“He went to our school?”

   He laughed. “Yeah . . . and I’m still weirded out that we’ve been at the same school for however long, and I’ve never seen you before.”

   “Go on,” I said, trying to sidestep where he wanted this conversation to go.

    “So, they met when we were freshman. Natalie got pregnant start of junior year, had the baby, tried to be a mom, couldn’t—so she ran away. Josh has no idea where she is. She won’t speak to him, just her parents. They watch Tommy when Josh has to work and no one else can. Natalie calls them every now and then and gets them to wire her money. They do, but they hate it.”

   “And Josh?”

   “Josh’s parents kicked him out of the house when they found out he got a girl pregnant. He leases a garage apartment off an old lady that loves the shit out of him and Tommy. I don’t think she even lets him pay rent anymore. He maintains her yard, and she watches Tommy when she can. She’s more like family to them than his own parents are. How fucked up is that? Josh stepped up to be a parent, and his own parents failed him.” He paused for a moment. “Actually, everyone failed him. His parents, his girlfriend, our so-called friends.”

   “So you knew him in high school?”

   He nodded. “Yeah. We were best friends. I mean we still are. He’s kind of my reality, you know?”

   I didn’t respond. I didn’t really understand what he meant.

   “It’s hard,” he continued. “He leads this whole other life that kids our age are way too young to be living. But you should see him with his kid. It’s like a higher power created two living individuals at different times and made them fit perfectly for each other. Josh loves that kid more than anything in the world. And when they’re together, their age difference doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Just Tommy.” His eyes roamed my face, and I swear he wanted to say something more, but he held back. “Anyway,” he said with forced peppiness in his voice, “Josh was gonna be a pro skater. He had sponsors chasing him and everything. It was his dream.” He looked away and stared into the distance. “I remember when we were kids at the skate park and everyone would just watch him. He demanded attention. He was that good.”

   “What about you? I mean, you’re pretty good, right?”

   “I’m good, but I’m not Joshua-Warden good.”

   “So what’s your dream, Hunter?”

   His body went rigid with the coffee cup halfway to his mouth. He tilted his head slightly, his lips apart, examining me. “I think I’d prefer it if you called me Blake.”

   I dropped my head to hide my grin. “Okay, Blake. What’s your dream?”

   He inhaled audibly, and his shoulders tensed. “Ball.”

   “Basketball?”

   He nodded. “But it’s just a dream, Not Abby.”

   I laughed at his nickname for me before saying, “But you’re good, though, right? I mean, good enough for college?”

   His smile was tight.

   Then Josh’s voice interrupted us. “I’m so sorry. I forgot you guys were out here.”

   “It’s fine,” Blake said as we both stood.

   “He’s going to be okay,” Josh said.

   I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been until I felt my muscles relax.

   “It’s a horrible case of the flu, but he’s going to be okay.”

   I felt the rush of breath from Blake and looked up at him. His head was tipped back in relief.

   “Thank you, guys. I mean it. And Chloe, I can’t even—”

   “It’s no problem. Really,” I cut in.

   Then his arms were around me, holding me tight. “Thank you,” he said again. He pulled back. “I better get back in there. When Tommy’s out of here, I want you to meet him, okay?”

   I smiled. “Of course.”

   Then he was gone.

   “Home?” Blake asked.

   “Home.”

   Blake

   I drove her back to the bowling alley, where she’d left her car. We didn’t speak. She looked exhausted. “Will you be alright to drive home?”

   She nodded through a yawn.

   I pulled my car up next to hers. “Thanks for coming. I don’t know how Josh would’ve handled it if you hadn’t been there to come to his rescue.”

   She shrugged. “At least Tommy’s going to be okay. That’s the main thing, right?” She opened the car door and stepped out. I followed. I wasn’t ready to say good-bye yet. Throwing her bag in her car, she turned back to me. “I can’t wait to climb into bed and crash.”

   “Yeah . . .”

   “Are you tired?”

   I shook my head. “Not really. I’m probably gonna go for a run.”

   She laughed quietly. “That actually doesn’t surprise me at all.”

   For a moment, silence filled the space between us, then she spoke. “So, I’ll see you on Wednesday, right?”

   “Or at school tomorrow.”

   “About that . . .” she said. Her eyes focused on the ground while she contemplated her next words. When she looked up, her bottom lip was caught between her teeth. “I think—” She broke off and let out a breath, then started again. “I think that maybe you shouldn’t talk to me at school.”

   “What?”

   “I just don’t want people to know that you know me. I know it sounds strange, but it would just cause issues.”

   “What—”

   “Nothing bad.” She cut me off. “It’s just for me. It’s something I want. Please?”

   “I don’t get it.”

   “I don’t expect you to. I just need you to do it, okay?”

   “So, what? I see you in the halls, and you just expect me to ignore you? That’s gonna be hard, Chloe.” I didn’t know why I was so pissed, but the thought of not speaking to her when she was right there made absolutely no sense.

   “You’ve done it for four years. I’m sure you can manage another three months.”

   My eyes narrowed.

   “Please, Blake.”

   I wanted to argue, but I didn’t. Instead, I took a step forward and placed my hand on her hip. Her body stiffened, but she didn’t push me away. “What are you doing?” she asked, exhaling a shaky breath.