The Art of Being Friends

by Jessica Sorensen

  I laugh, too. “Okay, it’s total bullshit.”

  “Well, at least you’re honest about that.”

  “Yeah, at least there’s that.”

  We’re both laughing at ourselves as the trees suddenly part and open up into a flat clearing. Without tree branches canopying above us, the moonlight cascades across the area. And parked right smack dab in the middle of it is Hunter’s car. The lights are off inside, but I can make out the silhouettes of two figures, one sitting in the driver’s seat and one sitting in the back. Jax and Zay, I’m guessing.

  Hunter pulls me over to the passenger side and opens the door. Then he lets go of my hand. “You wanna sit in the back or the front?”

  My gaze dances across the inside of the car. Now that I’m close, I see that Zay is in the driver’s seat and Jax is in the back. Out of the two options …“I’ll sit in the back,” I say then move to climb in, but he gently snags me by the elbow.

  He leans in and whispers, “Zay’s not going to be a dick to you anymore. I talked to him.”

  “Thanks,” I tell him quietly, “but I still want to sit in the back.”

  “You think Jax is less scary, huh?” A bit of humor glitters his tone.

  “Um … He seems like it.” I look at Hunter. “Is he not?”

  Hunter wavers his head from side to side. “Most think he’s not, but personally, I think his intense, quiet looks can be super frightening.” He shudders.

  I softly laugh under my breath.

  “Dude, I heard that,” Jax mumbles.

  “That’s good,” Hunter throws back at him. “I’m glad to hear you’re hearing is up to date.”

  Zay lets out the most frustrated sigh ever while Jax remains quiet.

  Laughing at himself, Hunter motions for me to get in.

  Sucking in a breath, I lower my head and climb into the back seat with him. He’s sitting close to where I climbed in, leaving very little room on the seat.

  “Shit. Sorry,” he mutters then scoots over to the other side.

  “You’re fine,” I tell him then plop down into the seat.

  Hunter moves the seat back then slides into the passenger seat before shutting the door.

  The scent of cologne and cigarettes touches my nostrils.

  I wonder which one of them smokes?

  “You got enough room back there?” Hunter asks, twisting around in the seat to look at me.

  I nod, even though my legs are a bit cramped up. “I’m good.”

  “You sure?” he asks. “You have some really long legs.”

  “They’re not that long,” I insist, but he only chuckles.

  “They’re longer than average,” he assures me. “But that’s not a bad thing.”

  I still don’t know if he’s teasing me or not, but I attempt to pretend I don’t have freakishly long legs, even though I know I do—I’ve been teased about them before. “Well, long legs or not, I have plenty of room,” I lie.

  “She’s bullshitting you,” Jax chimes in. “Her legs are pressed against the back of your seat.”

  “Oh.” Hunter slides his seat forward.

  My gaze snaps to Jax. “You little traitor.” As soon as the words leave my lip, I want to retract them.

  While I’ve spent today joking around with Harlow and Hunter, I don’t know Jax at all. From what I could tell during class, he didn’t seem like the type of guy who likes to joke around. But then the corners of his lips quirk upward.

  “I may be a traitor, but at least your long-ass legs aren’t folded up anymore.”

  “True.” I stretch out my legs. “Though Hunter’s probably are.”

  “Nah, he’s got stubby legs,” Jax quips, almost smiling again.

  “What the hell is going on?” Zay abruptly says, rotating in his seat, his gaze skating between Jax and I.

  Hunter is watching us with mild amusement as he answers Zay. “Well, I think our little Jax is finally having a bonding moment with someone.”

  Jax scowls at him. “Stop.”

  “What?” Hunter asks innocently.

  Zay sighs and grumbles, “Jesus, here we go. We always have to have a comedy show going.”

  A giggle tickles at the back of my throat. I try to hold it back but fail epically. “You guys are funny.”

  Zay’s hard eyes narrow in on me. “Don’t encourage him.”

  “No, please do encourage me.” Hunter grins at me, and I smile back. Then he smirks at Zay. “See? Raven thinks I’m funny.”

  “I’m pretty sure she doesn’t,” Zay disagrees. “I think she’s just tolerating you.”

  They start arguing back and forth.

  I glance at Jax. “Is this normal?”

  Jax crosses his arms and shrugs. “Sort of.”

  “Oh.” My brows dip together as I redirect my attention back to Hunter and Zay, who are now arguing about who ate the last of the cereal this morning. I have no clue how the subject shifted, but what I’m really starting to wonder is … “Is this why you guys brought me here? To show me that you like to argue? Because, if so, point totally proven.”

  Jax chokes on a laugh then smashes his lips together.

  Zay again narrows his gaze on me while Hunter just smiles and shakes his head.

  “I think we’re gonna have our hands full,” he remarks, but I’m uncertain who he’s speaking to.

  Zay assesses me intently and with a hint of curiosity. “That we might be able to agree on.”

  “She should get bonus points for that, then,” Jax suggests, uncrossing his arms.

  “And maybe she should get bonus points for making you smile,” Hunter retorts. “Twice.”

  I feel completely out of the loop, like they’re talking around me. “I hate to break up this conversation and everything, but I really would kind of like to know why Hunter brought me here.” I pause. “Not that I don’t like learning all about you guys’ little quirks, but we are sitting in the middle of the woods in the dark, so …”

  “Are you scared of the dark?” Zay questions, watching me.

  I shake my head. “No, not really. It’s more that I’m in a car with three guys I barely know, one of which I know isn’t a huge fan of me.”

  “You sat in my seat,” Zay says like it explains everything.

  “I didn’t know it was your seat when I did it,” I reply. “And the teacher told me they weren’t assigned.”

  “Well, you could’ve moved when I asked you to,” Zay points out, resting his elbow on the back of the seat.

  “Maybe I could’ve, but in my defense, you didn’t really ask. You just told me to move,” I remind him. When his eyes narrow, I sigh. “Look, I’m sorry for being a pain in the ass, but I was just … I don’t know, a little nervous about it being my first day of school.”

  “You have a strange way of showing you’re nervous,” he says, his gaze dissecting me.

  “I know,” I agree. “I’m kind of a weird girl.”

  “Hmm … I guess you should fit in well with us then,” he mutters then blows out an exhale. “I’m sorry for snapping at you in class.”

  “Apology accepted.” I stick out my hand for a fist bump.

  He briefly stares down at my hand then looks up at me. “Yeah, you’re definitely fucking weird.” He fist bumps me then lowers his hand. “Now, on to the important stuff.” He looks at Hunter. “How much did you tell her?”

  “Not much,” Hunter replies, slipping off his hoodie. “I told her why I was there—that someone hired me to look into her uncle and find out why his past is such a mystery.”

  Zay’s gaze shifts back to me. “How did you even know Hunter was out there?”

  I shrug. “I was standing in front of my window and saw him.”

  “Why were you standing in front of your window?” he questions, shoving up the sleeves of his shirt.

  I give a half-shrug. “Because I was about to open the window and take a few hits.”

  He rests his arms on the back of the seat. “So, you’re a pothead?
”

  “No. I don’t get high all the time,” I say, scratching my wrist. “Just when I’m stressed.”

  “And you were stressed out tonight?” he continues his interrogation on me.

  I nod. “I got into trouble earlier and … Well, yeah, I was freaked out.”

  “What sort of trouble?” Hunter asks, turning all the way around in his seat so he can look at me.

  I hesitate, unsure how much I want to divulge about my life.

  “If you want us to tell you our secrets, you gotta tell us yours,” Zay informs me.

  I glance from Hunter to him then sneak a glance at Jax, who’s watching me, waiting for me to explain.

  Is it worth it? My secrets in exchange for theirs? Honestly, I really do want to find out more about why they’re spying on my uncle. And it’s not like I have to tell them everything, like about how my uncle cuts me.

  “I may or may not have been stealing drugs from my uncle’s secret stash,” I offer the partial truth, then shrug like it’s no big deal at all.

  Hunter’s lips part in surprise. “Okay, that’s so not what I was expecting you to say.”

  Jax appears to be a bit shocked, as well. Zay doesn’t seem to share the feeling.

  “I’m not that surprised,” Zay says, his gaze never wavering from mine. “So he found out you were stealing drugs from him and got pissed?”

  I nod, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “It wasn’t coincidental that he found out. Dixie May, my cousin, was pissed off because I didn’t meet up with her at lunchtime to give her her makeup case.”

  “Dixie May?” Zay mutters confusedly. “Why does that name sound so familiar?”

  “She’s that ditzy blonde girl who tried to hit on you while we were taking a bathroom break during suspension,” Jax tells him, brushing strands of hair out of his face.

  “Shit. For reals?” Zay asks, looking at me.

  I lift a shoulder. “Probably. I mean, I didn’t see it happen, but you guys are all FH, so I’m sure she’s probably going to hit on all of you.” I bite down on my tongue, realizing I already told Hunter what that meant.

  Zay’s brows knit. “What’s an FH?”

  “Yeah, what does that mean?” Hunter asks me with a teasing grin.

  Zay looks at me expectantly while Hunter just grins, totally amused with the situation because he knows exactly what it means.

  Jax, however, is not looking at me expectantly. He’s looking at me like he knows exactly what it means.

  My cheeks warm, but since it’s dark, they probably can’t see, so I play it cool. “Now, what would be the fun in telling you?”

  “Because then I’d know,” Zay says, then looks at Hunter. “Tell me, man.”

  Hunter shoots me a playful look to which I respond with a teasing glare.

  He smiles. So do I. I can’t help it. His personality makes it impossible not to smile.

  Zay looks between us with a crease between his brows. “Okay, would someone please tell me what the damn thing means.”

  A beat of silence ticks by where no one says anything, and then Zay huffs out a frustrated exhale.

  “But anyway,” I steer the conversation back to what we were talking about before. “Dixie May got pissed at me for the whole makeup case thing and told my uncle about how I stole from his stash. Though I have no freakin’ clue how she knew I was stealing from him or where I hid all the drugs I stole.”

  “Could she have been spying on you?” Jax suggests.

  “Maybe. She can be sneaky when she wants to,” I say. “But I thought I was being sneaky, too. Plus, I hide everything I steal underneath a floorboard in my room. Well, I did before we moved … Maybe she saw me move it around when we moved.”

  “We can look into that later,” Zay states, making me wonder how. Before I can ask, he continues, “What I want to know now is how your uncle didn’t get busted. Because I’m assuming his drug stash came from him stealing a little bit here and there from the raids he did.”

  “How did you know that?” I wonder.

  The edges of Zay’s lips tug upward into a cocky grin. “Because I know a lot of things.”

  I arch my brows. “About cops?”

  Instead of answering, he glances at Hunter and Jax. None of them say anything, and the silence makes me a bit squirmy.

  Why does it feel like they’re having a private conversation right now?

  “How much do you know about Honeyton?” Zay asks, looking back at me.

  “That it’s a small town that’s severely lacking in public transportation,” I answer. “Seriously, I missed the bus today and had to walk home. In my old town, I could’ve just taken the city bus or called a cab. Well, if I had enough money.”

  “You walked home from school?” Hunter asks, sounding astounded.

  I nod. “Normally, I ride with Dixie May, but her car is still getting transported here. So my aunt drove us to school this morning and was supposed to pick us up, but I sassed off to her this morning, so no ride for me.”

  Hunter frowns. “You should’ve texted me.”

  “You were at tryouts,” I remind him. Not that I would’ve felt comfortable doing so.

  “Yeah, well … you could’ve called Harlow. Although she can be a little bit flaky when it comes to responding to her text.” He gives a short, contemplating pause. “Zay and Jax are going to trade numbers with you, and if that ever happens again, you can text them.” He pauses. “I think maybe you should just start riding to school with us.”

  Zay’s gaze skates to him. “You really wanna bring her into this?”

  “Into what?” I ask. “Because, while I’ve told you guys some things, you haven’t really told me much.”

  Zay’s attention returns to me. “Because we’re not sure yet if we can trust you.”

  “You don’t think I’m trustworthy?”

  Am I trustworthy? I really don’t know that part about myself, having not had any friends for a while.

  “I don’t know,” Zay says. “You, your entire family, there’s hardly any information available about you.”

  I frown. “You looked into my past?”

  “No. But the person who hired us did a little bit and wants us to find out more,” he explains, grazing his teeth along his bottom lip. “Well, not just you, but your whole family. Still … it’s strange that there’s hardly any information online about you.”

  I swallow hard, wondering why there isn’t. “What all did you find so far?”

  They remain quiet for a thundering heartbeat of a second.

  “Did you read about what happened to my parents?” I finally ask, my tone shaking a bit.

  Again, they don’t answer. But their silence is answer enough.

  “I want to get out of the car,” I say quietly. When they make no effort to move, I start to panic. “Let me the fuck out.”

  That snaps them out of their stare-down trance.

  “Raven, calm down,” Hunter says. “No one here is going to hurt you. And we don’t have to talk about what happened to your parents. We just … We just need to know why there’s no information about you, your aunt, uncle, or even your cousin anywhere.”

  I’m not sure if I trust him or not, but truthfully, I’m more caught up on what he said. “There’s really hardly anything about us?”

  He shakes his head. “I mean, there’s a record of your uncle working for the police department at the last place he lived and a couple of addresses, but the information is extremely basic. And then you …” He trails off.

  “You’re what we call a ghost,” Zay finishes for him.

  “I am?” I stupidly point to myself.

  “The only things we could find were a few articles about your parents and a police record, but even that was sealed,” Jax says, rotating toward me and bringing his leg up onto the seat. “It’s very odd, but not completely unheard of in cases where people have gone into a witness protection program.”

  They settle into silence again, and it clicks.


  I gape at him. “Wait … you guys think I’m in the witness protection program?”

  “We’re not sure,” Zay says. “But so far, it’s all we’ve come up with.”

  “I …” I shake my head. “No. There’s no way.”

  “So you don’t know if you are?” Jax questions, his gaze burrowing into me.

  I shake my head again. “I … I’m not. At least, not that I’m aware of. And I’m guessing if I was, I’d probably know, because I’d have to play a part.”

  They trade another look before their gazes settle on me.

  “If you were, you’d lie to us,” Zay tells me. “So, how do we know for sure if you’re telling the truth?”

  Panic trickles through me. “Well, I’m telling the truth. But even if I wasn’t …” I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, going over all the self-defense moves I know. “What’re you guys gonna do to me?” My shaky tone makes me cringe. I wanted to seem badass but messed that up.

  Hunter looks taken aback. “What?”

  “I think she thinks we’re going to hurt her,” Zay remarks, staring at me with intrigue.

  “Well, we’re not.” Hunter sounds even more appalled. “Even if you were in the witness protection program, we wouldn’t rat you out.”

  “But you said someone hired you to find out,” I say softly, “so that means if you found out I—my family—was, wouldn’t you have to tell them?”

  When they don’t answer right away, my pulse quickens.

  “No, we wouldn’t,” Hunter says with certainty, eliciting a questioning look from Zay. Hunter glares at him. “We are not our fathers.”

  An uneven breath eases from Zay’s lips. “Yeah, you’re right.” He scrubs his hand over his head. “This is all a moot point anyway, since we don’t even know if they’re in the witness protection program.”

  “I know, but I just want to make that clear,” Hunter stresses.

  They start talking back and forth about that while I try to decide if I’m in any real danger or not.

  Jax must sense this, because he leans over and whispers, “You’re fine. No one’s going to hurt you.”

  I offer him a grateful smile, hoping he’s telling the truth.

  He gives me a small smile back then scoots forward in the seat and interrupts Hunter and Zay. “It’s getting late,” he tells them. “If we’re going to convince her to help us, you two might want to start convincing her in a less frightening way.”