“For what.” He said it flatly, not even a question. He didn’t even wait for an answer, just moved off her to sit back on the blanket and stare at the fire.

She sat up next to him.

Talking about Nick seemed like a minefield, but all she could think about was how badly she’d derailed this entire evening.

For everyone.

She wanted to touch Tyler—but she didn’t.

“Why did you kiss me?” she whispered.

He had another cigarette between his fingers, twirling it across his knuckles like a miniature baton. He mused for so long that she wanted to throw it into the fire after the first one.

Then he said, “Because I wanted to.”

“No,” she said. “Why did you kiss me now? After you knew about Nick?”

He looked at her. “Because I could.”

She licked her lips, tasting smoke from the fire. “I don’t understand.”

He looked back at the flames. “I could have screwed with you to mess with him. I thought about it. Last night.” He shrugged it off and looked at her. “I didn’t want to do that.”

Quinn couldn’t decide if she’d destroyed everything, or if she’d cleared a path for something to grow.

Tyler looked at her. “Why were you sitting behind the 7-Eleven Monday night?” She opened her mouth, and he gave her a hard look. “The truth.”

She hadn’t even told Nick the truth.

When it got right down to it, she didn’t even want to admit it to herself.

Quinn stared right back into his eyes and made her voice as challenging as his was. “Because my mom drinks like a fish and it turns her into a crazy bitch.”

He studied her for a long second. “Is that all?”

He didn’t say it like it wasn’t enough of a reason to be upset.

He said it like he knew that it wasn’t a complete answer, like he knew there was more behind it.

Quinn shook her head. “I have to wait until she passes out or falls asleep if I want to go home. Otherwise she’ll start screaming at me.”

“She hit you, too?”

Quinn shook her head.

Tyler didn’t believe her. “So she wasn’t the one to knock you around the other night?”

Quinn looked at the sand. “She’s slapped me before, but she’s never left a mark.”

“I know you said Nick didn’t hit you. Who did?”

“Would you just smoke another cigarette or something—”

“Jesus, you’re hardheaded. Answer the question.”

“My brother.”

She felt Tyler draw himself up, and she peeked over at him.

The look of fury on his face was almost terrifying, and she was glad she wasn’t the target.

“What happened?” he said.

“It’s nothing—”

“Shut the f**k up about it’s nothing. What happened?”

Her mother had defended Jake for so long that Quinn was shocked to hear someone act like her brother’s actions were not okay. “He’s home from college. He keeps smoking pot in my room. He has his friends there all the time. The other night, he slammed my face into the wall because he thought I stole his money or his stash.” Her voice started to break, and she kept talking fast, as if fractured words would hold off tears. “I can’t even get my clothes out of there to crash somewhere else, because his friends think I’m fresh meat. They keep touching me, and I can’t—I can’t even—”

She stopped short. Tyler was standing, pulling her to her feet, picking up the blanket to shake it free of sand.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m driving you home to get your stuff.”

“You’re—what? Why?”

“Because I can. Because I have an apartment, and you look like you could do with eight hours of sleep. Because—”

“You expect me to stay with you? But—”

“But what? You have a dozen better offers? Get in the truck.”

She got in the truck. They were a mile down the road and he hadn’t said anything else when she finally turned to him. “Because what else?”

He looked at her like she was nuts. “What?”

“You said because, and I cut you off. Why are you doing this?”

His voice dropped. “You don’t have to stay with me. I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was kidnapping you.”

“Shut up. You’re not making me do anything.”

He snorted and rubbed his cheek. “No kidding.”

“Shut up! Because what else?”

He looked away from the road long enough to meet her eyes.

“Because I like you.”

“No one has ever done anything like that for me,” she said.

Not Becca. Not Nick.

You didn’t tell them, her brain whispered.

But they’d never pushed as hard as Tyler.

“Well,” said Tyler, “maybe it’s time someone should.”

CHAPTER 14

Quinn stopped Tyler in front of her apartment door. Her older brother’s car was in the parking lot— of course—so she slid her key into the deadbolt carefully.

“Worried you’re going to wake someone up?” said Tyler.

“No,” she said, too forcefully. She was worried someone would hear her and make this worse than it needed to be.

She’d never brought anyone home to this apartment. She and Becca had hardly seen each other since the fire, and when they did, it was always at Becca’s place or the Merrick house. When Nick drove her home, she never let him get farther than the apartment landing. She didn’t want anyone to smell the pot or the alcohol. Even now, outside the door, embarrassment sent heat coursing up her neck. What if Tyler saw her mother stumbling around in a nightgown? What if the shrieking started and Quinn couldn’t get her to shut up?