I tried to hear snippets of their conversation but was too far away. As I watched, Celine shook her head before covering her face with her hands. Ash put his arms around her, pulling her against his chest, the way he did with me when I had a nightmare. I knew how Celine felt in those arms, as if nothing in the world could ever hurt her again. A powerful shot of envy like nothing I’d ever experienced before traveled from the top of my head and down to my toes. That was the moment I realized I hated her for taking Ash away from me. The more time he spent with her, the less he had for me.

I watched, waiting for their embrace to end, willing it to be over. They were only friends. He’d said so. But Ash put his index finger under Celine’s chin, gently tilting her head toward his. I gasped when their lips touched, stood frozen to the spot when her arms went around his neck, and his hands traveled underneath the back of her shirt. My head spun, turning my vision blurry as Celine took Ash’s hand and led him inside the house. I wasn’t a stupid little kid. I knew exactly what they were doing. There were no other cars in the driveway, which meant her parents weren’t home—no surprise there, apparently they’d left Celine, Keenan and Fiona alone for weekends ever since the latter two turned double digits—but it didn’t seem as if the twins were home, either. I couldn’t stand the thought of Celine and Ash being together, doing that. If he fell in love with her, he’d never hang out with me again.

I waited for a while, hoping I was wrong, and Ash hadn’t lied when he’d said they weren’t a couple, and they’d soon come back outside. When another few minutes passed and they still hadn’t shown, I grabbed the biggest rock I could find, crept as close to the house as I dared, and hurled the thing straight through the window.

I ran, jumped on my bicycle and pedaled home, where I locked myself in my bedroom, refusing to come out until it was time to get the school bus the next morning. Ash didn’t sit with me that day, or the one after, and I suspected he knew who’d launched a rock at his girlfriend’s house, but I never admitted it.