I scowl at Tristan. “Oh, you are so not going to be like Jax and encourage him to do the fun stuff while I have to be the bad guy.”
Tristan pulls a whoops face from beside me. “Sorry, but he kind of needs to get it out of his system. We’ve got a long fucking car ride ahead of us.”
It’s true. Since it’s Thanksgiving break, we’re driving to Wyoming to visit his mom, which I’m a little nervous about; not just to meet his parents, but because I’ll be so close to The Subs. On our way back home, we’ll head downward to Arizona where I’m going to stop by and meet my half-sister Taylor, something I’m still a little unsure about, but Tristan assures me he’ll “hold my hand the entire time.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I sigh, giving up since a part of me wants to spoil Mason too, now that his father is going to be behind bars for a very long time, and he’ll probably never see him until maybe when he’s older. I hope even then he doesn’t, although it’ll be his choice. “I’m a little worried about leaving Jax though… he’s been acting strange the last few weeks.”
“Avery, he’s almost nineteen years old,” Tristan reminds me. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“I know.” I sigh heavy heartedly. “It’s just something he said to me… about our mother actually—that we should stop by the old house and check up on things.”
“You think she’s back home now?” he asks worriedly.
I shake my head. “No, not that I know of. And the last I heard, the house was going to get foreclosed so I’m not sure what the point of stopping by would be.”
“You should be really sure before you do it.”
“I’m not sure at all, but I’m going to do it for Jax. I’m just worried he thinks she’ll be there and he can relax. I think he’s felt guilty ever since she went missing, like somehow it’s his fault. Not sure why though, since he won’t talk to me about it. “
Tristan reaches over and squeezes my hand. “I’m here for you, whatever you decide to do.”
“The same goes for you. You should really make sure you’re okay going on this car ride with us. You still have time to back out and avoid dealing”—I point at Mason as he jumps up and down, throwing grass in the air—“with that.”
He snorts a laugh as he looks over at Mason, and then he turns and ambles around behind me. “Would you relax? Everything’s going to be fine. I know what I’m getting into, and while I’m still discovering your guys’ little quirks, the important part is that I want to continue finding out all of them.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me against him, resting his chin on the top of my head. His strong arms instantly make me feel safe, like they have for the last month. “And just think, after this awesome cross country trip, we get to come back and continue discovering each other’s little quirks. And we both won’t be working at the bar by then which will be an added bonus.”
“Well, I have to give all the credit to Charissa for putting in a good word for me at the dealership.”
“I’m sure you would have gotten it all on your own.”
“Maybe,” I say unsurely. “It doesn’t really matter though. I’m just glad I got the job. Although, I’m a little nervous to start it. There’s so many huge responsibilities to it.”
“You’ll do great,” he reassures me. “Just like you do with everything else.”
“We’ll both do great,” I add then pause. “I still can’t believe you’re going to move here.” I remember when he told me a few days ago that he wasn’t leaving North Carolina. That he couldn’t leave me—us. He got a job in construction here and plans to finish school living in the same town as me. And he seems very adamant about it. “It just seems crazy. As crazy as—”
“As crazy as what, star girl?” As he embraces me tighter, I naturally give in to his pull, allowing his warmth and scent to encompass and immerse me.
“Yeah, I get your point.” There are crazier things than Tristan moving here. Like how he got here. Into my life. How we got to this moment. “And then we can be a super sober, boring couple. Forever and ever and ever.”
“And I’m okay with that.”
“Me, too.” I pull him closer against me and it’s the easiest thing to do in the world, standing together, under the clear blue sky.
Because that’s the thing. I spent a lot of time fighting my attraction to Tristan, refusing to be his friend, but through our friendship, I got to know him. I mean, really know him. And he got to know me as well, more than anyone has ever gotten to know me because I never trusted anyone enough to let them in. However, he showed me that trust doesn’t have to be bad. In fact, it can be really, really good.
And that leaves me wondering something.
About myself.
About Tristan.
About the stars.
About that night I lay dying under them.
I thought I was supposed to help someone, that in the midst of my death someone cried out to me. But maybe I heard it wrong. Maybe it was my own cry, begging someone to help me.
And Tristan was the one who heard it.