Page 99 of Unwritten Rules (Rules 1)

“Yep,” we all say at the same time.

Our laughter intertwines. The East Side may be dysfunctional, but they’re like family. And in the end, family’s the most important thing.

It pains me to think that Haze doesn’t really have any.

But I also find a hint of irony in the story of the boy who’s terrified to end up alone but still refuses to let anyone in.

After the “we’re back together” moment, Kendrick goes back to his endless training, and Nicole joins us in the living room. Truth is, the girl can be nice when she wants to.

Notice the words when she wants to.

“So… Winter,” Blake says during a commercial. “Is there something you would like to tell us?”

Son of a…

He’s going to do this

now?

“No, nothing in particular.”

“Are you sure?”

Can this possibly get any more awkward?

“Positive.” I nod.

My answer irritates him.

Will and Alex give us a weird look and draw their attention away from us and back to the TV. I want to thank the Lord that they’re not girls. Girls wouldn’t have just ignored that. I swear, we’re better than the FBI at finding out the truth sometimes. I lock eyes with Nicole, whose gaze is loaded with suspicion. I don’t know why Blake wants me to tell them. It doesn’t matter what happened. It’s over. Done.

Why tell a story that never really began?

MY IDEA OF A GOOD TIME has always been to go see a movie, to go get ice cream on a sunny day, or to spend time with friends. They say you learn something new every day. Well, today taught me that watching Kendrick and Will take swings at each other for thirty minutes is not a hobby I’ll be pursuing in the future.

The violence and recklessness of their actions quickly rendered me terrified. Blake was right. If I thought I’d seen two guys fight before, I’d clearly never seen two trained fighters fight. Every fist Kendrick put up, Will avoided. Every punch that Will threw, Kendrick threw back. And to make it even worse, Alex said that Haze is a far more advanced fighter than Will as he started years prior to him. If Kendrick can’t beat Will, he won’t be able to beat Haze.

Kendrick’s incredible considering he’s only been in the game for two years. But Haze has been around for four.

Needless to say that’s not helping our odds.

My cousin tried to show me a couple of moves to defend myself in between breaks. Having to pretend I had no idea what he was talking about slowly but surely drove me insane. Haze and I already spent hours training so that I’d master the basics. It seemed so important to him to teach me how to defend myself. One more check on his “let’s convince Winter that I care” list, I guess.

As we drive toward the moment I’ve so desperately been trying to avoid, I feel myself trembling. My breathing is sharp, irregular. I can’t deal with the burden of reality right now. I nervously fidget with my fingers, watching the neighborhood fall asleep as the lights gradually go out along the way. Kendrick’s been sparing me the details until now. But he’ll have to tell me everything when we get there.

“You need to chill, Winter. I can feel your stress.” Will nudges me with his elbow.

“I can’t help it.”

“What are you so worried about? We’ve been training super hard for this. Kendrick will beat Haze.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“He has to,” Blake glances at me. “He will.”

Gee, thanks. That helps.

“We’re here,” Kendrick says. “That’s the farthest we go.” The area is empty, deserted. He pulls up next to the creepiest tunnel I’ve ever seen. The darkness on the opposite end makes it hard to believe that anyone ever found the courage to cross it.