Andrew put his lighter away and left the room. Kevin and Aaron followed. Nicky raked Neil with a last appreciative look and went out to the hall. He waited with Neil while Neil locked the door. They trailed the others downstairs to the car in silence.

Neil ended up in the same spot as last time, stuck between Aaron and Andrew in the backseat. Neil expected trouble, but the brothers propped themselves against their respective windows and dozed off within minutes of leaving campus. Neil couldn't sleep in such company, so he spent the hour wondering how many things could go wrong tonight. It was an extensive list.

When the car's headlights first started flashing over exit signs for Columbia, Nicky motioned over his shoulder at Neil. "Wake Andrew up, will you? Preferably without touching him."

"What?" Aaron asked sleepily, rousing at Nicky's voice.

"I can't remember which exit we decided was the shortcut. You?"

Aaron answered by reaching around Neil and pushing Andrew's shoulder. Andrew's reaction was immediate and violent. Aaron got his hand out of the way in time, but there was nowhere for Neil to go. Andrew's elbow slammed into his diaphragm hard enough to double Neil up over his knees. Aaron, completely unsympathetic, snapped his fingers over Neil's head at Andrew.

"Exit," he said.

Andrew braced himself on Neil's back and leveraged himself between the front seats. He watched until they passed a sign and said, "Not yet. It's the exit that has Waffle House."

"This is South Carolina," Nicky said. "Every exit leads to Waffle House. Still breathing, Neil?"

"Yes," Neil said hoarsely. "I think."

Andrew dropped back into his seat and let go of Neil. Neil managed to sit up, but he couldn't help pressing a hand to his shirt. It felt like Andrew's elbow had blown a hole right through him. He flicked a look at Aaron, who shrugged at his silent accusation, and then at Andrew. Andrew didn't return it, too distracted by his hands. He had them up in front of him, but it wasn't until a car passed going the other direction that Neil realized what he was looking at. In the flash of light from passing headlights Neil saw Andrew's fingers were trembling.

"Nicky," Andrew said.

Nicky glanced back. He couldn't see tremors in the darkness, but he saw where Andrew was looking. Nicky swept across lanes toward their exit. "We're almost there."

"Pull over."

"We're on an exit ramp."

"Now."

Nicky didn't argue again. He pulled off onto the almost nonexistent shoulder, braking so hard Neil expected the car to fishtail. Horns blared as a car whipped past them. Andrew shoved his door opened, leaned out of the car as far as he could, and dry-heaved into the weeds alongside the road. Neil was sitting close enough to him to feel the way Andrew's entire body shook with the effort. It sounded like Andrew was tearing his esophagus to shreds.