My eyes narrow in confusion.

"Filmore's broken. Can you organize a tow?" She gives him our location.

Ten minutes later he arrives. Another five minutes and the tow truck shows up. Half an hour after that, I'm told that Filmore needs a new home in car heaven. Basically where I found him.

Tom stands in front of us shaking his head. "I'm sorry," he says sincerely. "I know you got Filmore to help out with Luce and the boys and I appreciate it." His words don't surprise me. Luce says that he's been doing therapy twice a week in the few months since he started. She's gone to a few sessions with him and they've been working through his issues. She tells me that it helps, and I'm glad it does. She says that I gave her a new perspective, that even though he messed up, he's trying. Which is more than I can say for my dad.

He rubs his hand across his beard and looks between Lucy and I. "You guys heading to our house or what?"

Lucy answers for both of us. "We were gonna go to Cam's." And even though we can walk to my house, we accept his offer for a ride. Because it's not just about the ride, it's the message behind it. He's making an effort. Not just for Luce, but for me, too.

***

"Where's Filmore?" Mark asks, walking into the kitchen.

Lucy exaggerates a pout. "Car heaven."

Mark's eyes move from Lucy, to Mom, then finally to me. "That sucks, bud. I'm sorry."

Shrugging, I state, "It was inevitable." I let out a bitter laugh. "Just means Lucy's back to riding shotgun on the back of my bike."

She snorts. "I don't mind, babe. Worst comes to worst I'll just get my license. I only held off because I like you driving me around."

We gather our snacks and move to the living room, where she positions herself lengthways on the couch and lifts her legs for me to take a seat. Once we're settled, she pulls her e-reader out of her backpack and switches it on.

Mark shrugs on his Lethal Weapon shirt; one that says 'I'm too old for this shit'. Mom used to hate it. She thought it was a bad influence on me. We still haven't told her about the time I hit him in the face with my baseball bat and he dropped the C bomb. I was nine.

Mark chuckles and shakes his head at Lucy just as Mom throws a fake Persian blanket over them. "It's Movie Madness, Luce. No books," he jokes.

"It's okay," I cut in, "she can read. I'm used to it."

"I have two chapters left, and then I'm all in."

"Shit," I clip. "My Delorean." I quickly run up to my room and grab the model car Mark got me because he knew it was my favorite movie. Actually, come to think of it, that was the day after he dropped the C bomb. Maybe he had ulterior motives. Asshole. I'm still laughing to myself when I get back downstairs.

"What's funny?" Mom asks.

I lift Lucy's legs and reposition myself. "Remember that time I gave Marky Mark a fat lip with a bat?"

Mom chuckles.

I hold up the Delorean and quirk an eyebrow at Mark.

His eyes go huge as he shakes his head in warning.

***

I'm trying to watch the movie but her feet on my lap keep rubbing each other. It would be fine, only they're on my lap. I glance at her quickly but she's too consumed in her book, her eyes darting from side to side. She smiles softly. I've learned that it means the characters have done something overly cheesy. I want to smile with her, but all I can think about are her feet rubbing against my dick... and the hard-on that's building faster than it should.

Containing a groan, I pick up a cushion and do my best to not disturb her while I lift her feet, placing the cushion on my lap to hide myself.

I hear Mark chuckle and look up at him. His hand is raised in a fist, motioning it up and down; the universal sign for rubbing one out. I glare at him. He laughs harder. I bring my hand up to my face and give him the finger right as Mom's eyes shift to me. "Did you just give me the finger?"

I shake my head quickly. "No."

"I saw it," Mark says. "He totally did, darling."

Mom rolls her eyes just as Lucy squeals. She sits up and holds her e-reader to her chest. "Cameron, they just had their first kiss!" She sighs dreamily.

"Yeah?"

She nods quickly, her smile mimicking the excitement she feels. And it hits me—how different she is now compared to when we met. I wonder how much I have to do with that... if me being in her life has made that significant of an impact.

"Ohhh," she coos, gripping her e-reader tighter. "I loved my first kiss so much."

I laugh and put my arm around her, bringing her to my side. "Yeah?" I ask, my eyes never leaving hers.

She nods again, and my heart tightens. I used to feel it a lot—that tightening in my chest. It took me a while to work out what it was; love—the kind of love that shouldn't exist for two sixteen year olds. It's almost too much. Too heavy. Too soon. I used to worry about what could be left. What is there to look forward to when you fall in this kind of love when you're so young? And then I worked it out. Forever. I have forever to look forward to.

"These books are wrong, Cam. The way they describe first kisses..." She leans up and kisses me, not caring that Mom and Mark are in the room. "It's not even close to how I felt." Her smile begins to fade and a seriousness takes over. "I love you. You know that, right?"

I look away from her. I have to. "I know, babe," I respond, faking a casualness to my voice. "I love you too."

She throws the e-reader on the coffee table and wraps her arm around my stomach, moving in as close as possible.

"Your book finished with a first kiss?"

"No," she says, "I just don't see the point of reading and living in someone else's world when my reality is so perfect."

***

Mark stands and stretches his arms, singing Johnny Be Good. When he's done belting out the chorus, he announces, "Time for Cam's movie!"

"I thought we were watching Aladdin now?" Lucy says.

Mark laughs. "She doesn't know, does she?" he asks me.

I sigh, knowing what's coming next. "No."

"Know what?" She sits up higher and faces me.

Mom speaks up, her words meant for Lucy. "Your boyfriend's middle name is Aladdin. He hates it."

Lucy lets out a snort before clamping her lips between her teeth. Her face turns red.

I shake my head. "You can laugh," I tell her. "Everyone else does."

So she does.

And even now, when she's laughing so hard at me, the sound of it still makes my world stop.

"Actually," Mark says, waiting for Lucy to quit laughing. "I want to show you something. Just us." He turns his attention to Lucy, who's now wiping tears from her eyes. "I promise to have your boy back soon."

She nods, still trying to compose herself. "Take his magic carpet, it'll be faster."

***

"Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?"

He rests his forearm on the steering wheel and glances over at me. "Yes."

"That's a shame. If you've been with Mom all this time thinking that you can replace me and take my place in her will—you've chosen the wrong girl. You've seen where we live, right? All that's left for me when she's gone is that Persian rug."