Crash Into You

Chapter 63

Isaiah

WITH NO CLUE ABOUT LOGAN’S condition, I walk into the waiting room. Hearing that Noah was on his way, Shirley and Dale left, but told me I could crash in their basement if I needed. After all, the state still pays them for me.

I see red hair and curls first. Echo chokes me. It’s nice to have a sister. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good.” I glance at Noah from over her head. With his hair hiding his eyes and hands on his hips, I can’t read my best friend. “How’s Noah?” I mutter.

“Scared,” she whispers. “Mad.”

I nod at Noah. “S’up, man.” He embraces me—a strong crush of arms and muscles. We hold it for a second, keep it tight and then let go. The two of us are brothers.

“Give me a reason why I shouldn’t kick your ass,” says Noah. “What were you thinking?”

“Damn, Noah,” says Beth from behind me. “He already has stitches.”

Beth and I used to gang up against Noah all the time. She’s right about us. We were friends first. Always friends. Not understanding a relationship that close, it got muddled.

She flashes a genuine smile and I smile back. Yeah, Beth and I, we can do friends. A few feet behind her and hanging with what I assume is Logan’s entire baseball team, Beth’s guy, Ryan, watches us with his arms folded over his chest. I tip my chin at him to let him know I’m good, and he tilts his head in acceptance. That’ll probably be the longest conversation the two of us ever have.

Noah leans into us so that we form our own circle. “Do you know what he’s been doing?”

Beth shrugs. “He’s always liked to drive fast. Stupidity caught up.”

“Stupidity did catch up, but not in that way.” Noah’s dark eyes snap to mine and he rolls his shoulders back. He’s looking for a fight and my body reacts. My head continues to throb like a bad bass line, but if Noah wants to have it out, we will.

“Say what you gotta say, Noah.”

“Whoa.” Beth places an arm between us. “He just got out of the hospital. This is the first time I’ve been with the two of you in months. You are not ruining this for me by fighting.”

Noah and I stand toe to toe and neither one of us flinch. “Do you want to tell her, Isaiah?”

“Naw, man. It sounds like you’ve got all the answers.”

Keeping his eyes locked on me, Noah drops the bomb. “He owes money to Eric.”

The silence between the three of us builds pressure in my neck.

“How much,” asks Beth in a low tone.

“Enough,” I answer. Too much.

“Why?” she demands. “Why did you street race?”

Noah finally looks away. “Because I told him I was moving into the dorms.”

“Noah!” Beth grabs hold of the arm of his jacket. “What the hell? You promised both of us a year ago that you would never leave us behind.”

“Why are you here?” Noah asks Beth. “You promised you’d stay away from Louisville.”

Beth’s head tilts in her familiar pissed-off way. “Logan’s my friend. So is Isaiah. Explain why you’re bailing on us? You break a promise to him, you break it to me.”

“I kept my promise to you,” says Noah. “Who do you think told Shirley to call your uncle when you got arrested last fall? Do you think the lush figured it out on her own? I reminded her that your Uncle Scott had money and would be able to help with bail. As for Isaiah, I can’t help him if he owes people like Eric.”

Beth pales. “You...you did that to me?”

Noah lowers himself to stare into her eyes. “Don’t stand there acting like I ratted you out. You’re better off and you know it. You’re happy. You’ve told me that yourself.”

Beth clenches her hands together. “But it should have been my choice.”

“Beth...you never saw your choices.” And his eyes flash to me. “And neither do you.”

I gesture with palms open. “Show me my rich uncle, Noah, and I’m game. Wait...my bad...out of the three of us, I’m the only trash here.”

Noah shoves a finger into my chest, daring me into a physical confrontation. “You’re so bent on believing what you want people to see that you forget that you’re more. Keep saying it. Keep saying you’re trash and take the fucking swing at me, but if you do, know I’m hitting back.”

My head is so close to Noah’s that I feel the heat of his anger, or maybe it’s mine.

“You want to fight, man?” I ask. “Is that what you want?”

“No, bro. But I do want to kick some sense into your head.”

Around us, several guys leap to their feet, calling at us to back down. Most of them wear jock jackets like Logan’s. One has the balls to touch me. Ryan, Beth’s guy, has the balls to touch Noah. “Bring it down a notch.”

Beth smacks Ryan’s arm. “Let him go, Ryan.” She turns to the one with his arm on me. “You, too, Chris. This is how the two of them communicate.”

Ryan yanks on the bill of his baseball cap. “This is a fight, Beth.”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s a family reunion. A fucked-up one, but how else would we do it.”

Noah cracks his crazy-ass grin with her words and chuckles. I pop the tension out of my neck, and Noah flexes his shoulders to relax. “You should have told me you had problems.”

I shrug. “I got problems.”

Noah pats my back. “Then we’ll figure it out.”

For the first time in a while, the pressure inside of me dips. “Thanks, man.”

The door to the emergency room opens. On crutches, Logan hobbles out of the E.R. with a man who must be his dad by his side. Some of the guys near us clap or yell out Logan’s name.

For the first time since waking up from the crash, I feel like I can take a lungful of air. Logan acknowledges his friends as he and his two poles maneuver through the mass of people. There’s no mistake that he’s making his way to me, Beth, Chris and Ryan.

Chris is the first to speak. “You’re a moron, Junior.”

Logan pops that insane grin. “But it was a hell of a rush.” He nods at me. “You okay?”

“Stitches.”

“Same with me.” He kicks out his right leg. “Twenty-four stitches on my thigh. Nothing broken.” Logan loses the spark. “I’m out for a bit.” He’s referring to helping with the money.

“It’s good,” I say. “Thanks, man.”

“Don’t thank me. You still have to fix my ’57 Chevy.”

Logan turns to Ryan and the pair embrace. Beth told me they’d been friends since elementary school. I can only imagine their bond. Beth wraps her arms around me. “Thanks for being my friend again.”

I hug her back. “No problem.”

“Hey, Isaiah,” says Logan. “Wasn’t that Rachel?”