CHAPTER TWENTY
Sunday, May 14
Emmy
Emmy woke in the back seat of Javi’s Jeep, a rolled sweatshirt beneath her head, the first light of dawn creeping in on the heels of the night. They’d spent the evening in Miami at one of the clubs owned by Javi’s parents, and Emmy had drifted off on the hour-long ride home up a nearly deserted I-95, and when she half woke, Emmy recalled the evening in flashes, sweaty bodies writhing against hers, arms in the air, the music pulsing deep inside her body, lost in a trance of rum-induced freedom.
It was almost too easy to lie to Kathryn, who seemed dreamy those days, her faraway thoughts painting a faint smile on her lips. Emmy had said she was staying with Maggie again, she recalled with the same tickle of guilt she felt when she appeased Harper with vague texts.
Emmy’s eyes crept open. On the front console, Max’s and Javi’s tan arms rested side by side as they yelled to one another over the cool rush of morning air. Since she’d told Max about the man in the car, a heaviness hovered over him. As each day loomed closer to enacting Max’s plan to expose Kathryn, Max grew more introspective; Emmy caught him nibbling his bottom lip, his brows pinched. But her vision of the future morphed like a kaleidoscope. She pictured Max, relieved of this weight, their hands entwined, watching sailboats glide across Lake Union, a world away from their parents’ mistakes.
Four more weeks.
Emmy straightened as Javi pulled into the beach lot. The boys’ flip-flops slapped the pavement as they unloaded their surfboards and jogged toward the water. Still tangled in her dreams, Emmy settled into the sand, a blanket hugging her shoulders, and watched the boys crest a wave. After his fifth ride in, Max clutched his surfboard and ambled across the sand, shaking the water from his hair. “You ready for your first lesson?”
Emmy peeled her dress over her head, then followed him into the chilly water. Max guided her onto the board, and she tried to find her balance on the wobbly surface, her feet gripping the knobs of wax. The board lurched, and she crashed into the water, which chased away the cobwebs of the liquor that hung in her brain. She surfaced and spit brine. “How do you make it look so easy?”
“Don’t say shit like that to him,” Javi called, bobbing a few feet away. “It goes straight to his head.”
Emmy treaded water and watched Max mount his board, his hair slicked back, before he glided to the shore on a swell.
Javi sat on his board, his feet dangling, and smirked. “I told you.”
“I’m starving. Let’s get some breakfast and come back,” Max said, then dove beneath the waves.
In the car, Javi pulled on a faded orange tank top, and they swung around the drive-through at Good Burger.
Back at the beach, Javi parked beneath the shade of a tree, and Max distributed their iced coffees. Emmy fished in the bag, handing Max a greasy sleeve of hash browns. Families had arrived at the beach to lay claim to their spots for the day, spreading sun-faded towels and opening coolers stuffed with crushed ice and soda cans. Javi peeled the foil from a breakfast burrito while Emmy let a spoonful of strawberry milkshake melt on her tongue.
“How can you eat that shit for breakfast?” Max asked.
“It’s delicious.” Emmy leaned over to spoon milkshake into Max’s mouth.
Javi bit his burrito. “Listen, you two. Can I eat my fucking breakfast without you rubbing your lifestyle in my face?”
But Max’s smile reached only half-mast.
Javi turned to Max. “You’re one to talk, Maxwell, eating that greasy shit. You’re getting flabby.” He pinched Max’s belly. “I’ve had to hit the gym without my spotter.”
Max reached for Emmy’s milkshake and forced a spoonful into Javi’s mouth, then said, “I have something to tell you.”
Javi wiped his face with a napkin. “Please don’t propose to me right now. I look rough, and I haven’t even finished my coffee.” He sucked his straw.
Max shoved Javi’s forearm. “Asshole. Listen. I’m serious.” Max’s tone downshifted, and the change caught Javi’s attention. “Emmy’s been accepted into UW, and we’re planning to head to Washington the second week of June.”
“We?”
“We,” Max repeated.
Javi stared at Max for a long time. “Washington? That’s a big step. Huge.” The two boys shared a look. “Our deal stands.”
“Okay, Dad.” A spike in Max’s tone.
The two boys fell silent. Emmy’s stomach lurched. What did Javi know about Max that she didn’t? “What deal?”
Max’s body tensed, and he released a defeated exhale, the kind that came only before a confession. He shifted to face her. “After I got expelled, I started partying a lot more. Then, a few months ago, Javi and I went out one Saturday night, got fucked up. I dropped him off, but I guess I decided I wasn’t ready to go home, so I sped up Ocean and skidded out on a curve. I don’t remember. But when I came to, there was glass everywhere, and there was a light pole where my passenger seat was ...” He shuddered. “I was alone in the dark. And it was really quiet.” Max’s Adam’s apple rose, fell. “I was crying because I couldn’t find Javi. It took a few minutes to remember that I’d brought him home. If I hadn’t done that ...” His voice dissolved.
The waves crashed. “It’s cool, man,” Javi whispered.
“No, it’s not,” Max snapped, tears snagging his words. His head hung, and he drew in a shaky breath.
Max and Javi exchanged another look, and Max apparently conceded. Javi turned to Emmy. “When I found out he’d nearly killed himself, I lost it. But when I found out Kathryn literally took him to the threshold of rehab, and this stubborn jackass refused help, I was pissed. Really pissed.”
Emmy hated the idea of anything hurting Max, and the thought of how close he’d come to losing Javi made her shiver.
Javi turned his gaze to Max. “So I forced him to make some promises. He swore he’d keep his drinking to a normal amount, and if he ever felt like he was losing his shit that way again, he’d get help.”
“So that’s what you were arguing about at your house,” Emmy said to Javi.
“I didn’t want him to get hung up on anything—or anyone—that might send him spiraling again. Anything .” Javi looked to Max. “So. The deal stands.”
“I got it,” Max said. “I’m good, Javi. My life is different now.” There was a flicker in Max’s face, and his mouth lifted.
Javi smirked. “Look at you, smiling and shit. I never thought I’d see the day.” The clouds in the car parted. “You’re practically an old married man. Gotta get you some dad jeans to go with your Birks and socks. You know, Washington style.”
Max’s brows narrowed. “Javi—what if you came with us?” Silence fell. Emmy hadn’t anticipated the offer. And, looking at Max’s face, he hadn’t, either. He looked at Emmy. “I didn’t ask you—I’m sorry.”
But a thought spread over her. She wanted Max happy, wanted him surrounded by people who loved him. In the ghosts of her memory, Harper had been happy with the family she’d built, with Kathryn and Lucas. Maybe fate would fare better for her, Max, and Javi. “No, it actually makes sense,” she said. “I’m going to live in the dorms; you’ll need a roommate.”
Max’s smile cracked open, and the darkness in his eyes lifted.
“Wow.” Javi stared out the windshield. “I’m flattered, but a throuple isn’t really my style.” Max shoved him. “I mean, it’s a lot to think about. My mom will lose her shit. But ... why not?”
Max’s smile was gleeful, and Emmy’s heart swelled. It was falling into place. Maybe Max’s past behavior was a rough patch, but their collective future was as bright as that morning. Max leaned back to plant a kiss on her lips, deep, drawing her in, and they ignored Javi’s Okay, gross .
The boys returned to their burritos, and Javi asked, “I take it Kathryn hasn’t found out about you two lovebirds yet?”
“Fuck no.” Max wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “She wouldn’t let Emmy stay if she did.”
“There has been a development,” Emmy said.
Javi glanced over his shoulder and cocked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”
Max motioned to Emmy with his chin between bites. “Tell him.”
Emmy leaned forward. “Kathryn has someone new. Or someone not so new.”
“What happened to the cop?” Javi asked.
“I don’t know,” Max said. “But Emmy bumped into this new dude about a month or so ago, and she said he looked just like me.”
Javi straightened. “What does that mean?”
Max balled his wrapper. “It means exactly what I just said.”
Javi scrunched his nose. “Maybe you’re not a test-tube baby after all?”
Max shrugged.
“Is he good looking?”
Max grunted. “I said he looked like me, didn’t I?”
“They drive the same car,” Emmy added.
Javi chuckled. “Well then, cancel your Maury appearance, that’s all the proof we need.” He grinned. “Have you considered asking Kathryn about him?”
Max squinted. “Are you really suggesting that? You’ve known me—known her—for, what, fifteen years? When has she ever been forthcoming with anything?”
Javi shrugged. “Point taken.”
Max tucked a foot underneath his body. “We have a plan to catch them.”
Javi’s eyes scanned the ocean, where a few pelicans danced over the surface. “Is that really what you want, Max?”
Max’s face darkened, and he looked up at Javi, then nodded. “What other choice do I have?”
Javi locked on to Max’s eyes. “We’ve got your back, dude, no matter what comes from this.” He motioned to Emmy, who nodded in agreement, with a swell of gratitude that someone loved Max, and understood him, as much as Javi did. Javi turned to Emmy, then back to Max, and cocked his head to the side. “So what do you have in mind?”