Page 9 of Rowdy Boy
“Jake?”
I don’t bother answering the questions I see in her eyes, instead pulling the door closed behind me and grabbing her hand to drag her away before the toxicity of this place can touch her. She lets me guide her down the front stairs and along the stamped concrete sidewalk until Rhett’s red two-door Prelude comes into view. I drop my hold as soon as I see his attention focused on our joined hands. I would never—and he knows that—but I don’t need him upset with me today. I can’t stand the thought of pissing him off or having one more problem to deal with.
I open the passenger door and pull the lever to let the front seat fly forward. Tori and I play-fight about shotgun all the time because climbing into the back seat of the Prelude is a bitch. But I don’t have it in me to tussle right now.
I wordlessly climb in and meet Rhett’s gaze in the rearview mirror. His gray-blue eyes search my face, and it takes all my focus to let him look at me and not turn my head in shame.
“Did he hurt you?”
I choke back a sob.
It’s pointless. It’s hopeless.
Of course he hurt me. Joe Whitely has turned hurting me into a sport. But it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing Rhett can do. He’s so moral and good and steady. But he’s also still a teenager, just like me.
There’s nothing either of us can do when my dad harps on me. Just like there wasn’t anything we could do when the abuse was physical. Joe is the darkest part of my reality. Something to endure. A test to survive. Spending the next year in his house feels physically, mentally, and emotionally impossible. I don’t know if I’ll make it.
“He didn’t hit me,” I reply. I let Rhett hold my gaze for another second before ducking my head to unnecessarily mess with my seatbelt.
“Not what I asked,” he mutters as Tori closes the car door and he puts the car in reverse.
“Hold on,” she whispers as she rests her hand on top of his on the gearshift. He pauses, then puts the car back in park when it’s clear what she’s angling to do.
She crawls between the front seats and somehow gets her body into the back next to me. I’m wary of her movements and acutely aware of Rhett’s eyes on us. She shifts closer and wraps one arm around me before encouraging me to rest my head on her shoulder and let her hold me. Her other hand traces the veins in my forearm while her fingers rub soothingly through my hair.
We sit like that for a breath, then another. I feel the depth of their concern as the air in the tiny car fills with emotion. These two are a balm to my frantic, exhausted mind. I know I can’t let myself get lost in this moment: I’m on my own in every way when it comes to dealing with Joe. But fuck, it feels good to lean on someone. I let my silent tears soak through the shoulder of her work shirt, then I count to ten, sniff back fresh tears, and pull away.
Chapter 5
There’snowayI’dmake it through this shift without Rhett. Hell, I wouldn’t make it through this day without him and Tori holding me up. The kitchen is busy, and I swear I’m feeling more intoxicated as the afternoon goes on.
He loads up, then rolls down another rack for me to run through the dishwasher. After thirteen years of friendship, he doesn’t bother asking if I want to talk; he doesn’t push me to share the things I have to keep to myself. He just accepts that I’m going through it, and he does his best to make sure I know he’s there for me.
The hiss of the steam is loud enough that I don’t hear Tori approach. I’m waiting for a rack to cool down, so I watch as she wraps her arms around Rhett and hugs him from behind. He dries his hands, then spins to return her embrace. She nuzzles into his chest like she didn’t just see him a few hours ago when we all arrived for this shift together. He brushes away a few strands of hair that have fallen out of her messy bun, then pecks her on the lips and winks.
Watching their relationship—their sweet interactions like this—does funny things to my insides. It’s not jealousy; it’s fascination. Reverence. Disbelief that they’re so into each other even though they’re both still in high school.
It almost makes me think a relationship is something worth having.
Tori rises onto her toes and whispers in Rhett’s ear. I don’t catch what she says, but he immediately grins. He playfully swats at her behind as she yelps and scurries out of reach, taking two steps toward me and resting a hand on my shoulder before moving it back and forth to rub my back. I close my eyes and soak in the comfort she so generously gives me.
“You’re okay,” she murmurs. How does she always know exactly what I need? I have the urge to pull her into a hug and let her small frame hold me up, but the dishwasher buzzes to announce another cycle is complete, so I divert my attention back to the task at hand.
Tori walks away without another word as Rhett juts his chin toward the clean dishes.
“I’ll dry and you stack,” he tells me. “Tori’s on break in ten minutes, so let’s get these done.”
I can’t hold back my knowing smile at his eagerness to line up his break with hers.
“Listen, I want to ask you a favor. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a few weeks, actually.”
I side-eye my best friend. When he doesn’t continue, curiosity gets the best of me.
“That sounds like a big deal. What is it?”
“I need you to do something for me, if you can. Could you drive Tori to school this year? Until my cross-country season is over or until she gets a car?”
Huh. Tori hasn’t mentioned anything about needing a ride. Rhett’s been driving her since he saved up enough to buy the Prelude to replace the Audi his parents took away after the accident. But I know he cuts it close getting across town to drop her off at Hampton High, then back to campus at Archway Prep.