Pure anger raged through my body, every muscle tightening, preparing to fight. “When are the police getting here?”

“They’re not,” said Shirley. She placed gauze over a burn and taped around it.

I fought for control. “And why not?”

“She’s sixteen and her mom was there. They’ll lock my sister up along with that no-good boyfriend. I don’t agree with how she lives her life, but I won’t send my sister to jail and Beth isn’t interested in it either.”

I waited for Beth to confirm the theory. She put out her cigarette in the ashtray, placed another in her mouth and fumbled with the lighter. It clicked several times as she unsuccessfully struck the wheel against the flint. I took it from her and, in one smooth motion, lit the cigarette.

“Thanks,” she said weakly.

The phone rang once, twice, a third time. It stopped ringing and Beth’s cell began to play The Cure’s “Lovesong”—her mom’s ring tone. Her hand shook as she flicked ashes into the ashtray. “She keeps calling. She wants me to come back home.”

“Why?” I snarled.

“He got tired of beating me and fell asleep, passed out, whatever. Probably woke up and missed his piñata.”

I tried to rub the anger out of my neck. “Call the police, Beth.”

“And what do you think’s going to happen to you and Isaiah if she does?” Dale wandered into the kitchen, his dark hair slicked back from a recent shower. “Your social worker has been a little nosy recently, Noah. We put a phone call in to the police, they’ll figure out Beth’s been living here. We can kiss you and Isaiah goodbye.”

Beth’s voice broke. “I can’t lose you guys.” And there it was. She sat here bleeding because she loved me and Isaiah. For the millionth time, I wished the system was a person. One person I could name, know and hold responsible for screwing every single one of us. Right now, Beth’s mom’s new boyfriend would have to do.

I stood up and kissed the top of Beth’s head. “You ready, bro?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to catch up, man.” Isaiah opened the front door, his eyes cold and deadly.

Beth’s one good eye widened. “No,” she whispered.

“I ain’t bailing you boys out,” said Dale.

“Never asked you to,” I said and walked for the door.

A car swerved coming up the street and flew into the grass of the front yard. The passenger door opened before the car stopped, and Beth’s mother hopped out. Her blond hair fell from a ponytail, eyes bloodshot, a bruise forming under her right eye. “I want my baby. I need to tell her I’m sorry.”

“Go to hell,” said Isaiah. “She ain’t your doll to play dress-up with.”

The Beamer’s headlights stayed on. A large man staggered from the driver’s side. “Shut your trap. Sky wants her slut daughter. Tell her to come out or I’m going in to get her.”

Isaiah and I stood side by side, a silent agreement that we’d kill him before he got to the front door. My brothers flashed through my mind. As much as I wanted to protect Beth, I also needed to protect them. “Leave now before I call the police.”

God damn, this guy had to be at least six and a half feet tall and he looked familiar. He stood toe to toe with Isaiah and me. The stench of alcohol rolled off of him. His eyes shifted nervously and his body flinched.

“He’s tweaking, man,” Isaiah said to me.

Fabulous. This night had shifted from the best to bad to Saw in record time. The man turned the ring on his finger. That was no regular ring—that was a damn Super Bowl ring. “Go ahead, call the police. Everybody loves me. I ain’t going to jail.”

“Aren’t you that asshole that got kicked off that loser team a couple hours from here?” I said, trying to keep his eyes off the house.

He blinked a couple of times, like his fucked-up mind understood for three seconds that a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound linebacker shouldn’t be picking fights with a sixteen-year-old girl and her two stoner friends.

“I’m tired of this bullshit, man,” Isaiah whispered to me seconds before he hauled back and hit the bastard in the jaw. The impact would have sent me to the ground, but this guy only turned his head. Dammit all to hell … everything about this was going to suck.

The bastard raised his fist to retaliate, but found himself on the ground when I tackled him right at his knees. I had the fleeting thought that I should thank my gym teacher, Mr. Graves, for the three weeks of football instruction.

I rolled away from him before he could throw a punch. Isaiah came too close and the asshole swept Isaiah’s legs out from underneath him and pounded him in the gut as he fell to the ground. The sound of Beth’s mom screaming irritated the shit out of me.

The bastard rose, as did I, and I punched him in the kidney before he had a chance to kick Isaiah, who lay on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. Tweaker turned and swung for my head, but I ducked and landed a punch on his stomach. He grunted and swayed, but stayed upright.

I needed to get this loser back on the ground. I attempted to tackle him again, but aimed too high. My sides stung when he threw two good punches into my rib cage. The two of us crashed into his car as Isaiah stood up and cracked the guy in the back with his fist.

A gunshot screamed into the night. Both Isaiah and I froze. I prayed to God that nothing warm or wet left my body, and I wasn’t referring to piss.

“Sky, you and this trash get off my property,” Dale said in a surprisingly calm voice. He stood on the front stoop, hunting rifle cradled in his hands. “You boys okay?”

“Super,” said Isaiah through clenched teeth.

“Never better.” Dammit, my knuckles throbbed.

“Get in the house before Beth goes into hysterics,” said Dale.

I pushed off the Beamer and did my best to not stumble to the house. Isaiah came up beside me. “Think she could have told us we were going to fight the NFL.”

“Would that have stopped you?”

“No.”

“Me neither.” The laughter between the two of us echoed into the night.

BETH CRIED HERSELF TO SLEEP—in Isaiah’s arms.

I lay on the couch, watching some eighties movie on television. The sound was so low, I had no idea what anyone said for an hour. My ribs ached, my knuckles throbbed, but damn, I felt good. Dale and Shirley had told Sky never to come back and that Shirley was heading to Sky’s tomorrow to collect Beth’s stuff. Dale and Shirley had issues, but they were good people at heart.

Beth whimpered when she shifted in her sleep. Isaiah soothed her with hushed words and ran his hand through her hair. She wrapped her arms tighter around his chest and placed herself practically on top of him. Isaiah continued to rub her back.

“How long have you been into her, bro?” I asked Isaiah.

Isaiah let his head fall back onto the wall. “A while. Terrified to tell her, but now … I can’t keep letting her be with guys that use her or just watch as she goes to her mom when she needs to feel loved. What am I going to do, man?”

“You’re asking the wrong guy.” What did I know about love? All I knew was that I couldn’t get Echo Emerson out of my mind. No doubt, I wanted her. I couldn’t rid my mind of images of her body writhing in pleasure against mine. That siren voice whispering my name. But she appealed to me in more than a physical way. I loved her smile, the light in her eyes when she laughed, and damn if she couldn’t keep up with me. “If you figure it out, let me know.”

Echo

“I’m sorry,” I said for the third time. “I didn’t know you were in such a hurry.”

Luke kept my hand and dragged me through the crowded mall toward the movie theater. When the crowd gave way, he pulled me next to him. “I’m with your dad on this one. It’s a car. I mean, that car’s a beast and all, but still a car. You’d be better off selling it and making some major cash than wasting any more money or time on it.”

The movie started at eight instead of the eight-forty-five he originally told me. I’d made an appointment at six with a mechanic willing to come to the house to look at Aires’ car. I’d taken the ACT again this morning, come home, accidentally fallen asleep (had a day terror—if that’s what you call a night terror that occurs during the day), and then woken up less than twenty minutes before the mechanic arrived. Luke had waited a whole patient ten minutes before he told the mechanic to leave because we had plans. The mechanic had gone, telling me he’d email the estimate.

“It’s all I have left of Aires.” We entered the carpeted area of the movie theater. I yanked my hand away. “I thought you would understand.”

Going out with Luke was exactly like I remembered—at least the last two months of our relationship, minus the pawing. On our group date last weekend, I asked him if we could take things slow and he agreed—for the first few dates. I had a feeling tonight was going to be the end of Luke’s hands-off promise. So far, dating him the second time around stunk.

Luke placed his hands on his hips. “It’s a good thing Stephen and Lila got here on time to get tickets. It’s sold out.”

Self-absorbed, egotistical jerk … “This isn’t going to work,” I said.

He balled his fist and then forced himself to relax his hands. “Look, I want this to work. You’re just mad because I’m siding with your dad on this stupid car thing. Lila’s dating Stephen. Grace is with Chad. You and I make perfect sense.” He caressed my cheek. That touch used to melt me into a puddle. All I felt now were calluses, a wart and dry skin. “I know it’s rough trying to figure us out again. I think our problem is that we’re taking it too slow. I deserve an award for keeping my hands off of you.”

Luke took a step toward me, slipped a hand around my back, and pressed me into him. Every muscle I had tensed. This didn’t feel natural at all.

“Let’s go see the movie and afterward we can go back to my place. I think you’ll feel a lot better once I help you remember what we’re so good at doing.” His breath fanned over my face and I swear a few spit particles did, too. Why was I doing this again?

“Echo! There you guys are. The movie theater is already packed.” Lila bounced beside me. Relieved for the interruption, I stepped away from Luke.

Stephen and Luke exchanged some sort of weird male handshake. Stephen pointed at theater three. “Come on. It’s starting. We couldn’t get six seats together, but we saved two for you in the back.” Stephen gave Luke a high five. Boy, Luke would be disappointed when he figured out nothing was going to happen in the back.

The guys walked ahead while Lila and I fell behind. Lila asked, “You okay?”

“I don’t think Luke and I are going to work. He hasn’t changed a bit.” Why, like everything else, did this have to be complicated? Why couldn’t anything be simple, the way it had been freshman year?

Lila took a deep breath and pressed her lips together. “We’ll talk later. Let’s enjoy the movie, okay?”