“Oh, sure. Kids who go out shooting squeakies for fun, or drive through fields trying to run over antelope. Or maybe I should hang out with the kids who go to the dogfights up by Farson. Would that be better? Are those really the types of kids you want me to spend time with?”
“Those aren’t your only options—”
“Yes, they are!” He was almost yelling. He knew it was a mistake, but he couldn’t seem to stop. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Those are my only options! I can kill things for sport, or I can go out and get laid at the old mine—”
“Nobody’s supposed to be up there—”
“Do you really think that’s stopping them? And, Jesus, going to an abandoned mine isn’t even the worst of it!”
“Hanging with trailer trash will eventually land you in trouble! Why can’t you see that? There are plenty of kids in Orange Grove—”
“Do you really think the kids in the Grove are better? You actually think the kids with money are the ones who behave? Are you really that stupid?” His dad took another step toward him, his jaw tight, his fists clenched at his sides, but Nate wasn’t about to back down. “The Grove group are the worst of the lot, Dad! They’re the ones burning down fields and slashing tires. Hell, last time I went to a party with them, Brian and Brad were doing cocaine, for God’s sake!”
His dad seemed to deflate, his shoulders falling, his jaw dropping. “What? Are you sure?”
“Well, unless there’s some other white powder people chop into little lines and snort through a rolled-up dollar bill, then yeah, I’m pretty damn sure! So I can go with the Grove kids and do a bit of coke before catching somebody’s field on fire and burning a few cows alive, or I can hang with the trailer-park kids, who only smoke weed because it’s all they can afford. Or I can be friends with Cody, who doesn’t do any of that stuff and gets a bad rap just because he has a couple of lousy parents!”
Nate was breathing hard, his heart racing, but he was glad to see his dad’s anger had waned. Not only that, he seemed to be considering what Nate had told him. “And what about this girl you’ve been seeing?”
It felt so far out of left field, Nate was taken aback. “What?”
“This girl you’ve been dating, whoever she is. You’ve obviously been spending a lot of time with her since Thanksgiving. And based on the goofy grin you’ve been wearing since Christmas, things must be pretty hot and heavy with her. So, I’m asking, where does she fit into all this?”
Nate faltered, glancing around the room as if it might provide some answers. But no. There was nothing but the couch and the bookshelves and an open encyclopedia still lying on the floor. He’d talked himself into a corner now.
“Is it the girl you took to homecoming?”
“Yes!” Nate snatched at the obvious answer. “Stacy. Her name’s Stacy.”
“Stacy what? What’s her last name?”
“Miller.” He just had to hope that his dad didn’t automatically have some dirt on Stacy or her family. Given that they were rule-following Mormons, he figured he was safe. “She’s friends with Cody too.” It was a blatant lie, but it seemed safe enough. Plus, it would give him a reason to stand by Cody’s side rather than terminating their friendship, despite his dad’s wishes. “And no matter what his parents have done, he’s not a bad kid, Dad. Neither is Stacy.” He bent over and picked up the encyclopedia. “Neither am I.”
“I know you’re not. But once you start spending time with the wrong kinds of people—”
“But I’m not. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I’m the one who goes to school with them. I’m the one who’s been to their parties and seen who’s doing what. And I’m telling you, there are tons of high schoolers in this town who get in way more trouble than Cody.” He slid the book back into place between K and M before turning to face his dad again. “It all boils down to trust. Either you trust me, or you don’t. So which is it?”
His dad sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I worry about you.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I wish we’d never moved here.”
It surprised Nate. It also surprised him to realize that he no longer regretted the move at all. Yeah, Warren sucked. Maybe it was the black hole of modern civilization like Cody said. There was no tennis and no swimming and the goddamn wind never stopped blowing. But having met Cody made up for all of it.
“Brad and Brian,” his dad said, still rubbing his neck thoughtfully. “Brad Williams and Brian Anderson? Is that who you’re talking about?”