The people of the Terror can go back to riding their motorcycles without fear of the Riot and the next generation, including me and Chevy, are free to just be...free.
“Did you hear Eli’s taking Brandon shopping today in Lexington?” I ask. It’s killing me not to text Eli every fifteen minutes for an update. Eli and I have had several long talks about Brandon, and for the first time, Eli is listening.
The plan for today is to get Brandon new pants, since he’s grown another inch, but the real goal is for Brandon to pick out the pants and buy them himself. Of course Eli will be there, but as an observer. Eli understands he has to be Brandon’s advocate, not his enabler.
Chevy and I have both applied for and have received early acceptance to Eastern Kentucky University. We’re both waiting to hear about financial aid and possible scholarships.
Once Chevy threw his hat into the college ring, he had some interest from coaches. Eastern being one of them. They aren’t a college with a huge football program with Saturday games on ESPN, but Chevy isn’t interested in that. He just wants to play.
I’ve got good grades and more than decent test scores. I’ll probably get something in scholarship help, but it won’t be enough. Last week, though, Eli offered to help pay whatever I don’t get in aid and scholarships. I’m probably going to accept because that’s what family does—look out for one another and welcome the help when it’s needed.
Chevy folds the paper in half and sticks it in his back pocket. “How’s your knee?”
“Good.” And it’s not a lie. Every now and then when it rains, it aches, but other than that I’m fully functioning again. Still, this is the first time we’ve walked this far since the kidnapping. The winter was cold and brutal. The snow high. It was gray and it felt endless, but then we’ve been granted glorious days like today.
A warm breeze, a pink evening sky with the first stars starting to twinkle in the east. Another day is ending, the sun falling to its knees and giving way to night. It’s almost easy to believe that every horrible thing that happened to us was a bad dream.
“How do you think tomorrow is going to go?” I ask.
Tomorrow, Isaiah is coming to Snowflake to meet Cyrus and Eli for the first time. They were shocked when Chevy told them about Isaiah and they wanted to meet him immediately, but Isaiah asked for time to process the idea of having blood family who cared.
Isaiah isn’t the only one processing. Cyrus and Eli are trying to wrap their brains around the fact that James was an undercover cop. Chevy dropped that bomb after the arrests, but we’re still keeping that secret contained to blood family. All this new information—a new member of the family, James’s secret life—it’s been a lot, but in the end, it’s good news.
Isaiah and Chevy have met up a few times. Chevy said it’s awkward, but they mostly play pool and talk sports. Sometimes, for guys, that type of conversation is heavy in emotional subtext.
Speaking of emotional subtext. “Did you know that Razor is taking Breanna to prom?”
“I heard.”
My lips twist to the side and I try to push down the little flames of anger licking at my stomach. Prom is extremely close and everyone else I know has a date. That’s not true. Addison doesn’t, but I have hopes for her...a newcomer in the club has taken an interest in her. She just needs to take an interest back.
Point is, Chevy hasn’t asked. I guess it’s assumed, but he should ask because that’s what boys should do. We promised each other months ago we would do normal and so far we’ve excelled at English papers and basement parties and late nights of eating pie at the diner, but I want the normalcy of prom and he needs to freaking ask.
“Oz is going to Emily’s prom and Eli said she could visit the weekend of our prom so we can all hang out.”
“I heard that, too.” Dear God, I’m going to have to hurt him.
“Know what we should do?” he asks.
You should ask me to prom? “What?”
“You should bring Oz as your guest to the prom and I should bring Emily as my guest so we can all go together.”
I stop walking, and while the idea is brilliant, I seriously want to kick him in the nuts.
Chevy swings around to face me and catches me by my belt loops. He drags me to him, and while that action typically melts me in ways that I wake up dreaming about at night, I’m a little too irritated at him for it to work.
“Don’t you want Oz and Emily to go to prom with us?”
The mature answer is yes. The girl who has loved being boring as hell and just being eighteen is throwing a fit like a sleep-deprived toddler.
“It’s not like Oz is going to dance with you. He and Emily can’t keep their hands off each other for thirty seconds.”
Extremely true. Begrudgingly I say, “Fine.”
“Great.” Chevy lets me go and starts walking again, but I turn to go home. My taking Oz as my guest is the right thing and so is Chevy taking Emily, and after all that we’ve been through, it’s stupid to have my feelings hurt that Chevy hasn’t asked, but there are some things in my life I’ve thought about since I was younger and prom is one of them.
But then I pause. This is stupid. Chevy has loved me, he has saved me and he has risked his life for me. This is the twenty-first century and I need to grow up. I spin around and say, “Will you go to prom with me?”
Chevy glances over his shoulder and blinks. “What?”
“Yeah, sure whatever, I’ll take Oz, you’ll take Emily, but will you go to prom with me?”
Chevy’s expression darkens and he stalks in my direction. “You are the most impatient person I know.”
Now I’m lost. “I’m what?”
Chevy bends and I let out a yelp when he lifts me with his shoulder, turns and continues to walk toward our section of the field. I’m laughing, I’m yelling at him, I smack him on his back and laugh harder when he tickles my side.
Finally, Chevy sets me on my feet and holds my shoulders as I get past the dizziness of all the blood that has gathered in my head returning to my limbs.
I blink a few times, and when I lean affectionately into Chevy, he strokes my collarbone with his thumb. “A few months back, I promised you boring. I promised you college, I promised you a future, I promised to never leave your side again. I’ve got you, I’ll always have you and we’re going to have the most exciting, boring prom with all of our friends, but sometimes, I don’t like sharing you.”
Chevy twirls me and I suck in a breath. It’s our spot. Our place in the field. It’s where we played as children, it’s where Chevy and I shared our first kiss. It’s where he first told me he loved me, it’s where he carved our names on the tree to the right. It’s where we explored each other’s bodies, it’s where we explored each other emotionally.