Page 121 of Defend Me

“Um, we can spend a day looking at waterfalls- Multnomah, Horsetail, and Latourell. Oh, Powell’s Books is cool as fuck.”

“You know a lot of places.”

“Seattle and Portland are the places to go when you’re young and want to disappear with friends for a day or two. We took some trips down there as a family too.”

“We’ll adventure your way, but I’m gonna schedule in a few planned stops. Just a few.”

“If you insist. How far are you?”

“Half hour. Things are getting creepy.”

I laughed. “How?”

“My GPS took me some back way because the freeway is all jammed or something. There are a lot of horses and trucks. I’m pretty sure a Skinwalker is gonna come charging out of the trees.”

“Good thing your car is fast. Just don’t make eye contact. We’ll have to keep the doors and windows locked cause they can travel, like, a couple hundred miles in a night.”

There was a long silence and I had to hold back my laughter.

“You’re staying on the phone with me,” he said.

“Nah, you’ll be fine. I already entertained this bullshit nineties experience for long enough.”

“Baby.”

“See you soon.”

I ended the call and started swinging again. Brooks was a city kid through and through. He’d grown up surrounded by huge buildings and honking cars. I loved seeing him out of his element.

“Where’s Mr. Not Your Boyfriend?” Alex asked when he came out the front door. He sat beside me and brought his legs up on the bench.

I used my foot to push off the deck, making the porch swing go faster. “Mr. Now My Boyfriend is on his way. He’ll be here soon.”

“There’s no way he’s your boyfriend.”

“He is but go on and be a little shit. I’ll return your present.”

“Tell me what it is and I’ll decide if it’s worth it.”

“A steaming pile of dog shit all wrapped up with a bow.”

“That’s just disrespectful. At least put it in a paper bag so I can light it on fire and throw it on Ms. Murray’s porch.”

I laughed and shoved his shoulder with mine. “Is this when the rebellious streak kicks in?”

“Learned from the best, Til.”

Shaking my head, I brought my pen to my lips as if to emphasize his point. I blew out the smoke, then craned my neck to see through the front window. When I confirmed the coast was clear, I took a longer hit. It might’ve been the only thing that kept me from staying in a perpetual state of unrest while I waited for Brooks. We’d been pretty clingy since last weekend, to put it mildly.

“Can I try it?” Alex asked.

“Fuck no,” I said as I exhaled the smoke. “Wait till you’re sixteen like the rest of us.”

“Vi said you were smoking weed at thirteen.”

With a sly smile, I leaned back and stretched my arms over the back of the bench. “That’s what we call hearsay, my dude.”

“Explains your brainrot.”

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