He frowned.

She reached out and took his hand. “Except you, of course. Thanks for thinking I’m ugly and disgusting and just liking me for my personality.”

He laughed and used their joined hands to tap her on the forehead. “I never said you were ugly and disgusting. But the thought of kissing you does make me want to gag a little.”

“Gee, thanks,” she said, letting go of his hand. “You’re so sweet I can barely stand it.”

He rolled onto his back. “I know. But you eat Froot Loop sandwiches. I want no part of that flavor in my mouth.”

She sniffed but that response gave her what she needed to know. Ash was safe. He didn’t see her like other boys did. And tonight, she really didn’t want to lie on the other side of the bed alone with her thoughts. The incident with Xavier had shaken her more than she was admitting. She needed to be hugged, to be comforted. She scooted closer and laid her head in the crook of his shoulder, tense because she was worried he was going to freak out. But after an initial stiffening of his muscles, she felt him release a breath and he adjusted his arm to put it around her.

“Is this okay?” she asked.

“Get some sleep, KC,” he said, voice gruff. “And don’t snore.”

She huffed in indignation. “As if a delicate flower such as myself would make such awful noises.”

“You’re about as delicate as a leather shoe. I can already feel you plotting your revenge against Xavier.” He shifted, pulling the covers over them.

She smiled in the dark. “I’m thinking a little sugar in the gas tank of his precious pickup truck.”

“See? Evil,” Ash said, his voice sleepy.

Kincaid closed her eyes, listened to Ash’s breathing slow, inhaled his familiar scent, and let the horrible night drift away as sleep finally came for her. She was with Ash now. She was safe.

But the peace didn’t last long. An hour later, she heard the shout. The sudden noise ripped her out of sleep. Her eyes blinked open. She was disoriented in the dark, none of the shapes and shadows familiar. Her heart jumped into her throat, but then she felt an arm tighten around her. Ash. She was with Ash. She let out a breath.

But the noise from outside the door came again. Something loud crashing against the floor or a wall. Coach Isaacs’s voice boomed from somewhere in the front of the small house. “You lying bitch!”

Ash turned to stone next to her.

His dad’s voice rattled the wall again. “Where the fuck have you been?”

There was a higher-pitched response, Ash’s mother, but it was unintelligible.

“Ash,” Kincaid said with concern.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he said in an urgent whisper. “Just be quiet.”

He got up quickly and turned on the oscillating fan that sat on his desk, the whirring sound coming to life. He climbed back into bed, sitting next to her.