Chapter Four
AJ
When I look over at Reyes, Echo’s chewing him out about something. Echo’s pissed, because he’s waving his hands in the air.
‘Hey,’ I say, going over there just as Echo storms off, back to serve drinks at the bar. I lift my arms. ‘How d’you like the new jacket?’
‘Sweet,’ Reyes responds, but I always know when there’s something up with him.
‘S’up with Echo?’
My best friend looks awkward. ‘Uh… do you remember Jenny English?’
A memory flashes through my mind. I’m eighteen years old again, blindfolded in a closet with the softest lips on mine. ‘High school Jenny English? Blond girl. Kinda timid. What about her?’
‘She, uh, she was here. Moment ago. Came with a message for you. Said it was about your brother.’
I bristle. ‘What? Which brother?’
‘She didn’t say. Echo… he, uh, he just kinda… he kicked her out the bar.’
‘What? Why?’
Reyes swallows. ‘Her being the mayor’s stepdaughter and all.’
‘Shit,’ I say, and look toward the door. ‘Where is she now?’
He shrugs. ‘Headed back into the city, I guess.’
I run my fingers through my hair. ‘I’ve had a few beers. Have you?’
‘Naw, man, I’m good.’
‘Can I hitch a ride?’
He looks surprised. ‘You wanna try and catch her?’
‘There’s only one road outta this place. She can’t have gotten far.’
On the back of Reyes’ motorcycle, on the road out of Rapture, my mind is running in circles.
I have one full brother, Logan. He left this hole, soon as he was able, so I’m guessing the brother Jenny English was referring to is not him.
I have two half-brothers, Noah and Mason, then three more half-siblings under five years old.
Mason is only ten, so that would only leave Noah in this equation.
I love that kid, but he’s a no-good delinquent.
So, my question is, firstly, what the hell does Noah have to do with Hollie Palmer, the shy-as-hell British girl from my high school class? And second of all, what is Hollie Palmer doing back in Canyon? Because last time I checked, she’d gone back to England.
I look over Reyes’ left shoulder. When I see her taillights, I raise the visor on my helmet and point up ahead.
‘Get past her,’ I holler at him.
Reyes rolls the throttle. The engine underneath us rumbles and we lurch forward, the back wheel kicking up dust and loose shingle. We’re gaining on her as Reyes shifts to the left and we fly past her driver’s side window. Through my visor, I can see her knuckles gripping the wheel.
I give Reyes a double tap at the waist. He knows it’s the signal to speed up. I glance back at her vehicle trundling over the splintered concrete surface of the road. When her headlights become two small dots in the ocean of black, I give Reyes a single tap. He downshifts and hits the brake lever.
I raise my visor again. ‘Bring her round.’
‘Are you crazy?’ Reyes hollers back, because he knows I want him to stop, side-on, in the middle of the only road that connects Rapture to the city.
‘You saw how fast she was going… she’ll see us.’
‘How do you even know that?’
‘Trust me, man. Keep the engine running. She’ll jam on the brakes.’
Reyes does as I ask. I swing my leg over the back of the bike and watch her lights approach. And just when I think she might not hit the brakes, her vehicle screeches to a halt and she skids into an uneven ridge, where the concrete has split and never got repaired.
I squint into her headlights. Seconds later, her door creaks open.
Then I hear it. That voice that sounds like she’s some kind of prissy princess living in a high tower, cutting over the sound of the cicadas. And weirdly, I find myself smirking.
‘What are you doing?’ she blurts out into the night, flustered. ‘You can’t just stop in the middle of the road!’
I’ll be honest. I never thought I’d see the day when Hollie Palmer would be back in my orbit.
A couple people said Hollie was the girl I kissed blindfolded in the closet five or so years ago during that dumbass game after graduation, and not Amber Bradshaw.
But I never got explicit confirmation, and now she’s standing opposite me, her face partially in darkness, long hair tied back in two neat braids, which appear to be a shade of baby pink, looking kinda mad.
I remember her reacting the same way when we’d stir shit up with her on purpose in high school, just to see her get all salty, like she is now.
‘Think we just did, Jenny English,’ is my response.
She puts two hands on her hips. ‘That is not my name. My name is—’
‘Hollie,’ I interrupt her, because for some reason that I can’t fathom, I don’t want her to think I forgot who she really is. ‘Hollie Palmer.’
‘Yes,’ she murmurs.
I take a step forward. She tenses a little. ‘Relax, I won’t bite.’
I can tell that she’s nervous when I take her in. She looks the same as she did back in high school, mostly, though without those glasses she used to wear. Her hair is definitely pink. She seems to have discovered makeup too. The curve of her mouth looks… familiar.
‘What’s this I’m hearing about my brother?’ I ask.
She swallows. ‘He’s in my apartment.’
‘Is it Noah?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is he hurt?’
‘Not badly. He’ll live.’
‘Shit,’ I snap, and look past her. ‘Can you give me a ride?’
Her eyes go wide. ‘You want me to drive you to my apartment?’
I’m already looking back at Reyes, who has removed his helmet. ‘Pick me up later?’
‘Sure, man, just holler,’ Reyes says with a wave of his hand.
‘All right.’ I walk over to the passenger side door of Hollie’s car, still holding onto my own helmet, and yank it open. ‘Are you coming, English?’
This time she doesn’t correct me, just gets into the driver’s seat. I get in and close the door behind me. Hollie Palmer closes her own door, and, in the shadows, I watch her buckle up, avoiding all eye contact with me.
I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t all that nice to her in high school.
Just another teenage dumbass doing dumbass shit without thinking about the consequences.
From day one, we gave her a hard time, for the sole reason she wasn’t from around here.
Where I come from, we don’t often tolerate outsiders.
‘Nice ride,’ I comment.
‘Uh. Thank you.’
‘It was a joke,’ I deadpan. Her car is a total heap o’ junk.
‘Oh,’ she says.
On the other side of the windshield, Reyes revs his engine before speeding past my window, back toward Rapture. I’m left in silence and darkness in a car with none other than the mayor of Canyon’s stepdaughter.
We crawl along the uneven road, the rear suspension taking the biggest hit as we head toward the highway. ‘Thanks for driving me,’ I say, thinking I might be here a while. ‘I’d had some beers back there. Couldn’t get on my ride.’
‘Right,’ she says, and we lapse back into silence.
About another minute passes by before I say, ‘Didn’t you wear glasses in high school?’
She takes one hand off the wheel. Twirls one finger in front of her face. ‘I had laser eye surgery.’
‘That sounds painful.’
‘It was at first,’ she says. ‘I mean…’ Her voice trails off. She replaces her hand, and I note how tightly she’s still holding onto the wheel.
‘Aren’t you going to ask me about Noah?’ she says.
I glance out the window. The black outside is all-consuming. About all a person can see out here is the stars and the distant lights of the highway. It’s a reminder of how isolated Rapture has become. ‘Lemme guess,’ I say. ‘He tried to rob you, or he begged you for money or some shit.’
‘The police are looking for him,’ she says.
My head snaps around. ‘Wait, what?’
We’re approaching the highway exit. ‘I volunteer in an old folks’ nursing home.
They showed us his picture, asking if we’d seen him.
They had patrol cars and a helicopter out, and they were combing the yard.
When I went to put the trash out, I found him behind a dumpster.
He had a cut on his head and his lip. I’m not sure how long he’d been running. ’
As we turn onto the highway and light floods the car, I get my first good look at Hollie Palmer. I was right about the hair, but her blonder roots are showing just a fraction. And she does look different without glasses.
Dang. When did Hollie Palmer get hot?
I clear my throat. ‘Why they looking for him?’
‘Something about stolen cars.’
I blow out my cheeks. I knew this would happen one day. He’s got two priors. Misdemeanors, but stealing cars is serious shit. ‘Why didn’t you turn him in?’
She doesn’t look my way. ‘I… don’t really know. I felt sorry for him. I also have a brother named Noah.’
‘I didn’t know that.’
‘He’s older. When I came to America with my dad, he went to university in London. Anyway, I drove Noah… your Noah back to my apartment. I left him asleep. When I asked him who I should call, I wasn’t expecting him to say your name. I mean… that I would know who he was talking about.’
She bites her lip. At least I know she hasn’t completely forgotten about me. ‘He’s my half-brother,’ I tell her. ‘Same mom, different father.’
‘I see,’ she says, in that slightly prissy way of hers. ‘Does your mum live in Rapture?’
It’s weird how she says ‘mum’. ‘Uh-huh.’
‘And you… still live there?’
‘That guy who kicked you out the bar? That’s Echo. I work in his garage fixing up motorcycles all day. He’s my boss. I live in the attic space above Scotch & Smoke.’
Her eyes meet mine. I can tell she’s nervous. ‘Well, I don’t think your boss likes me very much.’
‘He’s mostly doesn’t like anyone, especially if you’re not from Rapture. Don’t take it personal. His beef is with your stepmom. And all the rest of ’em.’
‘It’s fine. I know she’s… controversial.’
I practically snort. ‘That’s one way of putting it.’
‘I try my best to keep out of it.’
I don’t reply. We’re not on the highway for long before she’s taking the turn marked for Eastvale, due north of Electric Hills.
‘How come you’re back in Canyon?’ I ask.