Page 44 of When We Crash

“Dexter.” I offered him my hand, which he took, shaking it flimsily. “Nice to meet you.”

“If you’re expecting dinner, get a wife,” Noa said, scooting past him and pulling on her coat.

I looked around her space and smiled. Full of art and color. And books. I didn’t expect anything less.

“And how am I supposed to do that when I’ve got you living in the next bedroom?” He followed her out, and I stood in her room for a moment before walking out behind them.

“Poor Timothy.” She began to speak in Spanish again, and I figured it was because I was there and she didn’t want me to know what she was saying.

“Yeah, well, don’t you be drinking tonight, either. Pain in my ass.” He swore to himself after that and took a swig, looking over at me. “Keep an eye on this one. She’s more trouble than she’s worth.”

I didn’t bother feeling angry. What he was saying meant nothing to me, so I let it roll off. Plus, he was Noa’s brother. It wasn’t an easy situation to be in.

“Y estás borracho,” she hissed.

Whatever she said impacted him. There was no response and the room went silent. Whatever else was said between them was no longer verbal.

He looked at her, blinking a few times. He then set the bottle down and walked into another room, closing the door behind him.

She grabbed my hand and we walked out, with me trying to keep up with her. When we reached my car, she pulled me against her, and I wrapped her in my arms.

“If you want to leave, I totally understand.” Her words were muffled against my chest.

“I do want to leave. But I want you to come with me,” I said.

She sniffled and I held her tighter. My nose was in her hair and I inhaled deeply.

“I’m so embarrassed,” she wailed, pulling away.

“Don’t be. I don’t think any less of you because of your brother. That could never happen. You’re two different people.” I wiped away a lone tear from her cheek.

Her eyes were bright with emotion. “We’re not so different. And you have this wonderful life with all these nice things and…I have nothing. I have no plans after high school. I’m a senior. I’m going to end up at some dead-end job and die alone. I’m building some art portfolio in the hopes of being better than where I came from, but do you honestly think anything will come of it?”

I wanted to laugh at how dramatic she was being, but I knew her worries weren’t something to be laughed at. Her artwork was beautiful. She’d have her pick of art schools. Maybe I was biased, but I thought she was an artistic genius.

“You want to laugh, I know it. But, seriously. What are your plans after high school?” She tilted her head back enough to look at the night sky, like that vast image held all her hopes.

I yearned to change that, to turn the image ofmeinto all her hopes, but I didn’t want us to talk about that yet. I wanted to wait until she was comfortable enough with the idea of forever, and then invite her to come spend it with me.

“Well, I’m hoping to be accepted to a school in Massachusetts. I’ve already talked to a few of the professors,” I told her.

She stepped back. “See? Everyone has a plan. And at some point, you need to leave this godforsaken place.” Even while she spoke, tears ran down her face.

“Don’t worry, Blue. Everything will fall into place.” I grabbed her hand. “You’re reeling. Come back to me.”

She laughed but it was a sad sound. “You already know me so well, Dexter Andrews.” She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “Shall we go?”

I pulled her in one last time and kissed her hair before ushering her to my car. We drove to her music, but she didn’t sing along.

I pulled up in front of a different house than that of the first party. While the music was loud, there weren’t as many people outside. When I opened the front door, the party was in full swing, people with cups in their hands lining the walls. As we passed the living room, we saw people clapping as one girl sang karaoke. She was terrible but she knew it, laughing at the lyrics.

Amidst the onlookers, Ralph stood. He glanced my way before looking again and smiling. “Well, shit! Now the party’s here.” His large shoulders parted the crowd as he made his way over to us. He hugged Noa first, tightly and lifting her off her feet. “How’s my little homie?” he asked her before he punched me in the shoulder.

“Anxious to see what tonight brings,” she answered, linking her hand with mine.

“Tonight feels like a good one.” He turned to where the girl was finishing her horrible rendition of a pop song. “You guys getting up there? First, you’ll be needing a drink.”

“Oh, none for me,” Noa said, her cheeks pink as she shook her head.