Page 66 of Dark Endures

“I love it. There isn’t much that I don’t like except liver and fried gizzards.” Ugh. I shudder at the memory.

“Fried gizzards? That sounds like a story.”

It is, and one that doesn’t involve any real drama. I grab a plate full and my massive bowl of pho and head to the table.

“Beer?” He asks as we sit down.

That sounds amazing, but I’m way too tired not to end up falling asleep after all this food and a beer. “Water, please.”

Maddox raises an eyebrow as he grabs us water. “So, what happened?”

To be seventeen and wild again. “Spring Break junior year happened.”

He leans forward. “Spring Break?”

“Yeah, the traditional high school stupidity. I did all of it. Did you?” Was he ever a stupid kid?

“Spring Break? Nope.”

Wait, does that mean he was a nerd in high school or a jock? He fits either one. “You didn’t miss much. Except the beach was nice when you could find a spot that wasn’t packed.”

“You spent a week getting drunk and dancing?”

That’s almost insulting. “I don’t get drunk. But we did go dancing.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t get drunk. My tolerance, even then, was crazy high.” Winnie, on the other hand, got drunk after two drinks. Drunk Winnie is funny, but not half as hysterical as drunk Winnie and Cordelia together. The two of them always seemed to end up knocking the hottest, richest, and snootiest guys in the clubs down a peg or three. Greer, Leonie, and I just watched and laughed. “But you don’t want to hear about that. We decidedto drive back—” Basically, because Winnie’s jet wasn’t available. “—and we were down south. Ottilie had done all this research, and she found that the best food was found in these little gas stations.”

“You didn’t eat gas station food?”

Snacks are great from a gas station up here, but anything else is questionable. “So we stopped at this hole-in-the-wall gas station in the middle of nowhere. There wasn’t even a streetlight for hours. And the person that placed the mile markers on the road had to have been drunk because the numbers followed no sort of order. Greer and I were tasked with going inside and getting the goods. Let me tell you, it smelled greasy and good inside. We got the biggest containers of fried chicken and mashed potatoes that they had. As she was packing our containers, the lady behind the counter asked if we wanted some gizzards, too.”

“Did you know what they were?”

“Absolutely not. If I had, I would have run in the other direction. But we were in a greasy goodness haze, so we said yes.” Never let yourself be upsold. They’re always trying to get you to buy junk. Those were actually words of wisdom from my mother.

“And?” He lifts a dumpling to his luscious lips.

Nope. I’m not attracted to Maddox. I need to think about something else.

What were we talking about? Gizzards! Gross things, good choice.

“When we finally got settled back in the car, Leonie and I agreed to taste these weird-looking things at the same time. It didn’t go well. We both spewed it out all over the back of the rental.” Suffice it to say, no deposit was returned to us, and we paid a cleaning fee. “Winnie said they tasted good, but she’s a bit weird.”

He chuckles.

“So why didn’t you go away for Spring Break?” Now why did I go and ask a personal question like that? Light, silly conversation only tonight.

“For several reasons, the biggest was I’d already dropped out of school.”

WHAT? “You dropped out?” How? Why? How did he get where he is as a high school dropout?

“I stopped going to school around eight when my grandma’s dementia started getting bad. Even after she died, I didn’t see the point of going back.”

Eight! He stopped going to school at eight! “How?” That was as clear as mud.

“Crazy old women, a ton of work, and a mentor that didn’t believe in failure.”

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