CHAPTER 10
I’m snuggled against Chris in the backseat of the minivan. Mom says that’s fine, that she has a new playlist she’s been dying to listen to anyway. I think she knows Chris and I need this time. This privacy.
She taps a few buttons on her phone and makes a show of tuning into her soft rock mix station, turning the volume up as high as it will go. Giving me one quick glance in the rearview mirror, she flashes me a smile before pulling on her sunglasses and backing out of our driveway.
I glance up at Chris. I’m sitting in the middle seat since Mom’s packed the cooler right next to me. Maybe she did it because she knows how much I like to be next to the people I’m closest to. It’s my love language, she tells me. Physical touch.
I give Chris a little nudge with my shoulder. “Well,
