Chapter 24 #2
He’s standing in the hallway behind Frank, framed in Z’s bedroom doorway, and he’s holding up his phone.
No. No, no, no.
“I took photos and video of the drugs you’re clearly dealing out the front of this trailer,” Caleb says, and his voice is steady. Calm. Like he’s delivering a closing argument in debate.
You beautiful, suicidal idiot.
The one thing you don’t do—the one thing—is threaten Frank O’Brian.
Frank’s entire body goes rigid. He turns away from Z, toward Caleb, and the look on his face makes my blood run cold.
“I’ll crush you and that fucking phone just like I did this little bitch’s,” Frank snarls, and he’s moving down the hallway, advancing on Caleb like a predator.
“Do it,” Caleb says, and he doesn’t move. Doesn’t back down. Just stands his ground.
I’m waving frantically at Z, screaming without sound, Get to the window, get to the fucking window—
Z starts crawling toward me, blood on his lip from his face hitting the edge of his desk.
“It’s already uploaded to the cloud,” Caleb continues, and then he does something dramatic with his phone. Pushes buttons. “And I just sent it as an attachment to my best friend, who’s the son of a state senator.”
Frank’s entire body shakes—a specific tremor that means he’s feeling murderous. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.
Caleb’s playing with fire he doesn’t understand. Frank’s killed people. I’m not supposed to know that, but I do, and Caleb has no fucking idea what he just walked into—
“It’ll never see the light of day!” I scream, helping to pull Z through the window as he dives for it. “We just want to take Zedekiah with us. He’ll be gone in six months anyway. This is a win. One less mouth to feed.”
As if Frank ever gave two shits about feeding Z anyway.
Z lands on the ground beside me, gasping, bleeding. Safe.
I’m waving my arms like I’m directing a plane to land, screaming at Caleb with my whole body: RUN. FUCKING RUN NOW.
And thank God—thank God—Caleb’s survival instincts finally kick in, because he turns and fucking sprints out the front of the trailer.
Frank is an animal. So he chases.
Fuck!
I sprint around the front of the trailer, Z stumbling beside me, and Caleb’s already booking it toward us, eyes wild with terror, and something else—something fierce and unbroken.
He’s not just running away.
He’s running around the outside of the trailer back to me.
I can’t believe I ever called this boy a coward. I can’t believe I ever thought he wouldn’t fight for what matters.
He just stood up to Frank O’Brian in a way grown men don’t.
In a way I never could.
“Run!” I scream, even though it’s clear Caleb’s already sprinting at top speed.
He catches up to me, and I’m already running too, grabbing his hand, pulling him into the woods where we have the advantage.
“Who the hell is this?” Z gasps as he joins us, and we leap over roots and rocks, Frank’s curses getting fainter behind us. Too winded or too high to follow us any further into the dark woods.
We don’t stop running until we’re deep in the trees, until the sounds of the trailer park fade completely, until we hit the sweetgum tree and I know we’re safe.
I double over, hands on my knees, gasping for breath. Z collapses against a tree trunk. Caleb’s bent over too, hands on his thighs, breathing hard.
And then I’m laughing.
Hysterical, terrified, relieved laughter that bubbles up from somewhere deep in my chest.
“You’re fucking insane,” I gasp at Caleb. “You’re absolutely fucking insane. Do you have any idea—” I can’t finish. Can’t explain what he just did. What he risked. “You could’ve died. He could’ve killed you.”
I throw my arms around him, then pull back and run my hands over his body, like I have to make sure that he’s all in one piece.
And then Caleb’s doing the same thing to me—his hands running down my arms, checking my shoulders, tilting my face to look at it in the dim light.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. “You’re the one who just—”
But he’s not listening. He’s checking. Making sure. His hands are shaking slightly as they move over me, systematic, like he’s following some internal checklist.
Caleb straightens up, and in the dying light, his eyes find mine. “Yeah,” he says simply. “But he didn’t.”
“That’s not—you can’t just—” I’m shaking. When did I start shaking? “You stupid, idiotic Boy Scout. You don’t threaten Frank O’Brian. You don’t. Nobody does that. Not even—”
“Harper.” Caleb steps closer, and suddenly his hands are on my face, steadying me. “Breathe.”
“Don’t tell me to breathe! You just—you could’ve—” My voice cracks. Shatters. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did.” His thumbs stroke my cheekbones, and his eyes are so goddamn steady. “You were screaming. And I couldn’t let him hurt anyone else.”
His eyes turn to Z, which is when I remember he’s there. I spin around, and my hands are on Z’s face. Oh my god, how could I forget about him?
“Are you all right?” My thumb hovers near his split lip, but I don’t touch.
Meanwhile, his eyes are on Caleb over my shoulder, brow furrowed.
“Who’s he?”
“Oh, right. Z, this is my stepbrother, Caleb. He drove me so I didn’t have to take the bus or hitchhike. Caleb, this is Z.”
I pull back from Z, and the two guys stare at each other a moment before Caleb holds out a hand. Even here. Even now. After running through the woods and threatening a drug dealer and nearly getting killed.
He holds out his hand like we’re at a fucking networking event.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Caleb says, voice steady. Controlled. Like the last ten minutes didn’t just happen.
Z lifts his forearm to wipe the blood at his mouth away, then takes Caleb’s hand in what looks like a very firm grip before dropping it almost as quickly. “Can’t say the same.”
Z’s eyes come back to me, something like suspicion and hurt in them. It makes me feel immediately guilty and like I’ve done something wrong, but I don’t know what.
“We should get going,” I say hurriedly, crossing my arms over my chest even though it’s not really cold. “In case Frank sobers up.” There’s no chance Frank’s sobering up any time soon, but this isn’t the reunion I was expecting.
“It’s too late to make it to the courthouse today,” Z says as we start walking through the woods to the car.
“Well, I don’t think Frank will be coming after you now,” Caleb says, almost in an off-handed way. “Now that we’ve got some solid evidence against him.”
Holy shit.
“Oh my god.” I stop in my tracks. “Z.” I reach out and grab Z’s arm. “Do you get what this means? We don’t have to get married after all! You’re free!”
I throw my arms around Z and hug him hard, grinning at Caleb over his shoulder.
Holy shit! Now we won’t have to go through any of that legal bullshit of getting married or getting a divorce!
Caleb solved everything with his bravery.
He and I can be together now. He really can fix just about anything, can’t he?
Even when he has to be a crazy, reckless bastard to do it.
Caleb beams at me, but just then, I realize Z isn’t hugging me back.
I pull back from him, confused. It’s a little too dark to catch the expression on his face, but I don’t think he’s smiling.
“Z?”
“Great,” he says, voice dull. Then he turns to Caleb before I can make out any other expression. “So can you drop us in Austin, bro?”
I bite my bottom lip. “About that. I was thinking. Things have been really good in Dallas, actually. And we wouldn’t have anywhere to stay in Austin. We’d have to sleep in the park or something.”
“Don’t tell me you’re falling for Silas’s bullshit,” Z scoffs, sounding… angry.
I pull back, confused. “No, of course not. I’m just saying it’s a place to crash until we get our footing. Helen’s really great, and if we put on enough of a sob story—”
“We’ve got a basement,” Caleb rushes in. “And I bet we could talk Mom into letting you stay there. She’s really soft-hearted, and I know she’d let you, especially ’cause you’re like family to Harper. And especially if it meant Harper could finish out her senior year.”
My eyes shoot to Caleb, mouth dropping open. Just how long has he been planning this? Or is he coming up with it on the fly? There’s no way he could’ve known about catching Frank in the act, and that’s the only thing that’s made leaving possible.
No, I think he’s just been working it out as we’ve been running through the woods, the wicked little genius.
Because he loves you. And now he’s found a way for us to stay together.
And for you to keep going to school. Because he’s thinking about your future. Like, years down the road, future.
Z turns back to me. “I don’t know. We had a plan, Harp. I’m sure we’ll be fine in Austin. We can stay in a shelter if the weather gets bad. We’ll find work. Every restaurant needs dishwashers. We’ll work our way up.”
“That’s stupid when there’s food and shelter in Dallas,” Caleb says.
“You calling me stupid?” Z spins back Caleb’s direction until the two boys are facing off, two shadowed silhouettes in the dark.
“Hey!” I call, snapping in front of their faces. “Knock it off. I’m making an executive decision. We’re going to Helen’s house in Dallas. Now play nice.”
Z’s head swings back my way like I just betrayed him, and I roll my eyes. I knock him on the shoulder. “There’s a great couch in the basement. It’ll be the softest thing you’ve slept on in years. And Helen will ply you with milk and cookies. You’ll get over the plan. Plans change.”
People do, too, sometimes, I want to add but don’t.
“What about when Silas turns everything into a shitshow?”
“Then we can go sleep in a shelter,” I spit out, turn, and stomp back toward the Mustang, wanting to throw my hands in the air.
Boys.