Page 94 of Liam

“How’d you even become friends with her?”

He laughs once, shaking his head. “First day of kindergarten, I told her she was pretty. She said her brother told her that if any boy said that, she had permission to punch him in the face.”

My lips twitch, imagining Addie and Roman at that age, having that exact conversation. “Did she?”

“No. But I decided then that I wanted to be her friend, you know?” He’s quiet a beat. “I don’t have romantic feelings for her, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“It’s not.”

“Then what’s with the question?”

I shrug, glancing over my shoulder. I should leave. I’ve already been here longer than I planned. Said more than I needed.

“I assume you two got close since she’s been back,” he says, pulling my attention back to him.

I don’t know if it’s a question or a statement, so I don’t respond.

“How much do you know about her?”

Now I feel like we’re playing a game ofwho knows Addie best.I’d lose. No question. “I know enough.”

“So, you know about her parents?”

I raise my eyebrows and wait. I don’t want to reveal her secrets if they’re still secrets to him.

“That they were addicts who fucking bailed on her?” he says, anger crackling beneath every word. Turns out, Helmet and I have one thing in common—a deep disdain for the way Addie’s parents treated her.

He nods toward my truck—orhistruck now. “Her parents,” he says, walking past me, “they partied with mine.”

“Partied?” I ask, following a step behind.

He leans against the truck, and, after a beat of hesitation, I do the same. If this were about anything other than Addie, I’d have been gone already.

“To clarify,” Helmet says, “herparents suppliedmyparents with the drugs they needed to party together. The only difference is mine stuck around. When hers left, Roman replaced them—with the supplying, not the partying.” He kicks at the dry dirt beneath us, his head bowed. “I didn’t know any better, man,” he murmurs. “It’s just how we grew up—Addie and me. It was so normal, I didn’t even realize it wasbad.Otherwise, I would’ve saved her from it—if I could’ve.”

It suddenly occurs to me that their lifelong friendship isn’t baseless. It isn’t fickle or weak.And I don’t know why I ever assumed otherwise. They’ve been friends since the first day of kindergarten and remained that way even while she was gone. The only thing I have to compare that to is my siblings… and they’re mysiblings. It’s not as if I have much of a choice. But… Helmet—hecaresabout her in ways I don’t realize. Ways I’ll never understand. They’ve obviously experienced things I can’t even comprehend. And now—now they’re not even speaking to each other.

Because ofme.

I realize now that he hasn’t said anything more, but he also hasn’t made a move to leave. I peer sideways at him, catch him watching me. “What?” I ask.

“That’s what you’re thinking, right?” he asks. “That maybe if you knew about her life at home, all the shit with her parents… maybe if you were friends with her—you or your family could’ve saved her?”

Is that why I asked?Yes. No. I don’t know, to be honest. But the thought has crossed my mind. Maybe I could’ve done more to protect her. “Maybe,” I tell him.

“Or maybe she wouldn’t have told you,” he says.

“She didn’t tell you about her parents?”

“Nope. She didn’t tell me about their vanishing act until recently. I mean, I had my assumptions because I stopped seeing them around, but I didn’t know for sure.” He shrugs. “But I also never told her I’d seen her parents passed out in my kitchen with needles stuck in their arms, so… I guess we all keep secrets.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, and I don’t even know what I’m apologizing for. I’m so far removed from that kind of experience that just picturing it in my mind feels like a fever dream. A nightmare, really.

“You know why people call me Helmet?” he asks, and I shake my head. “When I was a kid, like, three maybe? My parents used to get high with all their friends and get me to wear a helmet, then encourage me to run headfirst into the drywall.”

I let out a groan, rubbing my eyes. “Jesus, Wyatt…”

“They all thought it was hilarious, and I didn’t know any better. So when their friends would come over and start chantingHelmet!Helmet!I thought they were cheeringforme.” He sniffs once. “I realized a few years later that it probably wasn’t a good thing, you know? But I’d already gone around introducing myself to people as Helmet, so the name stuck. Addie’s the only one I ever told about it. We were, like, seven, maybe? Anyway,after a week passed, and no one was giving me shit, I knew I could trust her with anything. She always protected my secrets, and I wanted to protect hers, even if I didn’t know what they were.” He unlocks the truck, and I step back as he climbs in and immediately starts the engine. He winds down the window, rests his arm on the frame. “You need a ride somewhere?”

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