Page 37 of Don't Let Go

“You didn’t always live in Scottsdale?” Maybe Tyler was more down to earth than I realized.

“I was born in Glendale. We moved to Scottsdale when I was five. We didn’t live in what I guess people consider the fancy part of Scottsdale until I was thirteen.”

That was probably when his parents became more tied into the mob. I bet that’s how his papà rose so quickly in politics and became a state senator. It was also how both his parents met their demise.

“Snobbsdale is what we call it here.” I couldn’t help but laugh. I wanted to try to keep the topic between us light. My mamma would freak out if I told Tyler the truth about his parents.

A smile cracked his lips. “Really? I suppose most are with their luxury and wealth.”

“I usually avoid Scottsdale. Whatever I need is around here.” I motioned with my arm and winced in pain. Paolo slammed my shoulder into a wall, and lifting my arm was slowly becoming more painful as the night went on.

“Are you alright?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Paolo was a little too rough tonight.” I blushed. Why was I being so honest?

“Damn. He seems like a real asshole.” His eyes widened in the moonlight. “No offense.”

“Don’t worry. I know. It’s a long story about how I got here. What about you? What made your night shitty?”

He ran his hands through his hair. It looked so soft. Part of me wanted to touch his hair, too. “Oh, you know. I found out about a party and crashed it. My old teammates won the game withoutme, my best friend barely acknowledged me, and I found my girlfriend screwing some other guy.”

I grabbed the side of the window to keep from falling out onto the ground. “Damn, and I thought my night went to hell. You win.”

He rubbed the side of his nose with his thumb. “Guess I don’t have to worry about returning to Lincoln. They moved on. It seems I’m staying at South Ridge for good.”

“South Ridge isn’t so bad. I promise. Our basketball team is still playing for the state championship.” I had no idea how, but by some miracle, we were.

He laughed nervously, cracking his knuckles. “Yeah. We never had South Ridge on our radar. I can’t believe they’re still playing.”

A yawn escaped me. It was near dawn. The sky had streaks of pink on the eastern horizon, slowly chasing away the darkness. “Well, I’m going to shower before anyone else wakes up and uses all the hot water.”

“Not going to try to get some sleep?”

I shrugged. “At least it’s Saturday. Sometimes, insomnia can’t be helped. It’s the demon you find a way to live with.”

“I’ll see you later. I think I’ll try to get some rest.”

We waved at each other and climbed back into our rooms.

There was no way I’d get any sleep with what was rattling inside my skull, but at least I could take an extremely hot shower and try to forget about the world for a while.

19

Tyler

My phone was off for the rest of the weekend. I didn’t want to think about Iris, Quincy, or anyone else. I took off from that party like a bat out of hell, and I didn’t give a damn about any of them.

I didn’t give a damn.

I didn’t give a damn.

But Ididgive a damn.

It was now early Monday morning. I maybe slept three hours, but I felt wired like I downed four energy drinks. I was nearly bouncing off the walls, and it was only a matter of time before I woke up Rory.

I took a walk outside to escape the swirling pessimistic thoughts from that dreadful party and everything else going on inside my head.

The weather was perfect at dawn, cool, and the air smelled like fresh rain. If I looked past the grotesque buildings and telephone poles, I could see the palm trees reaching for the sky. If I stared at those three tall palm trees and breathed fresh air, I felt like I was in California for a fragment of a second. Every summer, my father let me tag along with Quincy’s family to their beach house. It looked like that tradition was over.

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