Since Forever

Chapter 2

The quiet of the car falls around us as we drive back home. The music is a numbing distraction from everything devouring me whole. I don't know how long we've been on the road, but we haven't exactly talked much.

Every passing moment I find myself checking my phone, waiting for Adam to text me back. He spent the last two weeks at a soccer camp, one I was extremely jealous and equally proud of him for getting into.

Soccer is actually how we grew to like each other as more than just friends. Playing the same sport and spending joint time either sharing a field during practice or space in the weight room last semester, inevitably led to more. He moved here just last year, which is a blessing because the school-wide threat my brother put on all the guys at our school to stay away from me didn't seem to phase Adam. A quality that I quickly admired.

But, he's back from camp today and promised to call me to talk on my way home. He's one of the few people who knows what it means to say goodbye to my brother today. When I didn't so much as have a message from him as we pulled away from the airport, I tried to call him to get any form of comforting words. But he didn't answer.

"Where do you want to stop for food?" Cam asks beside me, his eyes flashing my way briefly.

I tap my phone one more time, thinking maybe I missed the sound of a text. When I don't see anything, I go the extra mile, opening my messages just in case there was a glitch in my notifications. "I'm not hungry."

"Ah, that time of the month again?"

My eyes fly up, dropping my phone into my lap as I level him with a glare. "Really, Cam? You know how offensive that is?"

He's laughing, those shoulders of his shrugging it off as nothing. "It's just a joke, Kenze. I'm trying to lighten the mood."

"Well, I'm not in a mood."

"Could have fooled me."

Taking a deep breath, I fall back against the seat, shuffling slightly against the uneven backrest. "I just dropped my brother off for college, I think I deserve to be in a mood."

He's quiet for the smallest beat before he shifts his eyes to me. "You know in his own fucked up way," Cam begins, "your brother is just looking out for you, right? I mean, when it comes to Adam, and guys in general. We can be dicks sometimes. He's just trying to protect you."

"By controlling my sex life?" I question, shifting slightly as I try to even out whatever is wadded along my back.

He coughs, bringing a fist to his chest and pounding it a few times. "I wouldn't exactly—I probably wouldn't explain it to him using those exact words."

"I suggest you get over the fact the word sex is in my repertoire and...ugh...what is..." I reach behind me, pulling at whatever the heck is lumped beneath me. As I reach for the small bundle of—no way. "Ew, gross! Are these panties?"

Cam gives me a side eye, a smile beginning to form as he shrugs. "They might be."

I send the tiny contraption into the backseat, immediately sliding my hands back and forth as if it will actually rid them of whatever disgusting bacteria is now swimming across my fingers. "Please tell me those were clean," I beg, closing my eyes as if it will manifest the truth I'm so desperately seeking.

"As much as I'd actually like that to be the case right now, I don't think I can guarantee that."

Here's the thing about Vista Point—baseball is life. I know, it seems crazy. When you venture into small town movie bliss, it's always football that has the town gathering under the Friday Night Lights. For whatever reason, though, our football team—for lack of a better word—sucks.