Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,1

under the skin. Soon, it didn’t hurt at all. I rotated it to be sure.

“Was it broken?” I asked.

“It’s healed now,” he corrected. My brother, always looking at the bright side of things. It was his way of answering that indeed it had been broken, but now it wasn’t. Simple as that. Focus on what was right now, not what had been or could be.

The sound of footfalls, laughter, and heavy breaths came from the other side of the hill. Kes helped me up. “Run fast. Finish first,” he encouraged. It was what he always said before one of my races. “I’ll heal your hands and knee later.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I took off running. “Go get the car!” I yelled over my shoulder in case he wasn’t already gone.

I pushed through the burning that flared over my kneecap and palms, hustled harder and faster, and finished first.

Grabbing my water bottle, I gulped as the rest of the cross-country team spilled from the hill and onto the grass behind the football stadium. Some went for water, others collapsed to get a breath, while several braced hands above their knees, waiting for their hearts to calm.

“Nice run, Larken,” Coach praised.

I thanked her before grabbing my backpack and gym bag. The only problem now was that Kes would have to drive here like a normal person, which meant I’d either have to wait with the team or start walking home and meet him along the way.

I was about to choose the latter option when Xavier appeared beside me. “Hey. You were hella fast today.” Xavier was one of Brant’s friends, but also one of mine. And if I was being territorial, I’d say he was my friend first and apparently didn’t ditch me just because Brant did.

“Thanks.”

He raked a hand through his sweaty hair. “You fell and you still wiped the floor with us?”

I followed his eyes to my knee, then held out my palms. “Almost face-planted, but I caught myself.”

He glanced behind me and I made the mistake of turning to see what he was looking at.

Brant and Reagan.

Xavier’s easy smile fell away when he saw that I’d followed his glance. He cleared his throat, giving me an apologetic look. He was taller than me. Lean but strong. Sandy hair. Nice smile. We’d been in school together since kindergarten. We’d played on the playground together, pushed each other on the swings, and when I’d dared him to eat a juicy earthworm, he hadn’t hesitated at all.

“Will you go to prom with me?” he blurted.

After Brant dumped me, I had planned to go alone because there was no way I was wasting Mom’s money. She’d taken me dress shopping, and when I fell in love with the sixth one I tried on, she insisted on buying it for me despite the price on the tag that I knew was too much.

But this might be great. I could still wear my dress and go out with my friends. They all had dates, and if I went with Xavier, I wouldn’t feel like a third wheel going to dinner with them… assuming Xavier didn’t mind. It might even be better going with a friend. No pressure from an expectant date after the dance, just fun with friends. A big party before the final one at graduation.

I smiled at him. “I’d love to.”

“Awesome.” He gave a relieved smile. “What color’s your dress?”

“Midnight blue.”

“I’ll get a tux to match. And a corsage, of course.” Xavier was a life-saver.

“Emmy and Kayla and their dates were planning to go to dinner first. Would you want to—”

“Yeah,” he answered quickly, an excited grin tugging at his lips. “Yeah, anything you want to do, we’ll do it.”

I laughed. “You say that now, but just wait until my dad threatens to kill you if you lay a hand on me and my mom burns your corneas with the fire of a thousand camera flashes.”

Kes pulled into the parking lot, the engine of his sleek, black Ford Mustang shining like glass beneath the parking lot lights that just blinked on. He’d saved up money from summers spent mowing lawns for anyone in the neighborhood who’d pay him, bought what I thought was an incurable beater, then he and Dad spent the next six months repairing it, replacing what was broken, and polishing her until she shined.

Just went to show I knew nothing about cars…which probably explained why I failed the test to get my Learner’s permit twice and then