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‘Sure. Get in.’

My duffel bag fit in between my feet and I placed my backpack on my lap, which now felt heavier than it had when I’d been walking. I put my seatbelt on, and Brooke waited until it clicked in place before signaling to pull back out into traffic.

I carefully adjusted my plan, still needing the mantra to keep my head clear of flickering mental images that were trying to barge in.

A broken door.

A broken body.

No! I wouldn’t … I couldn’t …

Get in the Mustang. Get to the bus station. Go!

The gorgeous cream leather seat was cool against my arms as I settled in, turning away from Brooke so I didn’t have to look at her. It was rude of me, but I was on edge. I could apologize another time.

If there ever was another time.

I only started paying attention to my surroundings when Brooke pulled up outside the bus station twenty minutes later. I looked over at her, alarmed.

She shrugged and gave me a sad smile. ‘I know what someone running away looks like, Mouse.’

I stared at her for a second, taken aback and not knowing how to reply. I’d only ever looked at Brooke through the lens of my ridiculous, cringey crush, so it hadn’t occurred to me that maybe she was going through something too. I glanced around, searching for the right words to say.

Brooke had a black leather bag on the back seat, next to her school backpack and a large duffel bag. I looked over at her, now even more unsure of what to say. Her dark eyelashes flickered as she blinked a few times.

‘So,’ she said, ‘do you want to come with me?’

My heart started to beat a little faster. ‘Where are you going?’ I asked.

‘I don’t know yet. Does it matter?’

‘No, not really. But … why?’ I asked, suddenly desperate to know.

Brooke looked down and pushed her hair behind her ear. ‘Okay, here’s the deal. You don’t ask me why I’m leaving town, and I won’t ask you. How does that sound?’

She was prepared to take me with herandshe wouldn’t ask for details? This was a much better plan. I hesitated for a second, wondering if dragging Brooke into the mess I was running away from was a good idea. Or, you know … ethical. But leaving with Brooke meant not being aloneand, honestly, I wasn’t sure how long I would have lasted on my own anyway.

‘Deal,’ I said quickly. ‘Absolutely deal.’

Brooke looked up and grinned, flashing white teeth, a little shark-like.

‘Let’s go.’

The Mustang growled when she revved the engine, and I couldn’t help but run my hand over the side of the seat, letting the buttery-soft leather caress my palm. I knew nothing about cars, but this one was seriously cool, and it was getting me the hell out of Seattle. I was growing fonder of it by the second.

‘Do you like music?’ Brooke asked as we merged onto the I-5 and headed out of the city.

‘Sure.’

‘There are cassettes in the glove box.’

‘Cassettes?’ I replied.

She laughed brightly. ‘Yeah, Mouse, cassette tapes. The car came with a cassette deck and it still works. The radio signal is shit once I leave the city.’

I opened the glove box and, sure enough, it was stuffed with a dozen or so shiny clear cases. The first one I picked up wasBorn to Runand that sounded appropriate. I knew Bruce Springsteen. I wasn’t a total idiot.

The case opened with a satisfyingclickand I took out the cassette, turning it around to study it.