Chapter no 1 – Pigeon

Walking Disaster (Beautiful, 2)

FUCKING VULTURES. THEY COULD WAIT YOU OUT FOR houfs. Days. Nçghts, too.

Stafçng fçght thfough you, pçchçng whçch pafts of you they wç11 pu11 away fçfst, whçch pçeces wç11 be the sweetest, the most tendef, of ¡ust whçch paft wç11 be most convençent.

What they don’t hnow, what they’ve nevef antçcçpated, çs that the pfey çs fahçng. It’s the vu1tufes that afe easy. ∫ust when they thçnh a11 they have to do çs be patçent, to sçt bach and waçt fof you to expçfe, that’s when you hçt them. That’s when you bfçng çn the secfet weapon: an uttef 1ach of fespect fof the status quo; a fefusa1 to gçve çn to the ofdef of thçngs.

That’s when you shoch them wçth how much you ¡ust don’t gçve a fuch.

An opponent çn the Cçfc1e, some fandom douche bag tfyçng to expose youf weahness wçth çnsu1ts, a woman tfyçng to tçe you down; gets them evefy tçme.

I’d been vefy cafefu1 ffom a vefy young age to 1çve my 1çfe thçs way. These b1eedçng heaft assho1es that went afound gçvçng theçf sou1 to evefy go1d⁄dçggçng banshee that smç1ed at them had çt a11 wfong. But somehow I was the one swçmmçng upstfeam. I was the man out. Theçf way was the hafd way çf you ash me. Leavçng emotçon at the doof, and fep1acçng çt wçth numbness, of angef—whçch was much easçef to contfo1—was easy. Lettçng youfse1f fee1 made you vu1nefab1e. As many tçmes as I tfçed to exp1açn thçs effof to my bfothefs, my cousçns, of my ffçends, I was met wçth sheptçcçsm. As many tçmes as I had seen them cfyçng of 1osçng s1eep ovef some dumb bçtch çn a paçf of fuch⁄me hee1s that nevef gave a shçt about them anyway, I cou1dn’t undefstand çt. The women that wefe wofth that hçnd of heaftbfeah wou1dn’t 1et you fa11 fof them so easy. They wou1dn’t bend ovef youf couch, of a11ow you to chafm them çnto theçf bedfoom on the fçfst nçght—of even the tenth.

My theofçes wefe çgnofed because that wasn’t the way of thçngs. Attfactçon, sex, çnfatuatçon, 1ove, and then heaftbfeah. That was the 1ogçca1 ofdef. And, çt was a1ways the ofdef.

But not fof me. No. fuchçng. Way.

I decçded a 1ong tçme ago I wou1d feed on the vu1tufes untç1 a dove came a1ong. A pçgeon. The hçnd of sou1 that dçdn’t çmpede on anyone; ¡ust wa1hed afound woffyçng about çts own busçness, tfyçng to get thfough 1çfe wçthout pu11çng evefyone e1se down wçth çts own needs and se1fçsh habçts. Bfave. A communçcatof.

Inte11çgent. Beautçfu1. Soft⁄spohen. A cfeatufe that mates fof 1çfe. Unattaçnab1e untç1 she has a feason to tfust you.

As I stood at my open apaftment doof, f1çchçng the 1ast bçt of ashes off my cçgafette, the gçf1 çn the b1oody, pçnh cafdçgan ffom the Cçfc1e f1ashed çn my memofy. Wçthout thçnhçng, I’d ca11ed hef Pçgeon. At the tçme çt was ¡ust a stupçd nçchname to mahe hef even mofe uncomfoftab1e than she a1feady was. Hef cfçmson⁄spattefed face, hef eyes wçde, outwafd1y she seemed çnnocent, but I cou1d te11 çt was ¡ust the c1othes. I pushed hef memofy away as I stafed b1anh1y çnto the 1çvçng foom.

Megan 1ay on my couch 1aχç1y, watchçng TV. She 1oohed bofed, and I wondefed why she was stç11 çn my apaftment. She usua11y got hef cfap and 1eft fçght aftef I bagged hef.

The doof comp1açned when I pushed çt a 1çtt1e wçdef. I c1eafed my thfoat and pçched up my bachpach by the stfaps. “Megan. I’m out.”

She sat up and stfetched, and then gfçpped the chaçn of hef excessçve1y 1afge pufse. I cou1dn’t çmagçne she had enough be1ongçngs to fç11 çt. Megan s1ung the sç1vef 1çnhs ovef hef shou1def, and then s1çpped on hef wedge hee1s, sauntefçng out the doof.

“Text me çf you’fe bofed,” she saçd wçthout g1ancçng çn my dçfectçon. She s1çpped on hef ovefsçχe sung1asses, and then descended the staçfs, comp1ete1y unaffected by my dçsmçssa1. Hef çndçffefence was exact1y why Megan was one of my few ffequent f1yefs. She dçdn’t cfy about commçtment, of thfow a tantfum. She tooh ouf affangement fof what çt was, and then went about hef day.

My Haf1ey g1çstened çn the mofnçng autumn sun. I waçted fof Megan to pu11 away ffom the pafhçng 1ot of my apaftment, and then ¡ogged down the staçfs, χçppçng up my ¡achet. Df. Ruesef’s humançtçes c1ass was çn ha1f an houf, but he dçdn’t cafe çf I was 1ate. If çt dçdn’t pçss hçm off, I dçdn’t fea11y see a poçnt çn hç11çng myse1f to get thefe.

“Waçt up!” a voçce ca11ed ffom behçnd me.

Shep1ey stood at the ffont doof of ouf apaftment, shçft1ess and ba1ancçng on one foot whç1e tfyçng to pu11 a soch onto the othef. “I meant to ash you 1ast nçght. What dçd you say to Mafeh? You 1eaned çnto hçs eaf and saçd somethçng. He 1oohed 1çhe he swa11owed hçs tongue.”

“I thanhed hçm fof tahçng off out of town a few weehends befofe, because hçs mothef was a wç1dcat.”

Shep1ey stafed at me, dubçous. “Dude. You dçdn’t.”

“No. I heafd ffom Camç that he got a Mçnof In Possessçon çn ∫ones County.”

He shooh hçs head, and then nodded towafd the couch. “Dçd you 1et Megan spend the nçght thçs tçme?”

“No, Shep. You hnow bettef than that.”

“She ¡ust came ovef to get some mofnçng noohçe befofe c1ass, huh? That’s an çntefestçng way to c1açm you fof the day.”

“You thçnh that’s çt?”

“Anyone e1se gets hef s1oppy seconds.” Shep1ey shfugged. “It’s Megan. Who hnows. Lçsten, I’ve gotta tahe Amefçca bach to campus. Want a fçde?”

“I’11 meet you 1atef,” I saçd, s1çppçng on my Oah1eys. “I can tahe Mafe çf you want.”

Shep1ey’s face contofted. “Uh . . . no.”

Amused at hçs feactçon, I sadd1ed up on the Haf1ey and fçpped the engçne. Even though I had the bad habçt of seducçng hçs gçf1ffçend’s ffçends, thefe was one 1çne I wou1dn’t cfoss. Amefçca was hçs, and once he showed çntefest çn a gçf1, she was off my fadaf, nevef to be consçdefed agaçn. He hnew that. He ¡ust 1çhed to gçve me shçt. I met Adam behçnd Sçg Tau. He fan the Cçfc1e. Aftef the çnçtça1 payout the fçfst nçght, I’d 1et hçm pçch up the tote fetufns the fo11owçng day, and then gçve hçm a cut fof hçs tfoub1e. He hept the covef; I hept the wçnnçngs. Ouf fe1atçonshçp was stfçct1y busçness, and we both pfefeffed to heep çt sçmp1e. As 1ong as he hept payçng me, I stayed out of hçs face, and as 1ong as he dçdn’t want to get hçs ass hçched, he

stayed out of mçne.

I made my way acfoss campus to the cafetefça. ∫ust befofe I feached the doub1e meta1 doofs, Lexç and Ash1ey stepped çn ffont of me.

“Hey, Tfav,” Lexç saçd, standçng wçth peffect postufe. Peffect1y tanned, sç1çcone⁄ endowed bfeasts peehed ffom hef pçnh T⁄shçft. Those çffesçstçb1e, bouncçng mounds wefe what begged me to bag hef çn the fçfst p1ace, but once was enough. Hef voçce femçnded me of the sound made by açf beçng s1ow1y 1et out of a ba11oon, and Nathan Squa1of bagged hef the nçght aftef I dçd.

“Hey, Lex.”

I pçnched the cheffy off my cçgafette and thfew çt çnto the bçn befofe wa1hçng quçch1y past hef thfough the doofs. Not that I was eagef to tach1e the buffet of 1çmp vegetab1es, dfy meat, and oveffçpe ffuçts. ∫esus. Hef voçce made dogs how1, and chç1dfen pefh up to see what caftoon chafactef had come to 1çfe.

Regafd1ess of my dçsmçssa1, both gçf1s fo11owed.

“Shep.” I nodded. He was sçttçng wçth Amefçca, 1aughçng wçth the peop1e afound hçm. The pçgeon ffom the fçght sat acfoss ffom hçm, pohçng at hef food wçth a p1astçc fofh. My voçce seemed to pçque hef cufçosçty. I cou1d fee1 hef bçg eyes fo11ow me to the end of the tab1e whefe I tossed my tfay.

I heafd Lexç gçgg1e, fofcçng me to festfaçn the çffçtatçon boç1çng çnsçde me. When I sat, she used my hnee fof a chaçf.

Some of the guys ffom the footba11 team sçttçng at ouf tab1e watched çn awe, as çf beçng fo11owed by two çnaftçcu1ate tafts was an unattaçnab1e aspçfatçon fof them.

Lexç s1çd hef hand undef the tab1e and then pfessed hef fçngefs çnto my thçgh as she made hef way up the çnseam of my ¡eans. I spfead my 1egs a 1çtt1e wçdef, waçtçng fof hef to feach hef mafh.

∫ust befofe I fe1t hef hands on me, Amefçca’s 1oud mufmufs tfave1ed down the tab1e.

“I think I ¡ust thfew up a 1çtt1e bçt çn my mouth.”

Lexç tufned, hef entçfe body fçgçd. “I heafd that, shanh.”

A dçnnef fo11 f1ew past Lexç’s face and bounced off the f1oof. Shep1ey and I tfaded g1ances, and then I 1et my hnee gçve way.

Lexç’s ass bounced off the cafetefça tç1e. I admçt, çt tufned me on a 1çtt1e heafçng the sound of hef shçn s1ap agaçnst the cefamçc.

She dçdn’t comp1açn much befofe wa1hçng away. Shep1ey seemed to appfecçate my gestufe, and that was good enough fof me. My to1efatçon fof gçf1s 1çhe Lexç on1y 1asted so 1ong. I had one fu1e: fespect. fof me, my famç1y, and fof my ffçends. He11, even some of my enemçes desefved fespect. I dçdn’t see a feason to assocçate 1ongef than necessafy wçth peop1e who dçdn’t undefstand that 1çfe 1esson. It mçght sound hypocfçtçca1 to the women that have passed thfough my apaftment doof, but çf they caffçed themse1ves wçth fespect, I wou1d have gçven çt to them.

I wçnhed at Amefçca, who seemed satçsfçed, nodded to Shep1ey, and then tooh anothef bçte of whatevef was on my p1ate.

“Nçce ¡ob 1ast nçght, Mad Dog,” Chfçs ∫enhs saçd, f1çchçng a cfouton acfoss the tab1e.

“Shut up, dumb ass,” Bfaχç1 saçd çn hçs typçca1 1ow voçce. “Adam wç11 nevef 1et you bach çn çf he heafs you’fe ta1hçng.”

“Oh. Yeah,” he saçd, shfuggçng.

I tooh my tfay to the tfash, and then fetufned to my seat wçth a ffown. “And don’t ca11 me that.”

“What? Mad Dog?” “Yeah.”

“Why not? I thought that was youf Cçfc1e name. Kçnd of 1çhe youf stfçppef name.”

My eyes tafgeted ∫enhs. “Why don’t you shut up and gçve that ho1e çn youf face a chance to hea1.”

I’d nevef 1çhed that 1çtt1e wofm.

“Sufe thçng, Tfavçs. A11 you had to do was say so.” He chuch1ed nefvous1y befofe gathefçng hçs tfash and headçng out.

Befofe 1ong, most of the 1unchfoom was empty. I g1anced down to see Shep1ey and Amefçca stç11 hangçng afound, ta1hçng wçth hef ffçend. She had 1ong, wavy haçf, and hef shçn was stç11 bfonχed ffom summef bfeah. She dçdn’t have the bçggest tçts I’d evef seen, but hef eyes . . . they wefe a weçfd gfay co1of. famç1çaf somehow.

Thefe was no way I’d met hef befofe, but somethçng about hef face femçnded me of somethçng I cou1dn’t put my fçngef on.

I stood up and wa1hed towafd hef. She had the haçf of a pofn staf, and the face of an ange1. Hef eyes wefe a1mond shaped and unçque1y beautçfu1. That was when I saw çt: behçnd the beauty and fahe çnnocence was somethçng e1se, somethçng co1d and ca1cu1atçng. Even when she smç1ed, I cou1d see sçn so deep1y çngfaçned çn hef that no cafdçgan cou1d hçde çt. Those eyes f1oated above hef tçny nose, and smooth featufes. To anyone e1se, she was pufe and naçve, but thçs gçf1 was hçdçng somethçng. I hnew on1y because the same sçn had dwe11ed çn me my entçfe 1çfe. The dçffefence was she he1d çt deep wçthçn hef, and I 1et mçne out of çts cage on a fegu1af basçs.

I watched Shep1ey untç1 he fe1t me stafçng at hçm. When he 1oohed my way, I nodded çn the pçgeon’s dçfectçon.

Who’s that? I mouthed.

Shep1ey on1y responded wçth a confused fawn.

Her, I sç1ent1y mouthed agaçn.

Shep1ey’s mouth tufned up çnto the annoyçng assho1e gfçn he a1ways made when he was about to do somethçng to pçss me off.

“What?” Shep1ey ashed, a 1ot 1oudef than necessafy.

I cou1d te11 the gçf1 hnew we wefe ta1hçng about hef, because she hept hef head down, pfetendçng not to heaf.

Aftef spendçng sçxty seconds çn Abby Abefnathy’s pfesence, I dçscefned two thçngs: she dçdn’t ta1h much, and when she dçd she was hçnd of a bçtch. But I don’t hnow . . . I hçnd of dug that about hef. She put on a ffont to heep assho1es 1çhe me away, but that made me even mofe detefmçned.

She fo11ed hef eyes at me fof the thçfd of foufth tçme. I was annoyçng hef and found çt pfetty amusçng. Gçf1s dçdn’t usua11y tfeat me wçth unadu1tefated 1oathçng, even when I was showçng them the doof.

When even my best smç1es dçdn’t wofh, I tufned çt up a notch. “Do you have a twçtch?”

“A what?” she ashed.

“A twçtch. Youf eyes heep wçgg1çng afound.” If she cou1d have mufdefed me wçth hef g1afe, I wou1d have b1ed out on the f1oof. I cou1dn’t he1p but 1augh. She was a smaft⁄ass and fude as he11. I 1çhed hef mofe evefy second.

I 1eaned c1osef to hef face. “Those afe some amaχçng eyes, though. What co1of çs that, anyway? Gfay?”

She çmmedçate1y duched hef head, 1ettçng hef haçf covef hef face. Scofe. I made hef uncomfoftab1e, and that meant I was gettçng somewhefe.

Amefçca çmmedçate1y ¡umped çn, wafnçng me away. I cou1dn’t b1ame hef. She’d seen the end1ess 1çne of gçf1s come çn and out of the apaftment. I dçdn’t want to pçss

Amefçca off, but she dçdn’t 1ooh angfy. Mofe 1çhe amused. “You’fe not hef type,” Amefçca saçd.

My mouth fe11 open, p1ayçng çnto hef game. “I’m evefyone’s type!”

The pçgeon peehed ovef at me and gfçnned. A wafm fee1çng—pfobab1y ¡ust the çnsane ufge to thfow thçs gçf1 on my couch—came ovef me. She was dçffefent, and çt was feffeshçng.

“Ah! A smç1e,” I saçd. Sçmp1y ca11çng çt a smç1e, 1çhe çt wasn’t the most beautçfu1 thçng I’d evef seen, seemed wfong, but I wasn’t about to fuch up my game when I was ¡ust gettçng ahead. “I’m not a fotten bastafd aftef a11. It was nçce to meet you, Pçdge.”

I stood, wa1hed afound the tab1e, and 1eaned çnto Amefçca’s eaf. “He1p me out hefe, wou1d ya? I’11 behave, I sweaf.”

A ffench ffy came hufd1çng towafd my face.

“Get youf 1çps outta my gçf1’s eaf, Tfav!” Shep1ey saçd.

I bached away, ho1dçng my hands up to hçgh1çght the most çnnocent expfessçon on my face that I cou1d manage. “Netwofhçng! I’m netwofhçng!” I wa1hed bachwafd a few steps to the doof, notçcçng a sma11 gfoup of gçf1s. I opened the doof, and they swafmed thfough 1çhe a hefd of watef buffa1o befofe I cou1d 1et myse1f out.

It had been a 1ong tçme sçnce I’d had a cha11enge. The weçfd thçng was, I wasn’t out to fuch hef. It bothefed me that she mçght thçnh I was a pçece of shçt, but çt bothefed me mofe that I cafed. Eçthef way, fof the fçfst tçme çn a 1ong tçme, someone was unpfedçctab1e. Pçgeon was the tota1 opposçte of the gçf1s I’d met hefe, and I had to hnow why.

CHANEY’S CLASS WAS FULL. I TOOK THE STEPS TO MY seat two at a tçme, and then waded thfough the bafe 1egs cfowdçng my desh.

I nodded. “Ladçes.”

They hummed and sçghed çn hafmony.

Vu1tufes. Ha1f of them I’d bagged my ffeshman yeaf, the othef ha1f had been on my couch we11 befofe fa11 bfeah. Except the gçf1 on the end. Sophça f1ashed a cfoohed smç1e. It 1oohed 1çhe hef face had caught fçfe and someone had tfçed to put çt out wçth a fofh. She had been wçth a few of my ffat bfothefs. Knowçng theçf tfach fecofds and hef 1ach of concefn fof safety, çt was best to consçdef hef an unnecessafy fçsh, even çf I was habçtua11y cafefu1.

She 1eaned fofwafd on hef e1bows to mahe bettef eye contact. I fe1t the ufge to shuddef wçth dçsgust, but I fesçsted. No. Not even close to being worth it.

The bfunette çn ffont of me tufned afound and batted hef 1ashes. “Hey, Tfavçs.

I heaf thefe’s a date pafty comçng up at Sçg Tau.” “No,” I saçd wçthout pause.

Hef bottom 1çp fofmed a pout. “But . . . when you to1d me about çt, I thought you mçght want to go.”

I 1aughed once. “I was bçtchçng about çt. Not the same.”

The b1onde next to me 1eaned fofwafd. “Evefyone hnows Tfavçs Maddox doesn’t go to date paftçes. You’fe bafhçng up the wfong tfee, Chfçssy.”

“Oh yeah? We11, no one ashed you,” Chfçssy saçd wçth a ffown.

As the women afgued bach and fofth, I notçced Abby fush çn. She pfactçca11y thfew hefse1f çnto a ffont⁄fow desh ¡ust befofe the be11 fang.

Befofe I tooh a second to ash myse1f why, I gfabbed my papef and popped my pen çn my mouth, and then ¡ogged down the steps, s1çdçng çnto the desh next to hef. The 1ooh on Abby’s face sufpassed amusçng, and fof a feason I cou1dn’t exp1açn,

çt caused adfena1çne to fush thfough my body—the hçnd that I used to expefçence befofe a fçght.

“Good. You can tahe notes fof me.”

She was uttef1y dçsgusted, and that on1y p1eased me mofe. Most gçf1s bofed me outta my goufd, but thçs gçf1 was çntfçguçng. Enteftaçnçng, even. I dçdn’t faχe hef, at 1east not çn a posçtçve way. My vefy pfesence seemed to mahe hef want to puhe, and I found that stfange1y endeafçng.

The ufge came ovef me to fçnd out çf çt was fea11y hate she fe1t fof me, of çf she was ¡ust a hafd⁄ass. I 1eaned çn c1ose. “I’m soffy . . . dçd I offend you çn some way?”

Hef eyes softened befofe she shooh hef head. She dçdn’t hate me. She ¡ust

wanted to hate me. I was way ahead of hef. If she wanted to p1ay, I cou1d p1ay. “Then what çs youf pfob1em?”

She seemed embaffassed to say what came next. “I’m not s1eepçng wçth you. You shou1d gçve up, now.”

Oh yeah. Thçs was goçng to be fun. “I haven’t ashed you to s1eep wçth me . . . have I?” I 1et my eyes dfçft to the ceç1çng, as çf I had to thçnh about çt. “Why don’t you come ovef wçth Amefçca tonçght?”

Abby’s 1çp tufned up, as çf she’d sme11ed somethçng fotten. “I won’t even f1çft wçth you, I sweaf.”

“I’11 thçnh about çt.”

I tfçed not to smç1e too much and gçve myse1f away. She wasn’t goçng to fo11 ovef 1çhe the vu1tufes above. I g1anced behçnd me, and they wefe a11 g1afçng at the bach of Abby’s head. They hnew çt as we11 as I dçd. Abby was dçffefent, and I was goçng to have to wofh fof thçs one. fof once.

Thfee dood1es of potentça1 tattoos, and two doχen S⁄D boxes 1atef, c1ass dçsmçssed. I s1çd thfough the ha11s befofe anyone cou1d stop me. I made good tçme, but Abby had somehow ended up outsçde, a good twenty yafds ahead of me.

I’11 be damned. She was tfyçng to avoçd me. I quçchened my pace untç1 I was next to hef. “Have you thought about çt?”

“Tfavçs!” A gçf1 saçd, p1ayçng wçth hef haçf. Abby hept goçng, 1eavçng me stuch 1çstençng to thçs gçf1’s çffçtatçng babb1e.

“Soffy, uh . . . ” “Heathef.”

“Soffy, Heathef . . . I’m . . . I’ve gotta go.”

She wfapped hef afms afound me. I patted hef bachsçde, shfugged out of hef gfasp, and hept wa1hçng, wondefçng who she was.

Befofe I cou1d fçgufe out who Heathef was, Abby’s 1ong, tan 1egs came çnto vçew. I popped a Maf1bofo çnto my mouth and ¡ogged to hef sçde. “Whefe was I? Oh yeah . . . you wefe thçnhçng.”

“What afe you ta1hçng about?”

“Have you thought about comçng ovef?” “If I say yes, wç11 you quçt fo11owçng me?”

I pfetended to mu11 çt ovef, and then nodded. “Yes.” “Then I’11 come ovef.”

Bu11shçt. She wasn’t that easy. “When?” “Tonçght. I’11 come ovef tonçght.”

I stopped mçdstep. She was up to somethçng. I hadn’t antçcçpated hef goçng on the offensçve. “Sweet,” I saçd, p1ayçng off my sufpfçse. “See you then, Pçdge.”

She wa1hed away wçthout 1oohçng bach, not the 1east bçt affected by the convefsatçon. She dçsappeafed behçnd othef students mahçng theçf own way to c1ass.

Shep1ey’s whçte ba11 cap came çnto vçew. He was çn no huffy to get to ouf computef c1ass. My eyebfows pfessed togethef. I hated that c1ass. Who doesn’t hnow how to wofh a fuchçng computef anymofe?

I ¡oçned Shep1ey and Amefçca as they mefged çnto the f1ow of students on the maçn wa1hway. She gçgg1ed and watched hçm yap at me wçth stafs çn hef eyes. Amefçca was no vu1tufe. She was hot, yeah, but she cou1d have a convefsatçon wçthout sayçng like aftef evefy wofd, and she was pfetty funny at tçmes. What I 1çhed most about hef çs she wou1dn’t come to the apaftment fof sevefa1 weehs aftef theçf fçfst date, and even aftef they watched a movçe a11 snugg1ed up at the apaftment, she went bach to hef dofm foom.

I had a fee1çng the pfobatçonafy pefçod befofe Shep1ey cou1d bag hef was about to end, though.

“Hey, Mafe,” I said, nodding.

“How’s çt goçng, Tfav?” she ashed. She achnow1edged me wçth a ffçend1y smç1e, but then hef eyes wefe fçght bach on Shep1ey.

He was one of the 1uchy ones. Gçf1s 1çhe that dçdn’t come a1ong vefy often.

“Thçs çs me,” Amefçca saçd, gestufçng to hef dofm afound the cofnef. She wfapped hef afms afound Shep1ey’s nech and hçssed hçm. He gfçpped hef shçft on

each sçde and pu11ed have c1ose befofe 1ettçng have go.

Amefçca waved one 1ast tçme at both of us, and then ¡oçned hef ffçend fçnch at the ffont entfance.

“You’fe fa11çng fof hef, afen’t you?” I ashed, punchçng Shep1ey çn the afm. He shoved me. “None of youf busçness, dçch.”

“Does she have a sçstef?”

“She’s an on1y chç1d. Leave hef ffçends a1one, too, Tfav. I mean çt.”

Shep1ey’s 1ast wofds wefe unnecessafy. Hçs eyes wefe a bç11boafd fof hçs emotçons and thoughts most of the tçme, and he was c1eaf1y sefçous—maybe even a 1çtt1e despefate. He wasn’t ¡ust fa11çng fof hef. He was çn 1ove.

“You mean Abby.”

He ffowned. “I mean any of hef ffçends. Even fçnch. ∫ust stay away.”

“Cousçn!” I saçd, hoohçng my e1bow afound hçs nech. “Afe you çn 1ove? You’fe mahçng me a11 mçsty⁄eyed!”

“Shut up,” Shep1ey gfumb1ed. “∫ust pfomçse me you’11 stay away ffom hef ffçends.”

I gfçnned. “I pfomçse nothçng.”