Draco made a sound from behind my shoulder but I ignored him, staring at Curtis like I was waiting for his answer.
“Kara,” Draco said, his hand landing softly on the back of my neck. “Enough.”
I firmed my jaw and straightened my shoulders, but I couldn’t find the strength to jerk away from him again.
“You stay away from me and I’ll stay away from you,” I replied to Draco, my eyes still on Curtis. “We were friends when we were kids, we aren’t now.”
“Bullshit,” Draco said.
“If you think you’re ever going to have the opportunity to throw that shit in my face again,” I said, finally pulling away so I could turn to look at him. “You’re out of your mind. Yeah, I had a crush on your brother.”
Draco jerked, as if the confession physically hurt him.
“Because you were out fucking and flirting with any person who had a vagina, while Curtis hid what a man-whore he was.” I shook my head. “I thought he was fucking mysterious. I didn’t know that he was a self-righteous prick.”
“Kara,” Charlie said in warning. I hadn’t even realized that she’d come out of the house.
“Go ahead,” I said, waving my arm out in front of me as I pulled off my mask. “Anything you want to add?”
“Let’s just take care of the house and go,” she replied. “We can deal with all of this later.”
“Right,” I laughed. “Later. Sounds good. I’ll put it on my calendar.”
“What did Curt do?” Draco asked quietly, stepping between me and Charlie. His eyes searched my face like he was trying to read the answer there.
“Ask him,” I replied.
I followed Charlie up the porch steps and into the house, my hands shaking with leftover adrenalin.
“When I left you to deal with Draco, I didn’t realize you’d start World War Three,” she said, spinning to face me in the middle of the living room. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I replied, using my shirt to wipe off my face.
“It’s probably a good thing that you two are fighting,” Charlie said with a sigh, striding toward the downstairs guest bedroom. “At least that means you’re talking.”
“We aren’t fighting,” I countered. “He was being an asshole.”
“Well, either way, at least you’re talking.”
“No, we’re not,” I argued, putting my arms out in front of me so she could stack a pail of quilts on them. “Seriously, don’t get your hopes up. I’m done.”
“You can’t be done,” she said, shaking her head. “You never even started.”
“Why would I need to? I didn’t see him for over three years and now we’re different people. It’s not a big deal. I don’t hang with Curtis either.”
“Don’t think you’re going to get away with that shit either,” she said, glancing at me over her shoulder. “You’re gonna tell me what the fuck Curtis did. I thought you just didn’t want to hang with him because of Draco, but after that shit out there, something tells me there was a different reason.”
“Just drop it,” I grumbled.
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen,” she replied. “Help me bring these to the car. My mom texted and asked me to bring them to Aunt Callie’s. I can’t believe she fuckin’ forgot them.”
“The original Rose made these, right?” I asked as we carried the quilts outside.
“Yep. Gram and her sister, too,” Charlie said with a smile. “They were gone before I was born.”
“What the fuck are you two doin’ here?” my dad practically yelled as he caught sight of us in the driveway.
“We’ve been here a while,” I replied, strolling toward my Jeep. Dammit, I should’ve put my mask back on. “Where have you been?”
“We went over to Mark and CeeCee’s and grabbed their excavator,” he said, hurrying forward to open the back door of the Jeep. “Gonna clear some brush and get it moved away from the house.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said, putting the quilts on top of the stuff I’d packed earlier.
“I know it’s a good idea,” he said dryly. “Now, what the fuck are you doing here? Did Rose know you were comin’ here?”
“Nope,” I replied, popping the p. “But somehow, Farrah knew where we’d gone, so I’m sure Rose knows now.”
“She’s gonna skin you,” he said, his lips twitching. “And I would, too, if I wasn’t here lookin’ at how far away the fire actually is. Those fire maps are a bit deceivin.’”
“Charlie wanted to come help you guys,” I said as we moved out of the way so Charlie could add her quilts to the pile.
“And you had to come with her,” my dad grumbled.
“You’re surprised by this?” I put my mask back on, but it didn’t seem to make that much difference.
“Nope,” Dad said, copying the way I’d popped the p. “But I don’t know that there’s anything you can help with, sweetheart. There’re already too many people here as it is. We only got so many hoses.”