Page 10 of Stop and Seek
That sounded nice. Laughter, company—goodcompany—that he could remember the next morning.
Something solid and concrete. Something to hold onto.
But it also felt a little like something Theo didn’t know what to do with anymore.
“Yeah.” His voice cracked around it, but he played it off like a joke. “Tell her I’mstarving.”
Straightening, Theo wiped black grease onto his jeans. Laundry was lesschoreand moresevere emergencynow.
“I swear, she’ll keep feeding you if you let her.” Ethan slammed the hood down, cleaning his hands on the filthy rag. “You wanna grab a drink later?”
“I’ve got stuff I need to do at home.”
“Bull. This dumbass reunion is tonight, and I’m picking you up at seven.”
Theo blinked, his mind crawling to catch up.
Reunion?
Oh.
Right.
Alyssa had told him about it.
The idea slithered under his skin, left a prickle at the back of his neck. Fire ants crawling along his spine, biting down every time he remembered another rumor.
And yet, Ethan wasn’t buying his excuses, and Theo wasn’t quick enough to come up with more.
“I’d rather gouge my eyes out,” Theo finally said.
“You wanna borrow a screwdriver? I heard it’s easier than a rusty spoon.”
Ethan’s grin was fucking contagious, spreading over Theo’s face in tandem before he could help himself.
“I’ll wrap you up some of last night’s leftovers,” Ethan said, already halfway to his next plan. “We hit the bar, get plasteredrightbefore… and then laugh and point at the assholes there.”
“The food better be good.”
He leaned inside the driver’s window and turned the key.
No black smoke. No weird smell.
Success.
Ethan coughed out a laugh. “Uh-huh. If you ghost me, I’ll bring the spoon and scoop out your eyes myself.”
By the time seven rolled around, the idea of disappointing Ethan outweighed the urge to hide.
Theo had showered again. This time to scrub off grease and any second thoughts before they grew arms and dragged him back to bed.
The bar smelled like day-old fryer grease, the kind of scent that clung to the sticky bar top and flickeringOpen All Nightsign no matter how many pounds of air freshener the owners used to try and cover it up. Corpses of cicadas littered the floor, their high-pitched whine and click outside blending into one sound. A summer war cry.
Ohio’s version of the Philharmonic.
Was this where Theo wanted to be?
Fuck no.
