“And there’s the fuckin’ apartments,” I said darkly, pointing at a spot just inside the red zone. “Motherfucker.”

  “She must be headed to her parents’ house already,” Charlie said as I strode toward the front door. “She wouldn’t just stay there.”

  “You’re not gettin’ notifications?” I asked. “She might not be either. Try and call her.”

  “What’s up?” Curt asked.

  “You takin’ Gramps’ bike?” I asked him.

  “Already took it over to Grease’s,” Gramps replied before Curt could.

  “We moved the important stuff yesterday,” Gram joked.

  “As it should be,” Curt said seriously, pointing his finger at our gram. He looked at me. “What’s goin’ on?”

  “Looks like the apartments are level three,” I told him. “You got anything you want to go grab?”

  “If you’re in level three, roads might be closed already,” Gramps said with a grimace.

  “We’ll figure it out,” I replied. “We know the back roads better than any of the out of towners. Curt?”

  “I wanna grab a couple things,” he replied with a nod. “You got everything you needed?” he asked Charlie.

  “I brought all my stuff here,” she said with a nod. “It’s in my car. Kara’s not answering.”

  “I’ll check your place. Text if you need us to grab anything,” I told her. “You guys all set?” I asked my grandparents.

  “We’re headin’ out now,” Gramps answered. “You go get done whatever you need to.”

  “Keep me posted,” Charlie ordered as we all exited the house, heading for our vehicles.

  “We will,” Curt replied, pulling his shirt over his face. “Fuck, this is nasty.”

  “Gonna get worse before it’s better,” I replied as I hopped in the truck.

  I wasn’t sure how the apartments were part of the level three evacuation zone, since they were much closer to town, but I wasn’t going to question it. If I’d learned anything in the past few days of watching the news, it was that fires were unpredictable as fuck, didn’t care about what was in their path, and didn’t move in any kind of a straight line.

  “You’re worried Kara’s still at their place?” Curtis asked.

  “Charlie said she stayed there.”

  “Doesn’t mean she’s still there now,” he replied, pulling out his phone. He tapped the screen and put it to his ear. “That vein in your neck might be throbbing for no reason.”

  “She’s still there,” I replied through gritted teeth. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew she was still at her apartment.

  As we got closer to our apartment complex, I cursed as I realized that my gramps was right. They had closed off the main road.

  “Go around,” Curt said, jerking his head toward a side road.

  I nodded and drove slowly down the street. It was eerie how empty the roads were. There were no cars in driveways, no kids playing, no lights shining. Everyone had already gone.

  As we pulled in the back entrance of the complex, my hands tightened on the steering wheel. There were cops everywhere, knocking on doors. The sight made me vaguely nauseous.

  Chapter 3

  Kara

  “Can I help you?” I asked the police officer standing outside my door. My stomach rolled. I knew him.

  His fist was still raised from knocking, and he looked startled that I’d answered. “Miss, this area is now in the level three evacuation area. We’re asking all residents to evacuate now while they can do so safely.” There was nothing wrong with his words, but there was something in his expression, or maybe his tone, that rubbed me the wrong way. Instantly, I remembered every other encounter I’d had with him. They played quickly through my mind in Technicolor. I couldn’t stand him, I didn’t want his help, and if I didn’t know that it would make things worse and hadn’t been taught since birth not to antagonize the police—I would’ve told him to fuck off.

  “Thanks for the notification,” I replied tightly, taking a step back so I could swing the door closed.

  My mouth nearly dropped open in shock when the door stopped short, held in place by his boot. I shouldn’t have been surprised.

  “Did you need something else?” I asked, tilting my head as I double checked that my phone was in my pocket.

  “You need to get your things together and evacuate,” he said condescendingly.

  “I heard you the first time,” I replied calmly. I made a show of looking down at the floor. “Please move your foot.”

  When I glanced back up, his expression had changed from condescension to anger. He opened his mouth to reply, but I spoke first.

  “Legally, I don’t believe you can make me leave the premises,” I said, straightening my spine, forcing my voice not to shake. “And I haven’t let you in and you don’t have a warrant, so please get your foot off of my carpet.”

  “Bitch,” he said under his breath, not moving. Instead of making him angrier, he looked almost like he was enjoying the fact that he was making me nervous. The realization disgusted me.

  “Kara,” a voice called, the sound coming from behind the officer. “You almost ready to go?”

  For the first time in years, the sound of Curt’s voice made me sag in relief. The officer stepped back, nodded at Curt and Draco, and then strode down the breezeway. Of course he did. Bullies didn’t stick around to face people as big as they were.

  “I just have to pack my car,” I told Curt as I swung the door to the apartment open. “I got everything together.”

  “Damn, woman,” Draco said with a laugh, the sound shooting like electricity down my spine. “This all you’re takin’?”

  “Ha-ha,” I replied dryly. “I know it’s a lot, but I had too much time to worry about it and I just kept finding more stuff to take.”

  “No worries,” Draco said as he moved toward the pile of stuff. “It’ll take two minutes to load it up.” He picked up the backpack and slung it over his shoulder, and it took everything in me not to pull it away from him.

  “I’ll grab the crate,” I said lamely, as the guys loaded their arms with my things. I hadn’t had to ask for Draco’s help—he’d pitched in anyway, just like always.

  “Just grab the keys, sweetheart,” Draco said gently as he stepped toward the door. “I’m guessin’ your Jeep’s locked.”

  “Always,” I said, rolling my eyes as I dug my keys out of my purse. There had been a string of car break-ins in our apartment complex and nothing had been done about it. Management refused to put up any cameras and the cops kind of just threw up their hands and said there was no way to find out who did it. We’d learned not to leave anything in our vehicles and always make sure they were locked.

  Draco picked up the mask I’d left on the back of the couch earlier. “Good thinking,” he muttered to himself. He held it out in my direction as he pulled a bandana up and over his nose. “Put this on, baby.”

  Jesus, he looked like some kind of romance novel anti-hero about to steal a damsel’s virtue in that bandana. Was this what hot flashes felt like? I rolled my eyes, but took the mask from him and put in on anyway. I wasn’t going to touch the baby comment with a ten-foot pole.

  As I led the guys to my Jeep, I watched as a couple neighbors loaded up their own vehicles. Most people had already left—the smoke was so bad—but there had been a few holdouts like me who’d waited until the last possible moment. My eyes burned as I unlocked and opened up the hatch.

  “Where are you goin’?” Draco asked me as he carefully loaded up the trunk area. “Your parents’ house?”

  “Either there or with Charles,” I replied through my mask, pushing my purse higher on my shoulder.

  I’d been in his presence more times than I could count since he’d gotten out. It was impossible to stay away when our families were so close—but I still hadn’t found a way to be comfortable around him. It was my curse. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fit him into a little box. I couldn’t force myself to see him as less than he was to me—even if I’d never admit it.

  “The grandparents and Charlie evacuated,” Curt said, closing trunk. “They went over to Aunt Callie’s.”

  “Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath.

  I loved my parents so much, but I didn’t want to be stuck at their house. The moment I got there, it would be like I was sixteen all over again, having to keep them updated on every phone call I had and every place I planned to go. I wouldn’t even be able to run to get a milkshake without their input.

  “You know that cop?” Draco asked me, jerking his head ever so slightly to the left. “The one who was at your door?”

  “No,” I replied quickly, coughing as I inhaled. Fuck. The air was so nasty.

  “You sure?” Draco asked.

  I nodded.

  “Huh.” He said calmly. He clearly didn’t believe me. “Why don’t I drive you over to your pop’s? Or Callie’s, if that’s what you want.”

  “I can drive myself,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

  “Him or me,” Curt shot back, his eyes shifting over Draco’s shoulder.

  “You’re adorable,” I said dryly. “Thanks for stopping by.”

  “You wanna get pulled over on your way home?” Curt asked, his voice soft. “Out here where everyone has evacuated and there ain’t any cars on the road?”

  I opened my mouth to argue and then snapped it shut again. That scenario didn’t sound pleasant.

  “I know cops,” Draco said to me, resting his hand at the base of my back. “And that one doesn’t stink like a regular cop. That one stinks like a cop that got bullied in high school and got himself a badge so he could even the score.”

  I stood so still that I must’ve looked like a statue. I wanted to reply, to say something downplaying the asshole cop—but I couldn’t. Every molecule in my body was focused on the point of contact between Draco’s long fingers and my back. Just as I started to panic that I must look like a complete nutjob, his hand slid away and I felt like I could breathe again.

  “Run over to our place with us real quick,” Curt said, starting toward their building. “We need to grab some sentimental shit in case the place goes up in flames.”

  “I really hope it doesn’t,” I replied, giving in and following behind him. I might be stubborn, but I wasn’t stupid.

  “Me, too,” Draco said with a chuckle. “Any other place that cost this much would be a total heap. We got lucky as hell.”

  “Wasn’t luck,” Curtis said distractedly as he led us up the stairs. “Kara researched for like a month before we moved in. She found this place.”

  “Is that right?” Draco asked, glancing at me.

  “Can’t make any decisions without overthinking them,” I said, shrugging.

  “Truth,” Curt said as he opened their front door. “Come on, let’s get our shit and get the fuck out of here.”

  I didn’t let my surprise show as I stepped inside the clean apartment, even though it barely resembled the apartment Curt had been living in alone. The carpet was freshly vacuumed, there weren’t any food wrappers littering the couch, and most importantly, I couldn’t detect any strange smells from behind my mask. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how long it had been since I’d been to their apartment. Draco had been out for months.

  “We’ll be right back,” Draco said as he strode down the hallway. “Don’t answer the door if someone comes knocking.”

  I nodded and stood in the middle of the room where they’d left me. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t been in their apartment since Draco moved in. There wasn’t anything special about it—it was the mirror image of me and Charlie’s, but for some reason, it seemed incredibly foreign. Even when Curt had lived alone, I’d never wanted to be there.

  Since no one could see me, I let my eyes roam around the room, taking in every little detail. The couch was old, leather, and looked like someone’s cat had gotten to the arm of it at some point, but it looked crazy comfortable. The coffee table was one I recognized that Curt had made in woodshop in high school. There was a short bookshelf along the wall that was filled with paperbacks, but I couldn’t see what the titles were from where I was standing. On top of that shelf was a picture of Curtis and Draco at around thirteen. They were standing, bare chested, on each side of their mom, and all three were laughing.

  I looked away. I remembered them at that age far too well. It was something I tried not to think about.

  “You got what you wanted?” Curtis asked Draco as they came back down the hallway.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “Wasn’t much here to begin with.”

  My stomach twisted into a tight knot, and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to grimace. As the guys reached me, my eyes widened.

  “Is that the ukulele that Amy got you when we were kids?” I asked Draco, blurting out the words without thinking. I hadn’t seen the thing since we were young. Suddenly, a million memories crashed down around me.

  I couldn’t even hear Draco’s reply as I pictured him at eleven, his hair falling into his eyes. Then at thirteen, pushing a dirt bike helmet onto his shaved head. At fourteen, playing catch with Curt in his backyard, barefoot and wearing a pair of swim trunks. At fifteen, laying on the floor in the movie room, his head propped against the side of my bean bag chair. In every memory, I could feel the familiar shape of the ukulele in my hands. I’d played it far more than he had, and I was pretty sure the only reason he hadn’t given it to me was because he liked that it gave me an extra reason to come to him.

  By the time I pulled myself together, Draco had finished talking and was looking at me curiously.

  “Haven’t seen that thing in years,” I mumbled, turning toward the door. “Let’s go.”

  As we walked back to my car, I dug my nails into my palms.

  There was a reason I tried not to remember those memories. It was necessary.

  “I’ll drive,” Draco said as he came up beside me. “Main road’s closed.”

  “Fine,” I replied, forcing up every barrier in my mind that I could. I wasn’t going to argue about which one of us was driving as long as the trip was fast and I could get away from him as soon as possible. I couldn’t handle being around him this way, not when it was just the two of us. I needed the buffer of other people.

  “You want me to follow you to her parents’ place?” Curt called out to Draco.

  “Nah. I’ll let you know where I end up,” Draco replied, tossing Curt his keys, making Curt frown. “You can come get me if I need ya.”

  I knew exactly what Curt was thinking and I couldn’t lie—a small part of me felt satisfaction at his worry.

  As we reached my Jeep, I handed my keys to Draco and waited for him to get in and unlock the doors.

  “I can’t believe you drive Rose’s old Jeep,” he said as I climbed in beside him.

  “It was free,” I said, buckling up. “And it gets me from one place to the next.”

  “Hey, I wasn’t making fun,” he said in amusement, adjusting the seat. I watched as he slid it back as far as it would go. He looked at me. “Just brings back a lot of memories, that’s all.”

  I took a deep breath and imagined a vault door slamming shut in my mind.

  “They gave it to me when I started driving,” I said, pulling my mask off. The car was marginally better air-wise, but even if we’d been outside, I would’ve taken the thing off. It was so hot outside, it made breathing through the mask feel like you were trying to exercise in a sauna. “Then they signed it over to me once I was eighteen.”

  “Nice of them,” he said. “Your dad’s a good guy.”

  “He said it wasn’t worth much in trade,” I replied, fidgeting a little as I tried to figure out what to do with my hands. We were leaving through the back entrance of the apartment complex and I couldn’t believe how eerie everything looked. “And Rose needed something bigger anyway.”

  Draco scoffed good-naturedly. “Plus, your pop has always thought the sun shines out of your ass.”

  “That’s a disturbing way of putting it.”

  “He adores you,” Draco replied.

  “Isn’t he supposed to?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Draco said in surprise. He looked over at me. “I just meant that it’s easy to see how much he thinks of you. Always has been.”

  I nodded.

  “You remember when Rose brought us all down to the river?” Draco said after a couple minutes of silence. “We brought so much crap, coolers and towels and chairs and God knows what else, that whenever she’d hit the brakes, all of us would have to put our arms up so the shit in the back wouldn’t slide forward onto us?”

  “No,” I said, looking out my window.

  “You remember,” he insisted, laughing. “Me and Curt had to share a seatbelt in the middle because we had Reb with us and there weren’t enough to go around.”

  I didn’t respond even though the scent of sunblock and the feel of the armrest on the door digging into my hip came back to me like a sledgehammer.

  “And Charlie called dibs on the front seat and we were all pissed because she was by far the smallest of all of us and she had the most room?”

  In my memory, I could see the back of Charlie’s blonde head, bouncing along to the music.

  I didn’t engage.

  “Curt swung out on that old rope swing and it busted halfway to the river and we thought he broke his arm?” he continued. “Remember?”

  “I don’t want to remember,” I finally snapped. “Okay?”

  “Ah, the truth. Finally,” Draco said, glancing at me. “Maybe we should have this out. You finally ready to do that?”

  “There’s nothing to have out,” I replied. “I don’t want to go skipping down memory lane with you.”

  “You got a problem with me, Kara?” he asked, pushing. He was always pushing.

  “Just because I don’t want to remember some idyllic summer memory with you doesn’t mean I have a problem.”

  “Seems like you do.”

  “I’m not doing this,” I breathed, crossing my arms over my chest as I stared out the windshield.