Almost Home

Ch. 10 - Start Your Engines

I lean my back against the side of the bed of the truck, sitting across from Will. There's a few blankets to keep my butt from freezing, even though it's still pretty hot outside for nighttime.

We're parked somewhere in the woods by the lake. I didn't really ask Will any questions. I can tell he's close to snapping, but so far he has kept a calm facade.

Will has had a few of the beers that he pulled out of the cooler in his truck. I'd say he is halfway to being completely wasted. I haven't had anything to drink, knowing that someone in this situation has to stay levelheaded. Will is far from levelheaded.

Our conversation hasn't been much, mostly just Will mumbling things about Daisy. I listen to him, nodding and agreeing with one-word answers.

"Do you know what her favorite shampoo flavor was?"

I shrug.

"Honeydew," he answers and sips more of his beer.

"Cool."

"Did you know that Daisy's woman crush is Carrie Underwood?"

"I did not, but that's reasonable."

"I think Carrie Underwood is hot," he says with his eyebrows pulled together. "Want to know what our song was?" he asks.

"Yeah."

He sighs. "Yours by Russell Dickerson."

"I don't know it," I comment briefly, pretty positive it's some country song.

"What?" Will gasps, finishing off another beer. Suddenly, he begins singing the song. He looks cute singing, shutting his eyes and titling his head back. "Thank God I'm yours."

I applaud as he finishes the song. Appreciative, Will bows his head and decides to celebrate with another beer. I take count of how many he drinks, knowing that it could be dangerous if he has too many. For right now, he's just your basic drunk teenager.

"What did I do wrong?" Will asks, not directing the question towards me. He just kind of said it like a statement. "I loved her so much. I was so good to her."

"I don't think you should blame yourself," I say. "She was the one who cheated."

He looks to me with somewhat of anger. "But why would she cheat on me? Why'd she break up with me? She broke up with me, Valerie! I did something wrong. A love like ours doesn't just go away!"

I nod. It's best to just agree with Will rather than the contradict him in this state.

"Whatever. I'm not even upset about it," he decides.

"Good for you."

He bites his lip and nods. "Yeah, good for me."

We're silent again. My mind is racing as I try to find the right words to say to Will. My friend Kayla once got dumped by this boy Bryce and when I tried to make her feel better she ended up crying harder.

"My woman crush is Mila Kunis," I say randomly. "I think she's so hot."

He cracks a small smile. "Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm so jealous of Ashton Kutcher," I joke.

"Me too," he laughs. "Ashton's my man crush though."

"Is he?" I ask interestedly.

Will nods proudly. "If I were a girl, I'd have shirtless pictures of Ashton covering my walls."

I laugh loudly, unable to contain it.

Will suddenly looks nervous. "Uh.. don't tell anyone I said that."