyatt still didn’t look in his friend’s direction. Instead, he grinned and reached for my hand. “I’ll give you the tour. We’ll start with my room first.”
Even though he had grabbed my hand and was pulling me toward the hall, I didn’t feel put off or in danger. Surprisingly, I smiled.
“I didn’t bring her over here to—” Roe started to say, but was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing. Wyatt and I were halfway down the hall when we heard Roe answer it, “What’s up, Dad?”
Wyatt’s room was a lot to take in. Not that there was anything wrong with it. A small desk was up against the left wall and above it was a corkboard covered in comic-style drawings. Next to his desk was a bookshelf filled with comics, manga, and books on drawing. Along the room’s right-hand wall was a queen-size bed with dark green bedding and multiple floating shelves that held framed photos. Nearly all of them were of him and an old gentleman doing different things. In one, the two of them were working on an old car; in another, they were fishing; in another, the old gentleman was in a hospital bed. In that one, Wyatt was leaning close, and it looked like he was taking a selfie of them. Then there was one framed photo of Wyatt, Roe, and Reid. They were just kids in it, but I could tell right away it was them. Reid was in the middle frowning, Roe was on the right smiling, and Wyatt was on the left making a silly face with his tongue out. Surrounding the framed photos were toy models of classic cars, a few superhero action figures still in their boxes, and a wood-and-glass case with a folded-up flag and medals inside. There was so much personality in such a small space. Everywhere you looked seemed to tell a story.
“You’re kind of different, you know that?” Wyatt said as he straddled his desk chair backward.
“Why do you say that?” I asked as I walked over to him to get a better look at his wall of drawings. I noticed he had one on his desk. I set my phone, wallet, and keys next to it before picking it up to get a better look.
“You don’t seem shy being in my room at all. You walked in here with no problem and started inspecting silently. Most girls would be a little shy or would ask questions about things they saw.”
“I’m an entitled prick, remember?” I said as I took in the details of the scene he’d drawn. It was of a thief running away down an alley after stealing a purse with an evil and gleeful grin. It wasn’t my style of drawing, but I could still recognize how good it was. Roe had been right. Wyatt was very talented.
“Do you always talk down about yourself?” he asked, shocking me.
I spared him a glance. “Is it talking down if it’s true?”
He was frowning.
“You’re a terrible tour guide,” I said. “Why do I have to ask questions when it’s your job to explain things?”
My complaint washed away his frown and he looked like he was fighting a losing battle not to smile. “Okay, you’re entitled, but I wouldn’t say you’re a prick.”
I set his drawing back on his desk. “You have talent.”
“See, definitely not a prick.”
“You need to work on your confidence as an artist, though.”
He pouted. “I take back what I said.”
Someone snorted. Wyatt and I looked toward the door. Roe was standing there watching us. “Glad to see her busting your balls instead of you hitting on her. Makes me feel slightly better for leaving.”
“Where are you going?” Wyatt asked.
“Dad left his damn wallet here again,” Roe said. “I gotta take it to the bar for him.”
It’d be a little odd being in his house without him. “Maybe I should go?”
Both Roe and Wyatt quickly said, “No.”
“I’ll be right back,” Roe assured me.
Wyatt put a hand on his chest. “I know I’m more beautiful than Roe and that can be intimidating, but I promise I’m just a normal guy.”
I looked to Roe. “I don’t know how to respond to that.”
Roe shrugged. “I wouldn’t know how to respond to something blatantly false, either.”
Wyatt glanced from Roe to me and back to Roe again with an offended expression. “Don’t you need to leave?”
Roe smiled. “I’ll be right back,” he told me again before leaving. Even inside the house, we heard him turn on his motorcycle and drive off.
“So, Lottie the hottie,” Wyatt said as he swiveled his desk chair from side to side. “What’s your favorite color?”
That is random. I took a seat on his bed. “Black.”
He scooted his chair over until he was sitting right in front of me. “This is where you ask me a question.”
“Are we playing a game?”
He folded his arms on the back of his chair and rested his chin on top of them. “No. We’re getting to know each other. I’ve noticed you can be very forthcoming at times, but the rest of the time you’re closed off.”
“I’m a private person,” I said, and I wasn’t sure if that was a lie. Was I private because I had to be or because that was who I really was?
He shrugged. “If I ask something you’re not comfortable answering, then don’t answer. You won’t hurt my feelings.”
I supposed I could partake. “Is your tongue pierced?”
He grinned before sticking his tongue out, revealing a silver barbell piercing. “When did you notice?”
“At the café,” I answered.
“You’re very observant. Unlike your school, mine is very strict about tattoos and piercings. So I do my best to hide it,” Wyatt said.
“Kendry doesn’t allow piercings or tattoos on the face.” It was why Roe took out his lip piercing while at school. “Five years ago, tattoos and all except ear piercings were strictly prohibited. They changed the rules after a rock star’s son was enrolled for his senior year. He was heavily tattooed from the neck down. After a large donation from his daddy, the rules were rewritten.”
Wyatt looked fascinated. “Who was the rock star?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. I’d been in middle school at the time and hadn’t cared enough to commit every detail to memory when I’d overheard everyone gossiping about it. “What school do you go to?”
“Summerhaven Public. It’s an all-right school. Good football team. We totally kicked your football team’s ass,” he said smugly. “Do you have any piercings or tattoos?”
“I just have my ears pierced.” I tucked my hair behind one ear so he could see one of the simple gold studs I had in. “What drew you to draw comics?”
“I’ve always loved reading comics. Was obsessed with superheroes as a kid. One day, I was at the comic bookstore, and I saw a flyer for drawing classes they had there two nights a week. I could only afford to go for a few weeks, but it was all I needed to get started. Since then, I’ve self-taught with videos on the internet.”
“I did a lot of self-teaching with videos, too,” I said. “My mother wouldn’t let me take classes. When I heard they were bringing on an art teacher at Kendry and she would be teaching drawing, I was so excited. I signed up for beginner drawing my sophomore year. About halfway through that school year, Ms. Clark insisted that I sign up for her advanced class the following year. It felt good to hear. Like everything I had done to learn and keep drawing in my life up to that point was worth it.”
“Why wouldn’t your mom let you take classes?” he asked.
I shrugged. “My time was better spent elsewhere.”
He looked baffled by that, but didn’t pry into the subject further. “What made you choose charcoal?”
That question felt like a knock on a door best left locked and forgotten. I looked away.
“It’s okay,” he reassured me. “What’s your favorite food?”
The burger and fries the other day had been very good, but I wouldn’t say they were my favorite. I thought about it some more. “Strawberries.”
His brow rose a little, as if he didn’t quite believe me. “Strawberries?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I really like how sweet and sometimes tart they are. When I’m allowed to have fruit, I always go for the strawberries.”
His chin lifted from his arms as he frowned at me. “Allowed?”
I went still. I couldn’t help it, but I was able to school my face. “I misspoke,” I said, trying to sound like it wasn’t a big deal. “Why do you live with Roe?”
“I—” He looked like I’d thrown him a little.
Based on Roe’s reaction earlier, I knew it was a very personal question. Normally, I wouldn’t have asked, but I was a little desperate and it had been the first thing to pop into my head. Feeling like I’d messed up yet again, I twisted and fiddled with the dainty gold rings I had on some of my fingers. “You don’t have to answer.”
This interaction was a big reminder of why I didn’t have any close friends.

He stared down at my hands in my lap. “My mom overdosed when I was ten. My dad, who was the one who got her hooked on cocaine, got caught with a shit ton of it when I was seven and has been in prison ever since. I went to live with my grandpa after my mom died.” He pointed at the framed photos of him and the old gentleman on the floating shelves behind me. “Lived with him until he passed away from leukemia when I was sixteen. Noble and Roe took me in after that.”
Now I felt like an asshole for asking. “Telling you I’m sorry seems like an inadequate thing to say.”
We both glanced toward his bedroom window, which had the blinds closed, when we heard a motorcycle pull up outside. Roe must be back.
Wyatt stared back at me with a small, sad smile. “People say that when they either don’t know what to say or truly feel sorry for me.”
Even though I felt sad for him, I didn’t think it’d make him feel better to know that. “I watched my father die when I was six.” That was the first time I had ever said that out loud. That I had seen it. Not even Mother knew. I thought that if she ever did, she’d bury me next to Noah Kendry. So why was I all right telling Wyatt? “He…” I trailed off, hating what I had to say next. “He fell down the stairs and broke his neck.”
Wyatt’s eyes widened. “Shit.”
I began fiddling with my rings again. “Yeah. And a few days ago I found out that he wasn’t even my biological father.” So many secrets and lies. If I hadn’t known I bled when cut, I would have assumed secrets and lies would be what spilled out of me. Letting go of a few felt as good as it felt nerve-racking.
“Do you know who your bio dad is?” he asked.
“I only know his name.” I debated for a second whether or not it was a good idea to tell him. The odds of Wyatt knowing him were very low. “His name is⁠—”
“Where’s Roe?” a voice interrupted me.
I looked toward the door. Reid was standing there, arms crossed, whiskey eyes locked on me. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a dark red T-shirt, black jeans, and black boots. His arms were folded over his chest, and he didn’t look happy to see me.
“He ran to the bar. I’m surprised you didn’t run into each other. Shouldn’t you still be at work?” Wyatt said.
“Noble let me off early,” Reid said before he nodded at me. “What’s she doing here?”
Wyatt sat up straight. “Don’t be a dick, Reid. Roe invited her over.”
Reid rolled his eyes. “I thought we were gaming tonight.”
“We are,” Wyatt said.
“Won’t she be bored?” Reid shot back.
Wyatt sighed, sounding like he was getting annoyed. “Girls like video games, too.”
“Girls like her don’t,” Reid grumbled.
“Girls like me?” I repeated, finally butting in. Before, it hadn’t been worth my time, but he’d seemed to press the wrong button.
“Ignore him,” Wyatt insisted. “He’s a fucking idiot.”
Reid didn’t even seem to care what his supposed best friend had said about him. He just stared at me. “Have you ever played video games?”
Well, he got me there. “No.”
“That’s okay,” Wyatt said. “I’ll show you how.”
Reid’s arms unfolded and he stepped backward. “Fan-fucking-tastic,” he mumbled as he disappeared down the hall.

Roe returned to find the three of us silently sitting in the living room. I had chosen to sit on one end of their L-shaped couch and Reid was at the other end. He had taken off his leather jacket and laid it over the back of the couch. His red shirt was pissing me off. It was too small, with the way the short sleeves hugged his tattooed biceps. I was also mad at myself for wanting to stare.
Wyatt was sitting in the recliner. He had kept Reid’s focus off me by asking him questions about work, but that didn’t stop Reid from staring my way. I’d felt his eyes when I’d moved to cross one leg over the other. The movement had caused my skirt to rise a little. Just before I’d gone to fix it, I’d glanced his way and seen he was taking in every inch of exposed skin between my thigh-high black socks and my skirt’s hem. When he’d noticed that I had caught him, I couldn’t have stopped the smug smirk that had graced my face even if I’d wanted to. Reid had turned away, looking irritated. If Wyatt had noticed that small interaction, he hadn’t said anything.
Roe stared at us, taking in the vibe of the room. “What’d I miss?”
“Not much,” Wyatt said, pulling out his phone from his pocket. “We doing pizza tonight?”
Roe came over and sat right next to me. “I figured. Reid?”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he said as he got up and went over to a gaming console that had wireless controllers next to it. He grabbed all four and began passing them out. He held one out to me.
I looked from the controller to him. “I don’t have to play.”
“Do you not want to?” Reid asked.
“I don’t know how,” I reminded him.
“Not what I asked,” he shot back.
I took the controller from him.
“Now that’s settled, what do you want on your pizza, gorgeous?” Wyatt asked as he tapped the screen on his phone.
I shook my head. “You don’t have to get me anything.”
“You’re hungry, Lottie,” Roe said. “And before you say you’re not, remember we go to the same school.”
I sighed through my nose as I raced to think of what went on pizza. Feeling their eyes on me, the weight of them, and the pressure to come up with something quickly made my mind go blank. “I’ll take whatever.”
“What do you like?” Wyatt asked. “The place we order from has a crazy variety of toppings.”
“I’ll just have whatever you’re getting,” I told him.
“You don’t have to settle,” Roe said. “We’ll get whatever you want.”
“I—I don’t know,” I blurted.
“You don’t know what?” Roe asked.
“She doesn’t know what toppings she wants,” Reid said.
I glanced in his direction, and he was frowning at me. I wasn’t sure, but something in his eyes told me he knew. My hands squeezed the controller. What I wouldn’t have given for my textbook right then.
Roe and Wyatt went quiet for a few heartbeats.
“Are you indecisive?” Wyatt asked me.
“Um.” I was so pathetic. They were going to think that, too.
Roe leaned forward and turned toward me slightly. He cupped the back of one of my hands and put his other around the controller. “Let go of this,” he said softly.
I let it go, but an ache remained.
He set it aside and took each of my hands in his and began massaging my palms with his thumbs. “What’s wrong?”
Fuck it.
“I’ve never had pizza before,” I admitted. Of course, I had heard of and seen pizza before. I wasn’t completely sheltered. But to Mother, it was an unhealthy food and strictly forbidden.
They went quiet again.
“I had a feeling that was the case, but even hearing you say it is still hard to believe,” Reid said, breaking the silence.
I met Roe’s eyes. “I’m not lying.”
He stared back at me. “I know.”
“Personally, I like pepperoni,” Wyatt said, acting like what I’d just admitted was no big deal.
Pepperoni! That’s it! I can’t believe I couldn’t remember freaking pepperoni!
“I like pineapple and ham on mine,” Roe said as he continued to knead my hands.
Wyatt groaned. “That’s because you have weird taste. Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza.”
Roe rolled his eyes. Then he tilted his head in Reid’s direction. “Reid likes a buffalo chicken pizza that has chicken, bacon, and buffalo sauce on it.”
“They also have a ton of veggies and meats to choose from to create your own,” Wyatt said.
“Just pepperoni is fine,” I said.
Wyatt went back to typing on his phone.
Roe let go of my hands and retrieved my controller. As he handed it back to me, he asked, “Ready to play?”
“Sure.”
For the next half hour, Roe and Wyatt explained the buttons on the controller and what they did and how to play the game. We were a team, and we had to kill other players in the game. It was very violent, graphic, and bloody, but a lot of fun.
I tried to remain composed and dignified. That all went out the window the moment I was finally able to kill someone after dying ten times in a row. I’d never thought there would be a time that I’d say, sounding very happy and surprised, “I did it! I finally killed someone!”
Roe and Wyatt both praised me, “Good job.”
Reid, on the other hand, said, “Pay attention. You’re about to die again.”
Just as I glanced back at the TV, I was killed for the eleventh time.
After a few more matches, the doorbell rang. Wyatt jumped up to answer. It was the pizza. With four pizza boxes stacked in his hands, Wyatt headed for the dining room. Roe and Reid got up to follow. When I tried to get up, Roe stopped me. “I’ll bring you a plate.”
Are we not going to eat in the dining room? I wondered.
When all three of them returned with slices of pizza stacked on paper plates, I got my answer. Roe held out a plate to me. I was relieved to only see two slices of pizza on it instead of mountains of slices like theirs. It smelled delicious. I had to mentally prepare myself to eat. It was easier this time than it had been at Noble’s Pub.
Mother will never know, I told myself as I picked up a slice by the crust. It was still warm. All the cheese and slices of pepperoni looked greasy. That should have been a turn off. If my mouth hadn’t been watering, it might’ve been. I took a bite of the pointy end.
Oh, wow.
I stared down at the slice I had just bitten as I chewed, brows lifted, eyes undoubtedly wide. It was better than I’d imagined it would be. There was something magical about melted cheese. Did it taste this good on everything? I took another bite, slightly bigger than the last.
“I think she likes it,” Wyatt said.
I froze and glanced around. They were watching me, even Reid. They had yet to touch their own pizza. It made me feel a little awkward. At least this time I hadn’t embarrassed myself by moaning.
I quickly chewed and swallowed. “It’s good.”
My verdict seemed to please Wyatt and Roe. Reid looked indifferent, but after hearing it, he started eating. They all did.
“Are we all going to act like it’s not strange she’s never had pizza before?” Reid asked as he ate.
“Reid,” Roe said with a tone.
I paused as I was about to take another bite. Sighing, I set the slice back on my plate. He was really getting on my nerves. I’d used to have patience, resilience. I still bore the scars that had helped instill that discipline. But lately I could feel those parts of me withering. “I’m on a strict diet.”
“The last thing you need is to be on a diet,” Reid shot back.
“There are expectations of me⁠—”
“To starve yourself?” he cut me off.
“What the hell, Reid!” Roe and Wyatt said at the same time.
Reid set his plate on the round wooden coffee table in front of the couch and looked right at his friend sitting next to me. “What are you doing, Roe?”
I felt Roe go stiff and he looked away from Reid to stare down, his jaw clenched.
Wyatt grabbed my plate off my lap and set his and mine on the coffee table. He held out his hand to me. “Take a walk with me, gorgeous.”
I put my hand in his. “I think I should leave.”
Wyatt helped me stand and didn’t let go of my hand as he led me toward the door. “You don’t have to. They just need a minute to work out their shit,” he said as we walked out the front door.
Just as we stepped outside, the night sky made me realize how much time had passed. I hadn’t checked my phone. It was still on Wyatt’s desk. I didn’t know if Prue had reached out to me about Clay.
Before we could get far, I tugged on Wyatt’s hand. “Wait. I need my phone. It’s in your room.”
Wyatt stared at the front door, debating. “I’ll go get it. Wait right here.”
As soon as he opened the front door quietly and snuck in, Reid and Roe’s voices carried out. When Wyatt didn’t close the door all the way, I stepped closer so I could hear.
“What about the plan, Roe?” Reid asked.
“Nothing’s changed,” Roe insisted.
“She will change it,” Reid snapped. “You don’t bring girls around, Roe. You don’t bring them to your house, to your dad’s bar, around us. Especially not spoiled rich girls from the other side of the bridge. Do you have any fucking idea who she really is?”
The door opened then. I quickly took a couple of steps back. Wyatt came out and shut the door behind him. He held out my phone to me with a tight smile. I looked to see if I had any notifications. There were none.
We walked down the sidewalk in silence for a little bit. The neighborhood was quiet and dark. The only light came from the coach lamps on the fronts of houses. The toe of my black uniform loafers stubbed on something, causing me to stumble forward. Wyatt’s arms came around me, catching me before I could fall.
“Whoa, there. Your fancy school shoes aren’t the best for walking in the dark,” he said as I righted myself. “Do you want to hold my hand?”
I looked ahead. The dark sidewalk didn’t get any brighter. I nodded and slid my hand into his before we continued walking. “Reid doesn’t like me.”
“Reid doesn’t like a lot of people, and the ones he does like, he’s very protective of.” Wyatt paused as if to ponder his next words. “He’s threatened by you.”
“Because he thinks I’ll ruin the plans you guys have?”
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye for a second before facing forward again. “I see you heard that.”
“What are your plans? Or are you not allowed to tell me?”
“It’s not a secret.” He let out a heavy sigh. “As soon as Roe and I graduate, the three of us plan on leaving Summerhaven. It all depends on which college Roe gets accepted to. That will determine where we go.”
“Why are you leaving?”
“Because we don’t want to get sucked into the club. If we stay here, we undoubtedly will. We’ve seen it with our dads, cousins, and friends time and time again. The club is like a siren. All the good parts about it pull on you. And once you’re in, there’s no out.”
I remembered Wyatt being very opposed to joining the Haven’s Rebels at the café.
“Ever since Bram became president, the club has been better. Less crooked, you could say,” he explained. “But when Bram’s dad, Rhett, was president before him, they were up to all kinds of shady shit to make money. My dad is in prison until the end of time because of it.”
Wyatt had said his dad had been caught with a lot of cocaine. Had the club been selling drugs? I guessed the Haven’s Rebels had used to be as bad as rumors said.
“Roe’s mom took off because of the things Rhett kept pulling Noble into.” Wyatt let out a sigh again. “Then there’s Reid’s dad, who’s the fucking definition of a scumbag. He used to...” Wyatt shook his head. “That isn’t my story to tell. Just know that he was a really bad man.”
I squeezed his hand gently to reassure him. “Okay.”
“It’s good that the club is making changes for the better, but the damage has been done. And as Roe likes to say, just because things have gone good with Bram doesn’t mean shit won’t go back to bad when the next prez takes over. Nearly everyone in the club now was there during Rhett’s…we’ll say reign. They took part in all the shady shit Rhett brought to the table and there are still some who miss the money they made during that time. I will not be like my dad or like his dad, who was one of the original Haven’s Rebels. Roe and Reid feel the same.”

I understood wanting to run away from a fate you hadn’t chosen. A little part of me was jealous they were going to get to do it. “Why does Reid think I would ruin your plans?”
Wyatt smiled. “Because you’re the first girl Roe has ever brought around us.”
“Pretty sure I invaded your little group at that party.”
Wyatt chuckled. “Is that what you think happened?”
That was exactly what had happened, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. “I still don’t see how I’m going to derail your plans. You don’t seem…threatened by me.”
Wyatt stopped walking and stared down at me. “It’s because I find you smokin’ hot.”
I rolled my eyes and tried to keep walking.
“I’m kidding.” He pulled me back by my hand. “Sort of.”
Trying not to smile, I bit down on my lip and looked anywhere but him.
He tucked my hair behind my ear. The act stunned me, and my eyes found their way back to his.
“Let’s just say I’m an optimistic person,” he said. “We should head back now. I’d bet money that by the time we get there, they will have made up.”
As we walked back, two men on motorcycles drove down the street heading in our direction. The loud rumbling completely obliterated the quiet night. The ground vibrated beneath my feet until long after they’d passed us.
“A lot of members live in this neighborhood,” Wyatt said.
When we were a few houses away, I could see Roe standing on the sidewalk in front of his house. He noticed and started walking our way.
“You all right?” he asked me.
I nodded.
“Reid still inside?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah. Let’s head back in,” Roe said, and we followed him back into his house.
Reid was in the same spot at the far end of the couch. His whiskey eyes found me the moment I walked in. He sighed. “I’m sorry.” His tone told me his words were forced.
Roe came to stand next to me with his arms folded over his chest. “For?”
Reid looked away. “For being an asshole.”
Forced or not, I’d accept it. “Okay.”
“Great. Then let’s finish eating,” Wyatt said, returning to the recliner.
I went back to the spot where I’d been sitting earlier on the couch.
“Want to put a movie on or are we going to continue playing?” Roe asked as he sat next to me.
“Playing,” Reid and Wyatt said at the same time.
As I watched them, my phone vibrated in my hand. I glanced down at it—a text from Prue. I tapped it and read that Clay had left.
I could go home if I wanted to.
“Everything all right?” Roe asked.
I put my phone on the armrest of the couch. “Yes. My mother is out of town and one of the house staff was just checking on me.”
“How long is she out of town for?” Roe asked.
“A little over three weeks,” I said.
“Three weeks with the house to yourself? Nice,” Wyatt said.
“She doesn’t have the house to herself. She has staff,” Reid pointed out.
Roe gave him a look of warning.
I glanced at Wyatt. “Yeah, it’s nice.”
I could go home and enjoy the relief of Mother not being there. In an empty house, I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping up lies or hiding anything. It sounded blissful, but lonely.
I leaned forward to grab my plate off the coffee table. As I took a bite of now-cold pizza, which was surprisingly still good, I realized I wanted to be here more.