Sheltered

Prologue

Austin kicks at the dirt with the toe of his shoe, his lips turned down in a frown.

“I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head. “It’s not your fault, Luc.”

I know it’s not, but it still sucks. I can’t believe we’re moving. I’ve lived in Silverpine my entire life. I haven’t spent a single day without Austin in years. I don’t know what to do. “We’re still going to be friends, right?”

Austin’s head shoots up, his brown eyes settling on mine. “Of course we are. You can’t get rid of me just because you’re moving to another state.”

Well, that’s a relief.

“When I turn eighteen, I’ll move back. After graduation and stuff. You think your ma would let me come stay with y’all?”

“I’m sure she would.” Austin runs a hand through his hair. It’s my favorite right now. In the summer, he gets all these really light pieces through it, the sun bleaching it out from its normal dirty-blond color.

My fingers itch to write about it. To put hundreds of words on paper about how each strand falls over his face, how rosy his cheeks are after spending a day in the sun, and about how the sunlight catches his brown eyes and makes them sparkle. I make a mental note to do that later.

I haven’t written a story about Austin. Not since we started messing around, anyway.

It’s not like it really means anything to either of us.

It’s not like there’s anyone else around for us to experiment with.

After the first time he kissed me, it felt too weird to write about him, but now that I’m leaving?

Maybe I will. Maybe I’ll let my imagination run wild.

“I’m going to miss you,” Austin says quietly, his gaze falling to the ground in front of him.

My heart hurts. God, I’m gonna miss him too. “We’ll FaceTime every day, right?” I ask.

“Yeah. When are you leaving?”

I swallow hard, tears threatening to burn my eyes. “In a couple of hours.”

“Jesus.”

Yeah, I was just as surprised as him. Mom and Dad didn’t even tell me until an hour ago, and the new place Dad’s working at needs him ASAP. We aren’t even taking our stuff. They’re gonna send movers for it.

“This sucks, Luca.”

I turn to Austin, waiting until he looks at me. “We’ll be friends forever.”

He nods, his eyes glassy. “We will.”

“Promise?” I ask, throat closing up at the thought of leaving not only Austin but also his parents, my home, everything.

“I promise.”

“Do you—” I stop, chest aching at the thought of not having Austin anymore. “Do you think we could kiss one last time before I go?”

A crease forms between his eyebrows, but he nods, stepping closer to me.

I hold my breath while I wait for him. His warm hands cup my face, then he tilts my head back and presses his lips to mine.

Austin—18 years old

My eyes hurt. So does my hand, but I’m pretty sure that’s from how hard Luca is squeezing it under the table.

The eyes, though—that’s something else entirely.

A lawyer—Damien, I think his name is—is sitting across from us, looking very official in his suit and tie. I’ve never seen anything so fancy in my life, and I never want to again. Not if it means burying two people I love so much.

Luca’s parents had a small life insurance policy and not much else. The home they lived in was a rental, and now they’re gone. They’re just… gone.

Luca sniffles, and I squeeze his hand tighter, trying to infuse him with strength. Sixteen-year-old me had no idea the next time I saw Luca, it would be for his parents’ funeral.

How do you prepare for that? How are you supposed to act when your best friend in the world calls you crying in the middle of the night to tell you his parents—people you loved like parents too—died in a car wreck on their way home from a date?

It still seems fake. Like Ronald and Marjorie are going to pop out from somewhere and yell that they got us.

“Do you understand everything I’m saying, Luca?” Damien asks.

There’s something slimy about this guy, I think. Something I don’t trust, but after today, we’ll never have to see him again.

“Yeah,” Luca croaks out. He’s staring at his lap, his dark hair falling over his eyes.

“Okay.” Damien slides a card across the table. “This has my personal cell number on it. Call me if you have any questions, okay? Or if you need anything at all.”

There’s something about his tone I don’t like, but Ma’s always told me I’m way too protective of Luca, so maybe that’s why. Either way, Luca has no one left for him but us, so I narrow my eyes at Damien. “I’ll take care of what he needs.”

He settles icy blue eyes on mine. “That’s sweet. What did you say your name was?”

“Austin.” I hold my chin a little higher.

“It’s nice to have good friends, Austin, but sometimes after a loss like this, you need the help of a professional. That’s what I’m here for.”

I slump in my seat, a fresh wave of grief nearly swallowing me whole.

After thanking Damien, Luca stands, and I do too, wrapping my arm around his shoulder to lead him out of the room.

“Okay, so we need to pack you a bag, and then we can talk to Ma and Dad and see what we need to do to get the rest of your stuff back to Silverpine.”

Luca’s head snaps up, his tear-stained gray eyes locking on mine. “What?”

My face scrunches in confusion. “You’re coming back home with me, right?”

His hesitation makes my stomach churn, and he shakes his head slowly. “No. I—I’m not.”

Oh, but… “I thought…”

He shrugs, eyes filling with fresh tears. “My parents are here. I can’t leave them.”

His parents are dead. And I’m alive and here to take him home where he belongs. “But I thought you were coming home when you turned eighteen?”

“I was,” he whispers, his voice cracking. “But I don’t want to leave the house my parents lived in.”

“It’s a rental, though,” I say, grasping for anything I can to get him to come home with me.

“I’m on the lease. They had to add me when I turned eighteen, and I just got a twenty-thousand-dollar life insurance policy. I want to stay here.”

“The money will run out.” My heart races, going faster and faster as my chest starts to cave in.

He shrugs again. “Then I’ll get a job.”

“But—” I try again, but I’m cut off by Luca shaking his head.

“No, Austin. I’m staying here. This is my home now.”