Page 50 of Something Like Summer
“No. Well, yeah. I don’tknow. They’re at my parents’ house.”
“Shit!” Tim craned to seehis own driveway.
“Don’t worry, theyonly--”
“Don’t worry?” Timrepeated incredulously. “The fucking cops caught usscrewing!”
Ben sighed, trying to findthe right words to defuse the situation. “They don’t know aboutyou! They only know about me because I ran into DanielWigmore.”
“Who?”
“A guy in ourschool.”
Tim’s eyes widened evenmore. “Someone was watching us?”
“No!”
“How do youknow?”
“He was too far away. Idon’t know!”
“No, you don’t know,” Timsnarled. “You don’t know what your parents are saying to the policeright now either. Who do they think you are out withtonight?”
Ben refused to answer,choosing instead to return Tim’s glare with icy silence. “Look,I’ll tell them I was blowing Daniel,” he suggested at last.“Problem solved.”
“They sawme,” Tim stressed, his voice cracking.“We’re fucked!”
“No, we aren’t,” Benreached out, wanting to touch Tim, to comfort him and close thegulf he felt opening up between them.
“Yes, we are,” Tim said,pushing his hand away. “Everything’s fucked up. Jesus, what did Ilet you do to me?”
“Do to you? I didn’t ‘do’anything. This isn’t a choice, you know. It’s who weare!”
“Get away from me.” Timshoved him and tried to walk away before Ben caught his arm andswung him back around.
“This isn’t something youcan control!” Ben said, hanging onto him with all his strength.“You can’t just push me away and expect to stopfeeling--”
“I can’t do this anymore!”Tim bellowed, pulling his arm away and shoving Ben again when hetried to get close. His face was a twisted mask of anger, but tearswere flowing from his eyes. “It’s over. Go home.”
Ben tried stepping towardhim once more, but this time Tim pushed him so hard that Ben fellto the ground. Tim towered over him, his silver eyes wet, angry,reluctant, and scared, before they closed and he turned away. Benwatched the best thing that had ever happened to him fade into theshadows and disappear around the corner. As he lay in the grass,listening to the muffled sound of laughter and clinking glasses, hemarveled at how quickly his world had fallen apart.
__________
Chapter 15
The next week was spentwaiting. Ben tried to tell himself this was just another fight. Timwould calm down, eventually feel safe again, and would return tohim. All he needed was space. That was what Ben’s brain was tellinghim. His heart, on the other hand, felt something verydifferent.
When his calls weren’treturned the second week, Ben decided to write Tim a letter. Hestressed that there wasn’t going to be any trouble with the cops.Ben’s father had covered for him, claiming that Ben was out withhis sister that night. Mr. Bentley was no fool. He understood thatit would only be inconvenient and possibly expensive if he let thepolice take his son. Ben’s parents hadn’t been happy, of course,but they preferred to administer their own justice.
News of what had happenedwasn’t likely to spread around the school either. Daniel Wigmorewas uncharacteristically tightlipped about the event. He had nodoubt tipped off the cops to Ben’s name, but had no intention ofinforming his peers at school. Most likely he was afraid that oneof them would put two and two together. The police were out thatnight looking for an arsonist. What Ben and Tim had been up to wasobvious, but what was Daniel doing there? In retrospect Ben couldswear that the sound on the pavement had been a plastic lighter andthat Daniel’s silence was further testament to hisguilt.
By the end of the secondweek, it was clear that Tim had no intention of responding. Thatonly left one option—sneaking into the Wyman residence at night andslipping into bed with him. Ben rebelled against the idea. He wassick of feeling like he had done something wrong. Any other couplewould be laughing about being caught by the police, or at the veryleast come together in times of trouble. Why did Ben feel like hehad to apologize? Why should he have to talk Tim into being withhim? That wasn’t how love worked, was it?
“Ronnie changed thelyrics.” Allison shoved a piece of paper into Ben’shand.
“What? The talent show istomorrow!”
“I know, but he onlychanged a few lines. Just read it.”
