I almost make it out the side door without being noticed when Joey comes into the kitchen for a drink. He takes one look at my freshly changed clothes—a white Henley shirt unbuttoned at my throat and tucked into a pair of painted-on jeans so blue, they’re almost black—and his eyebrows draw together as he frowns. “Where are you off to?”
“Just going for a drive,” I tell him. I step out onto the stoop before he can say something to change my mind. Around me, the night is crisp and clear. Each breath I take cleans out my lungs and I breathe in deep, hold my breath, trap the night inside of me until I can almost see the stars shining behind my closed eyes.
As the screen door slams shut, Joey steps up to the other side. “Brian,” he sighs. His voice is impossibly close in my ear. “I thought we
