Page 96 of A Duet of Darkness and Dreams

He turns and stomps toward the house, the door slamming shut behind him so hard dust falls from the garage rafters. Every happy memory I have has occurred in this garage, but it’s suddenly cold and unfamiliar, and I don’t know how it all changed so fast without me even noticing.

I drive for who knows how long until finally deciding to sleep in my car. I can’t possibly face my father, but there’s nowhere else to go. I can’t believe Emily. I can’t believe Sam. And I can’t believe that even after all of that, I still love them. How much hurt can one person endure before that love snaps? Breaks? Destroys? After all, that’s what love really is. It’s giving someone the power to destroy you, and then standing there with a smile as the world burns to the ground.

CHAPTER 30

You Shook Me All Night Long

DAVE

When I walk through the door, Joel and Key are furiously talking over each other, as though they’re both trying to win the same race, and James is sitting about ten feet from them, drinking coffee.

“What’s . . . going on?” I ask as I set the few bags I have down on the counter next to James.

“Oh, good, Dave is here. He can help,” Joel says, waving me over.

I give James a look, and he just rolls his eyes and walks to the fridge. I amble toward the dining table where there appears to be hundreds of wristbands spilling out of a cardboard box. Picking one up, I examine it. It’s a little thicker than a hair elastic but less stretchy. “What’s all this?”

“Groupie passes,” Key says without even looking up.

I nearly choke. “What?”

Key and Joel both finally stop and look at me. “A code . . . for girls.”

My eyebrows may have shot off my head in amazement. “I—”I am speechless.

“We told Jamesey there he could have some, but he had to go and get married.”

Hearing a laugh behind me, I turn to see James watching the three of us with an amused expression. “Yeah, because what you’re doing looks likesomuch fun.”

“Don’t be a wet blanket,” says Key.

“Whatever,” James says, heading down the hall. “Just remember to wrap your dicks.”

“We’re not morons,” Joel yells, but James’s door slams, and he lets out a long sigh. “Why do I feel like he’s going to judge me every time I hook up with someone. He’s the one who went and got married.”

“He isn’t,” I say quietly. “But he doesn’t want to be judged for getting married either.”

Joel’s mouth twists. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Plus, I’m pretty sure he’s still mad at me. About Izzy.”

Joel and Key raise their eyes to me. “Izzy?”

I cough. “Isabella, I mean. She’s going to be coming with us on the bus for the last three weeks. Al called me this morning to let me know.”

“I guess that means you won’t be needing these,” Key says, pulling the wristbands out of my hands.

Reaching for them, I grab a handful. “What are you talking about?”

Joel and Key look at me as if I’ve just grown a second head.

“Well, we just—” Joel starts. “If she’s going to be on the bus . . .”

“So?”

Key buries his face in his hands. “My God, Dave. Are you really that dumb?”

I wait for him to continue.

---