Renner is taken aback, his eyes wide and body still until he snaps into action. “Run!” he bellows before sprinting away from the school premises.
We’re off like a pair of bats from hell, tearing down the dimly lit street at full tilt. The cool night air stings my lungs. As we round the corner for our car, a police cruiser comes out of nowhere, speeding down the street toward us.
We have a split second to decide if we should go left to the walking trail or right into a six-foot arborvitae privacy hedge. We both dive right.
A branch pokes me in the eye as I huddle into a small alcove of bush next to Renner. It’s kind of cozy, except I’m wheezing and dried shrubbery prickles my knees. The scent of damp wood and cedar elicits a violent sneeze.
“Shh!” Renner warns, shooting me a furious glare.
“Oh, like I did it on purpose,” I whisper, brushing my forearm frantically at the tickle of something crawling across my arm. I don’t even want to know what evil lurks in here.
Renner’s arm grazes mine as he parts the branches to peek out. “The police cruiser is going by super slow,” he whispers. “I think . . . I think it’s Cole.” He says Cole like he’s his close drinking buddy, and I remember that Renner’s dad is the chief of police. Or at least, he was, thirteen years ago.
“I forgot. You’re above the law,” I snap, while also letting out a sigh of relief. Renner’s connections could come in handy.
“Nah, I’d still rather not get grounded.” He sits, knees to his chest, as the cruiser does yet another slow drive-by.
“Grounded? Try arrested. We’re adults, Renner. I wouldn’t fare well in prison.” I’m far too frail to make my own shiv and use it with any amount of gusto. This is the last thing I need.
“Ugh. Neither would I.”
I shrug. “True. You’d be in for it. Your face kinda screams privilege,” I say out of pure frustration.
“Well, in the end, you’re the one who broke the window,” he notes.
He has a point. But I can’t let him have it. “You’re the one who—who—”
“What? What else are you gonna blame on me now?”
I contemplate rattling off my list, which I have committed to memory for moments like this. But I don’t have the energy.
A couple silent moments pass before he peeks through the greenery again. “I think they’re gone.”
I scramble to follow Renner out of the bush, looking both ways to ensure the police cruiser is gone before trotting back to our car.
We drive in silence for a few minutes before Renner finally clears his throat. “Want me to drop you off somewhere for the night?”
The coldness of his question catches me off guard. “I like how you assume I’ll go somewhere else while you get the house. Besides, where am I gonna go?”
“Your mom’s?”
“No.” I’d contemplated staying with Mom, but from the looks of her texts （Are you sick? Do you need anything? It’s normal to have cold feet! I’m sorry if mention of Dad upset you. Let’s talk!）， she’s already worried about me after Ollie’s. The last thing I need is her trying to counsel me out of what she thinks is some sort of quarter-life crisis.
“Nori’s? Kassie’s?”
Mention of Kassie’s name feels like a knife twist to the heart. “Kassie and I aren’t friends anymore,” I say, turning my gaze to the passenger window. Renner is heading toward our house.
“Not shocked.”
“Excuse me?”
He scoffs. “You really have no idea why you wouldn’t be friends with Kassie anymore?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He rolls his eyes. “Never mind.”
“Is it really that big a stretch to think Kassie would be friends with someone like me?”
No response, which somehow angers me even more.
I growl, unfastening my seat belt the moment we pull into the driveway, desperate to get Renner out of my sight. “You’re unbelievable. Can you ever just keep your judgments to yourself?”
He juts his chin out, exiting the car. “That’s rich, coming from you. All you ever do is judge people.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is. And you’ll never admit it. You refuse to listen to anyone else and see things from different points of view.”
I steel my spine as I follow him into the house, slamming the front door behind us. “And you do? You fight me on everything. Every. Single. Thing. You’ve made student council a living hell.”