Page 2 of In the Air Tonight

“I, uh, my year,” I somehow manage to say.

“He’s running for Congress. Can you believe that kids you went to school with are now doing things like that?”

A roar overtakes me, so loud it drowns out every thought in my head. “No.”

“What? Did you say something, honey?”

I’m screaming to myself.No, no, no, no.He’s running for Congress? Oh no. No, he is not. That cannot happen. Something about those words,he’s running for Congress, tips me over an edge I’ve hovered on for fourteen long years. I can’t stay there another second.

I remember every detail of that night as if it happened five minutes ago. It’s as vivid to me now as it was then, unlike other things that’ve faded into the ether.

“Mom?”

“You’re scaring me, Blaise. What’s wrong?”

“I’m coming home.”

Blaise

THEN

My mom made meatloaf, one of the five meals we’d all eat. Tired of fighting dinner battles with four picky kids, she rotates from one meal to the other, but meatloaf is usually my favorite. I can barely swallow a bite because I’m so nervous. While my parents, sisters and brother keep up a steady stream of chatter, I try not to puke from nerves.

I’m a month shy of my seventeenth birthday and about to do something I’ve never done before on the first night of summer vacation—directly disobey my parents. Sure, I’ve told a white lie here and there, had a few beers and even smoked pot a couple of times. But I haven’t taken the car somewhere they’ve specifically told me not to go.

My phone buzzes with a text from Sienna Lawton, my best friend.Still good to go?

We’re not supposed to text at the table, so I keep the phone in my lap when I reply with Ya.

I’m going to be sick.

“What’s wrong, Blaise?” Mom asks. “Why aren’t you eating? It’s your favorite.”

“I had a big lunch on the way home from the beach. Can I wrap it up for later?”

“Sure, honey. That’s fine.”

“It’s delicious, Mom. Thank you for dinner.”

She smiles at me. “You’re welcome.”

I’m a good kid. I work hard at school, get excellent grades and generally do what I’m told, unlike my sister Teagan, who’s three years older than me and gives them nothing but trouble. Ifly under the radar and like it there. I’d never want the kind of attention Teagan gets from them, which includes a lot of yelling, door slamming and overall contention.

My brother, Arlo, a year older than me, is my hero. He manages to smoothly do whatever the hell he wants and get away with it. My parents think he’s the perfect son. However, I know where most of his skeletons are buried. I’ll take that info to my grave. He and I look out for each other. It’s not something we ever talk about, but we’ve got each other’s backs.

My little sister, Juniper—known as June or Junie—chats nonstop, which usually annoys me. Tonight, I’m thankful for the distraction she provides.

I’m taking the car to a party across the river in Land’s End, where I’m most definitely not allowed to go. My parents say the long, dark winding roads leading to Land’s End are an accident waiting for a teenager to happen. Plus, it’s well known in our town of Hope that some of the kids from Land’s End, who are bussed to our high school because they don’t have one of their own, are partiers.

My parents would lose their shit if they knew my plans for the evening.

They don’t track my phone because I’ve given them no reason to, whereas they pay extra for new technology that lets them track Teagan’s every move. She calls me the Golden Child. It’s not a compliment coming from the Merrick family’s chief agitator. Just because I’m not constantly getting in trouble doesn’t mean I don’t know how to have fun. Granted, I’m not one of the super popular girls like Teagan was in high school, but I can live with that. I have several good friends, even if none of us are considered the “cool” kids.

Sienna sort of straddles both worlds thanks to her boyfriend, Camden Elliott. He and his older brother Ryder, who are both in our class thanks to Ryder being held back a year beforekindergarten, are the most popular boys in our school. They’re co-captains of the football team, as well as baseball (Camden) and track (Ryder) stars.

They’re also Arlo’s closest friends. You’d think that having a best friend and brother attached to the school’s most popular kids would elevate me, too. You’d be wrong about that.

Sienna and Cam have been a couple for as long as I can recall. I barely remember her without him. However, things have been weird between them lately, which is why we’re risking everything to go to spy on a party we weren’t invited to. Cam pretended like he didn’t know about the party, which made her suspicious and paranoid. When she couldn’t get her family’s car for the night, her paranoia became my problem.

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