Watching the Cordell & Cordell Landscaping truck stop in front of Maverick's house was like seeing the school bus arrive on the day of a field trip. I wanted to run to it. Corey met me halfway, his gaze intense and angry. "What happened? Did he do something to you?"

When he answered my call, I was crying so hard that he didn't ask me to explain why I called him. He just said he'd be there and hung up. Now I realized he thought Maverick was the cause of me crying. "No, it's nothing. I just want to go."

His eyes searched my face. I probably looked like a raccoon, with mascara smeared under my eyes. If I did, he didn't let on. He only looked concerned. "Nothing? Then why were you crying?"

"Because my phone is dead and I lost my car keys and Maverick...he's not who I thought he was." The tears started again. I hiccupped, trying to hold them back before I became another blubbering mess. "I just really want to go home."

His face softened. He took a step closer, his hand reaching for me before falling back to his side. He settled for a nod instead. "Okay."

• • •

My favorite thing about Corey was that he could appreciate silence. Liah was a problem solver. She would've wanted all the facts so she could fix whatever was wrong. She'd ask a million questions and never let me off the hook. Corey let me keep my secrets.

It wasn't as late as I thought it was, barely eleven. When he turned down my street, the last thing I expected, or wanted, to see was Gray's car in the driveway. I was not in the mood to deal with him. Corey noticed the car too, his eyes darting to me as if asking what to do.

"Keep driving." I didn't breathe until we turned off my street.

He stopped at a stop sign, the car idling. "Where am I going?"

Liah's was my only option, really. But I didn't feel like being questioned. I didn't want to leave the truck. Corey probably had other things to do, though. "Weren't you working?"

"It can wait."

Something ballooned in my chest, spreading warmth throughout my body. "I could eat."

We stopped for burgers and milkshakes, eating in the parking lot. I used his phone to text Liah to cover for me so my mom wouldn't worry about me not coming home. As expected, she texted me back a ton of questions. I promised to fill her in later and handed Corey his phone back.

He used it to play random YouTube videos about home renovations, which were kind of entertaining. Even though I was watching the video, I could feel that Corey wasn't. When I looked at him, I caught him turning away.

"What?" Was there food on my face? I wiped my mouth with a napkin, just in case.

He brought his eyes back to me. "I'm sorry."

"For staring?"

"Maverick. I put his name on the list. I really hoped it'd work."

"So did I," I muttered, popping a fry into my mouth. "But it wasn't your fault it didn't."

"What happened?" The question came out hesitant, like he wasn't sure it was okay to ask. Strangely, I felt okay answering.

"He was a little too much like my dad." I took a sip of my milkshake, rinsing the words out of my mouth.

Corey stilled, his burgers inches from his lip. He lowered his food, his eyes full of remorse. "Shit. Harlow, if I knew that--"

"You didn't," I said, staring down at my half eaten food, my appetite gone. "I wouldn't have known if I hadn't seen it myself. Some people are really good at hiding that stuff."

He watched me intently, like he wanted to say more. But there was nothing more to say.

"It's fine. I mean, it sucks. I thought he was cool at first. I'll get over it, though." I ate another fry to give myself something to do besides look at him. On his phone, a man talked about which tiles would look best in the bathroom. "Your turn."

"What?"

My gaze shifted to him. "You were just as surprised as I was to see Gray's car in the driveway," I said. "Why didn't you know he was coming?"

He drained the rest of his milkshake. "Same reason you didn't."

"You blocked his number too?" I asked, brows raised. After his message about Trent and Veena, I had to cut him off again. "I know you haven't been talking." 

His eyes narrowed, probably wondering how I knew or why I hadn't brought it up before. Instead of asking, he said. "It's nothing. Dumb stuff."

"Liah and I fight over dumb stuff all the time." Most recently, it was because I lost a pack of her sticky tabs. They were special edition and no longer available anywhere. She didn't talk to me for a full twelve hours. "We never stop talking for weeks, though."

He let his head drop against the headrest, running a hand over his face. "I kind of hooked up with the girl he likes."

I stared at him, jaw falling. "That's the number one thing you don't do in a friendship."

He winced, tugging at his bottom lip. "I know."

"Who was it--" I paused, remembering how happy Gray was when we were at The Purple Cow the last time he was there. I thought he was just happy to see his friend. "Shamika?"

"Look, I'm not proud of it," he said, a pained expression on his face. "Things just happened. I know how messed up it was. Grayson's always been there for me. He was the only one who stuck around when my mom got sick and I wasn't in the best head space. I fucked up."

I felt weirdly protective of my brother, but a part of me also felt for Corey. He looked like he truly regretted what he'd done. I was torn. My loyalty to my brother won out when I remembered what Corey said that night at the beach when I caught him with Shamika.

"You don't even like her enough to make things official. And what about Myisha?"

He stared down at his lap, not meeting my gaze. He looked like he was going to fold into himself.

"What'd he do to make you want to hurt him like that?"

He glanced between me and the home improvement video on his phone. "You know how he is. He thinks he knows what's best and tries to tell you what to do."

Gray treated Corey like that, too? "I thought Dad Mode was reserved for me."

His eyes met mine briefly before turning back to the video. "I think that's his thing. The more he cares about someone, the harder he tries to protect them."

The line between protecting and controlling must've been very thin. "What'd he tell you to do or not do?" I still didn't get the connection to Shamika.

He looked at me again, then down at my lap. "You done?"

I handed over my trash, sensing he didn't want to get into his issues with my brother. Even though not knowing exactly what happened between them would itch at the back of my skull, I let it drop.

"Can you drop me off at Liah's?"

He seemed to relax with the subject change. "What about the car?"

How could I forget about the car? Mom was gonna notice it missing at some point. "Think the party is still going?"

• • •

When we got to Maverick's, his house was hauntingly quiet. Mom's car was, thankfully, still where I left it. People used it as a trash can, though. Soda cans and plastic cups littered the hood and trunk. I swept them all into the grass with the rest. Corey went up to the door to knock. I still wasn't ready to see Maverick again.

"He's not answering," Corey said, coming back down the driveway.

I placed my forehead on the cold metal of the car door. There was only one way to get the car home and the thought of it made me want to fall to the ground and curl into the fetal position. "How much trouble would I be in if I reported the car stolen?"

"I think Maverick would be the one in trouble since it's in his driveway."

I might not have been Maverick's biggest fan at the moment, but I didn't want him to get arrested. Lifting my head, I met Corey's eyes over the hood of the car. "Let me use your phone. I'll call Liah and have her call Gray so he can bring the spear key."

"We don't have to go through Liah. I could call Gray."

"Gray's already mad at you," I pointed out. "If he finds out you were a part of this, he might really stop talking to you. So I'll call Liah and you can go before my brother gets here."

Corey lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug. "Like you said, he's already mad at me. And I'm not leaving you out here by yourself. He wanted me to look out for you while he was gone, anyway."

He pulled his phone from his pocket to make the call. I watched him, unable to ignore that he was willing to stay and face my brother with me. Even if that meant being on Gray's bad side.

"Let me talk to him." I reached across the hood for the phone. There was no way around my brother's anger, but I could at least attempt to cushion the blow.

He placed the phone in my open palm, his fingers tip brushing against mine as he pulled his hand away. I shivered and it wasn't from the cold. Before he was out of reach, I grabbed his hand, immediately pulling away when I realized what I'd done. What was wrong with me? I couldn't go around grabbing hands like that. Especially not hands that did funny things to belly.

"Um." His brow knitted, waiting for me to continue. "If this is the last time I see you alive, I just wanted to say thanks. For...everything."

His lips curved up slightly. "You're welcome."

In one final, desperate attempt to avoid calling my brother, I pulled on the door handle.

And it opened.

I was sure my face mirrored Corey's look of pure shock. That shock soon turned into panic because the car was unlocked. Did someone find my keys and got into the car to steal something? I found my purse in the backseat where I left it before going into the party, but everything was in there.

Corey slid into the passenger seat. "You got everything?"

"Looks like it." Except the keys, apparently. Why would someone unlock the car and leave it?

"What's that?" Corey opened the sun visor in front of me. The keys and a note plopped down in my lap.

My sister was walking around with these sorry if you were looking for them

if this is NOT your car DO NOT STEAL!!!!!

xx Lily

Emily had my keys the whole time? I must've dropped them when I ran into her in the kitchen. If I wasn't so distracted with looking cool for Maverick, I might've noticed I dropped them. This entire ordeal could've been avoided.

No. I'm going down that rabbit hole. I had the keys, and I didn't have to involve Gray. Tonight was a win. My reward was going home and getting some much needed sleep. I didn't even care if Gray was there waiting for answers. My bedroom door had a lock that I was most definitely using.

I started the car and grinned at Corey. "Thanks for running around West Valley at--" I glanced at the clock. "--two in the morning. But I'm sure my bed is worried about me."

"I thought you were supposed to be at Liah's?"

"That's future Harlow's problem." 

He chuckled. "Okay. Well, goodnight."

"Night," I said, keeping my hand firmly grasped on the steering wheel. Just in case they tried to do something weird like reach out and hug him. That night had been emotional and weird. I didn't need to add to it with my impulses to touch him.

Corey got into his truck and, just like that day at school, he stayed close until I reached my destination.