“Hey, Erin, hey bruiser,” he said. He stuck out his hand, like he might for a handshake, and Bryce slapped it in a high five. He and Rain reversed the directions their hands were moving to lightly slap the backs of their hands together, and Bryce moved forward to mock-punch Rain in the hip, then thigh. The third punch missed Rain’s groin only because of a timely twist to one side.

“Careful with Rain, Bry. He looks a little battered, he doesn’t need you giving him more bruises,” Erin said, putting one hand on Bryce’s forehead, pulling him back while Bryce continued punching at the air.

“He’s coming to school with us?” Rain asked. “I didn’t think he went to school.”

“Next year,” Bryce said.

“I’ve got to drop him off at church. He’s being punished, and somehow my parents think a sermon is going to give him direction.”

“What did you do, Bry?”

“I said mean things about Elijah,” Bryce said. “Mr. Jean heard and tattled.”

“You need to be careful who you talk about and how,” Erin said. “You don’t want to upset anyone. What if Elijah heard?”

“Yeah, I know,” Bryce said.

Erin gave Rain a look, from an angle Bryce wasn’t meant to see. Worried, unsure. “You don’t have to come.”

“It’s not a problem,” Rain said.

“Thank you,” Erin said.

Bryce spotted his friends walking down the road with their older siblings, and started to walk that way. Erin bent down, putting her hands on Bryce’s shoulders to catch him. “Nuh uh, Bry. You’re supposed to be in trouble. You walk with us.”

She steered Bryce in the other direction, toward school and church, and as she turned, bent over, Rain saw through the oversized armhole of her top. Stomach, ribs, lacy black bra strap, bra, and a bit of what the bra was meant to support. The look had been automatic, and the moment he realized what he was looking at, he looked away.

He had very complicated feelings on those tops, now, as he found himself simultaneously trying to memorize every detail of what he’d seen and prepared himself so he wouldn’t be an asshole and look again at what she didn’t necessarily intend to show him. He was well aware of how the two things conflicted.

“Are you doing okay?” she asked him. “You’re a little scraped up.”

“I’m always a little scraped up. I’m used to it.”

They walked, Bryce between the two of them.

“I’ve officially watched the last of the videos from the library. Even the bad ones, like E.T.3,” Erin said. “I’m stuck reading and rewatching stuff until they get more.”

“Reading isn’t so bad,” Rain said. “There were five years where my family didn’t even have power at the place we were staying.”