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Chapter 8

8

JASON

Another weekend, another bonfire. Except this one felt different. Though we'd graduated in May, this felt like the true end of high school. Starting next week, my friends were scattering. I wasn't the only one from my graduating class signed up for classes at the community college in Brinkley, but the friends I was closest to had chosen universities much farther away. Will was heading to Purdue and Zach to UCLA, and most of my other friends were heading to college in Omaha or Lincoln.

Not for the first time this summer, a sense of loneliness washed over me. Will and Zach had both come to mean a lot to me in a short amount of time. Were the threads of those friendships strong enough to withstand the distance?

Rafi approached, handing me a red cup I accepted gratefully. Rafi was a year younger than the rest of us, and it was nice to know he'd still be around. Though he'd be busy living it up for his senior year. That scene might feel weird now that I was no longer in high school. I sipped the amber liquid, trying to shake off the melancholy that had washed over me. No sense in letting something I couldn't change ruin the night.

"Yo, did you see the blue Lexus in the parking lot? That thing is badass." Rafi's dad owned a car repair shop in Brinkley, and Rafi had always been obsessed with cars, but a blue Lexus in a town the size of Astaire could only belong to one person. My eyes immediately began a scan of the crowd, searching for Zach's dark hair among all the other partiers. "Who are you looking for?"

My eyes snapped back to Rafi. "Oh. Um, Zach. The Lexus is his."

" Zach drives that car? How come I never saw it in the lot at school?"

I shrugged, not really sure of the answer. I hadn't thought about it before, but he was right that a blue Lexus would have stood out among the trucks, SUVs, and hand-me-down beaters most of us drove. "Maybe he drove something else and the Lexus was a graduation gift."

Zach was private, so I didn't want to share details about his family's financial status, but it wouldn't have surprised me if his father had done something like that. From what Zach had told me, his father seemed to like showing off his status and wanted his kids to reflect that as well.

"Hey, guys," Zach said, suddenly appearing beside me.

I felt my cheeks heat, hoping he hadn't overheard us. His girlfriend, Leslie, was with him, her slender hand wrapped in his. My stomach twisted at her bright, friendly smile, and I didn't know why.

I'd known Leslie most of my life, at least on a surface level. She was a cheerleader, and everyone knew her dad was in the state legislature. I'd even hung out with her and Zach a couple of times since they'd started dating last month. There wasn't any reason for her presence here to make me feel any sort of way. I didn't know what to make of it, so I did my best to ignore it.

"Hey, Les. You ready for senior year? It's gonna be epic!" Rafi said, voice rising with excitement.

Rafi was the sort of person who felt everything big . The guy always had a smile on his face, always looked for the best in everyone, and was always the life of the party. It was impossible not to like him.

As Leslie and Rafi had an animated conversation about which classes they were taking and which teachers they were hoping to have, my eyes found themselves drawn to Zach. Something was off with him tonight. He had a smile on his face and was nodding in all the right places, but something in his eyes told me everything wasn't as it seemed. I was tempted to pull him aside and ask him if he was okay, but another couple joined us, and my attention was diverted.

I offered Will and his boyfriend, Sammy, a wide smile as they approached. They'd rekindled their friendship after the bonfire in June, the one where Will had gotten drunk and Sammy took him home. They eventually realized there was something more between them. Sammy was known for being a prickly asshole. I'd had my reservations about them dating, but he'd softened since he'd been with Will. I wasn't sure what would happen when Will left in a couple of days, but I hoped they figured out a way to work through it.

We fist-bumped and I made introductions, everyone chatting and talking about their end-of-summer plans. Sammy's friend, Joey, and his girlfriend joined our group, and drinks flowed as conversations continued. I took advantage of Sammy's distraction, lowering my voice just for Will's ears.

"Things okay with you two?"

Sammy's face lit up with laughter at something Joey'd said, causing Will to beam. "Yeah, man. Things are good." We both took a sip of our beer. "Leaving next week is going to kill me."

"You guys talk about it? You going to try to keep this thing going?"

"I haven't brought it up. I think we've both been avoiding discussing it." A wrinkle formed on his brow, and he looked down into his beer. "I love him, J."

"Yeah, I figured." I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed, offering the little support I could. "It's gonna suck not having you around. Crazy that you only just came back a couple of months ago."

"I know. Feels like longer."

"Course most of these fools are leaving. Astaire's going to be a weird place. I've known some of these people my whole life." I didn't mention that he and Zach had come to mean more to me than any of those people.

That familiar sense of loneliness I'd worked so hard to bury earlier came bubbling back up to the surface. But before I could decide what to do with it, raised voices caught our attention, and we both turned to see what was happening.

Zach and Leslie had moved a little bit away from the group, so I couldn't hear what they were saying. But given the way they were glaring at each other and gesturing, it was obvious something was happening between them. I watched as Leslie threw her empty cup into the sand at Zach's feet, then stomped off, leaving him staring after her, his mouth open. Without thinking, I slipped past Will, striding through the sand to where Zach was standing.

"Hey, man. Everything okay?"

He bent and picked up the cup, shaking off the sand stuck to it. "Yeah. Leslie and I just broke up."

"Oh. That sucks."

The words sounded lame to my own ears. It wasn't that I didn't mean them. It was just that while I did feel bad for him, I also had this underlying sense of relief. It was weird.

He let out a dry laugh. "It's alright. I knew it was coming. I just wasn't planning on doing it in front of an audience."

I cringed, but he smiled in return, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'm leaving on Monday. People will move on." He shrugged, like it was no big deal, though I knew he probably cared what others thought more than he let on. "I feel bad for her. She's a nice girl. I didn't want to hurt her."

"You guys dated for what? A month? She couldn't have gotten that attached."

"I don't know. I guess I just have that effect on people." He flashed me a shit-eating grin.

"Pfft. If you mean you attract people to you like a fungus, then yes, you do have that effect on people."

He shook his head, laughing, lighter than I'd seen him most of the summer. That weird knot in my stomach loosened.

"Zach! Jason! What's up?" Brody, one of the guys we'd graduated with who had also played on the soccer team with Zach, approached with a couple of other guys from our class.

We stood in a circle, reminiscing about our childhoods, telling stories about each other, and laughing at the stupid shit we'd done over the years. Zach hadn't been around for most of it, but he stood by my side, listening and laughing, occasionally asking a question about something he didn't know.

The bonfire had burned down to nothing more than a red glow when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, surprised to see Will's name on the screen. He and Sammy had left hours ago, and I'd figured I wouldn't hear from him again tonight.

I swiped open the screen, my stomach dropping at the message waiting for me.

Will

He dumped me

I don't know what to do

Where are you?

Several moments passed before his response came through.

The elementary

Stay there. I'm on my way.

I looked up from my phone to find Zach's eyes trained on me. "Everything okay?"

I titled my head, indicating he should step away from the crowd. I didn't think Will would want me spreading his shit around, so I kept it vague. "Something's going on with Will. I'm gonna bail."

He looked at me, eyes searching mine. "Are you okay to drive?"

"Yeah. I stopped drinking hours ago." I'd been caught up in the conversation and hadn't wanted to step away to refill my cup after I'd finished my last beer.

"You want me to come with you?"

"No. That's okay. You stay here. You leave Monday, right?"

"Yeah, but my flight doesn't leave until after lunch. You wanna hit the trail one more time?"

Despite my concern for Will, I smiled. "Fuck yeah. See you Monday."

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