Caveman (Wild Men 1)

I wince. “Uh-oh.”

Cassie goes on, seemingly oblivious. “Every night he has a different girl, and I kinda know if I approached him he’d sleep with me, you know?”

Do I? This all sounds so strange to me. If Micah slept with other girls… Just the thought makes my hands curl into firsts, even though I know realistically that he must have had girls before he met me. After all, he seems to know what he’s doing.

“And normally I wouldn’t mind,” Cassie says.

I struggle to follow. “You wouldn’t mind being a one-night stand for Jesse?”

“Exactly. I wouldn’t mind.” Her voice has gone a little husky, and her eyes glitter. I can’t read the emotions in them. “But I can’t. Not with him. There’s something about him that won’t let me.”

“Like what?”

“Like he’s cracked, like a glass that looks whole, but if you press it too hard it will shatter,” she whispers, and a shudder runs through me.

Because Micah also seemed ready to break this morning, and the things he said about his past are lurking in a corner of my mind, waiting for me to examine them. Darkness, pain, sorrow. It hurts to know he’s been through that, and yet I’m happy he trusted me enough to tell me.

I want to see him again this afternoon. Tonight. I want to talk to Asher’s mom about working with homeless youth. I’ve checked the site of the National Runaway Switchboard online and I can start as a volunteer, then later take courses and work there. I want this. And I want to put Blake and the accident behind me.

“I want to move out of my parents’ house,” I blurt out.

“Whoa. Moving in with Micah already? Isn’t it too soon?”

“No, not with Micah.” Although the thought sends a thrill through me… But he hasn’t asked, and it’s way, way too early to even think about something like that. “I just need to move out.”

“I see. Looking to share an apartment? ’Cuz I may have something.”

“You do?”

“One of my friends is looking for someone to share her apartment with. She’s great. You’ll love her. She lives close by.”

I smile. It’s a good sign, isn’t it, if luck is smiling my way. “Let me talk to my parents, and I’ll let you know.”

My parents stare at me in disbelief when I break them the news.

“You want to move out? For heaven’s sake, why?” my dad roars.

Oh, crap, it’s going worse than I thought it would, and Joel is nowhere to be seen. I could use the support right now.

“I need my space,” I say quietly. “I have—”

“Why, so you can sleep around? Or to spend time with all the losers on the street and spend every penny until you become one of them?”

“John,” Mom says. Even she sounds horrified at his words.

Not more than me, though. My stomach hurts as if he’s punched me there. “Is that how you think of me?”

“Come on, Evie.” He rolls his eyes and gives me a withering look. “If you don’t want people to think of you that way, then act responsible. Like the adult you pretend to be.”

Ow.

“Listen to your dad, Evie,” Mom chimes in. “He wants what’s best for you, and you’re not doing anything meaningful with your life.”

“Oh, for chrissakes. I finished school. I got a job. I almost never go out. What are these ‘adult things’ you expect from me?” My voice cracks and all I want is to run out of the room and hide. There’s a lot of hurt inside me. No matter what I do, it will never be enough for my parents. “What else do you want?”

“I want you to stay home where it’s safe for you,” Dad says, and tendons stand out in his throat. “To think seriously about what you want to do with your life and start doing it.”

“I have thought seriously about what I want to do.” I’m leaning forward in my chair, every muscle taut. My jaw aches from the tension. “I want to work with homeless youth. There’s someone I’m going to talk to—”