Chapter Ten

Harper and Brecken take a walk when we get back. And by take a walk I mean Harper drags Brecken off into the trees so she can scream at him. I don’t know why she bothers with the wandering. All of us can hear her tearing him a new one. Also, she’s not the only one who’s pissed about his little felony stunt. This trip has been a nightmare since we started, and having a criminal behind the wheel is making it worse.

Maybe if someone else could drive, things would calm down. I settle back into the front passenger seat and flex my fingers in front of the heater vents. Josh mentions his phone getting low and asks if I have a charger. For once, I can actually help out with this. Dad always sends me with more chargers than devices. My cordless charger is dead, but I offer up an adapter with two cords. He plugs his into one.

Kayla is fast asleep in the back seat, her head flung back now that she’s in the middle with no window to lean on. Josh watches out the window with his eyes narrowed. Harper and Brecken aren’t visible from here, but I know that’s who he’s trying to see.

“There’s something going on with them.”

I laugh. “Yeah. Probably the fact that Brecken stole gas while illegally driving a car rented under her name.”

He doesn’t laugh like I’d expected. “No. They have a secret. Can’t you see it?” He meets my eyes and holds my gaze. “I mean, why is she letting him drive? Why should she trust him? She’s not asking any of the rest of us.”

“I don’t know,” I say, squirming in the seat. I turn off the seat heater, suddenly feeling faintly sick again.

Josh twists around, searching the ground in front of him and around his legs for something. I bite my lip and watch, trying to assess whether or not he could drive. He seems sort of mobile. Maybe he could take over?

“Can you drive with your leg like that?”

He does laugh then, neck going pink. “I can barely use the bathroom with my leg like this.”

I exhale. “I’m so sorry. I just hate the idea of him driving. Maybe Harper will drive again.”

“Maybe,” he says, sounding a little distracted. “Have you seen my book by chance?”

“No.” Through the windshield, I spot Brecken coming through the trees with Harper at his heels. He’s striking in that moment, tall and broad-shouldered. Good-looking in a way that has probably turned a lot of heads. Confident in a way that makes me nervous.