Page 9 of The Bro Pact
I remember.
It was the first time I was ever upset about Warren canceling on me for a girl. Even if I had no right to be.
“So, we went to the movies, but I never told you this next part because I was so embarrassed.” He pauses for a moment, as if reliving it all over again. “Her mom sat between us the whole fucking time and covered our eyes during theintimatescenes. I think it traumatized me from ever dating again,” he says with a shudder.
“Maybe we should name the RV after you, Ren, because that was a pretty fucking dramatic excuse as to why you’ve never had a real girlfriend,” I deadpan, making him erupt into more raucous laughter.
I join in, unable to keep a serious face any longer.
I love to hear him laugh, and I love it even more when I’m the one that makes him.
“What the hell is this monstrosity?” The sound of my older brother’s voice grates on my nerves, interrupting our laughter and disrespecting Ren’s hard work. My brother is a dick sometimes, and I swear he gets off on it.
“Are you stalking me again, Nelson?” I spin around and stare him down, not amused in the slightest. His blond hair is freshly cut—short on top with the sides shaved close—and he’s wearing a pair of really annoying mirrored Aviators, hiding his eyes and showing me my own reflection instead.
“Mom told me Marissa dumped you?—”
“Go the fuck away,” Warren growls, just as irritated by my brother’s sudden appearance as me.
“Warren, hello, nice to see you,” Nelson says unceremoniously before addressing me once again. “Mom’s worried and asked me to check on you. Stop dodging her at home and ignoring her texts, Kyle. It’s been a week.” An uncomfortable silence follows his words, allowing the emotions inside me to begin to stew.
There’s a reason I’ve been avoiding my mom. She makes me talk about my feelings, and I can’t handle that right now. When I think about losing Marissa and losing the future I had planned with her, I start to panic a little.
My throat is clogged, the words stuck, so Warren speaks for me like my very own pillar of strength. “He’s fine. You don’t need to worry about shit, Nelson. We’re going on a road trip, and we’re gonna have the time of our fucking lives. You can see yourself out the door you trespassed from,” Ren sneers, and I funnel all of my energy into not laughing in Nelson’s face.
I really, really needed that.
My brother’s cheeks turn bright pink. He has no comeback.
“Bye, Nelson,” I say rudely, adding insult to injury.
“Just make sure you both say bye to Mom before you leave. I don’t wanna listen to her bitch about you two while you’re off galivanting.”
Nelson storms from the RV and the garage, hopping into his SUV and peeling away down the long driveway. A cloud of dirt billows in his wake as he tears up the gravel like a jerk.
“He’s just jealous because he’s stuck in Haven Creek all summer, and we’re actually going to see the world,” Warren murmurs, completely unperturbed.
A small smile twists my lips. We may not be traveling outside the country or anything fancy, but we’re driving to places we’ve never been before.
Isn’t that seeing the world?
Whatever it is, I’m thankful to have a friend like Ren to always push my boundaries and sometimes my buttons, but more than anything, I’m grateful to explore a little piece of the world with him.
CHAPTER FIVE
KYLE
“What should I pack?” I ask Ren, who’s sprawled out on my bed, tossing the baseball from my junior year championship into the air and catching it with his bare hands. “If you miss, you’re going to lose your front teeth,” I tease.
Ren laughs carelessly, continuing to toss the baseball to himself. “Pack for summer, but add some layers like sweaters and hoodies and shit.”
I nod, folding clothes and placing them neatly into my small suitcase.
We finished our exams today, and the plan is to leave tomorrow morning.
I’ve had pretty good success not thinking about Marissa this entire time, especially since I’ve been so busy with finals and packing for our road trip. But I’ve wondered how Ren’s doing with the whole Paige thing. Lost in my own issues, I never found the right time to ask, and now it just doesn’t seem appropriate.
“Are you all packed?” I ask him instead.
