“I never should have gone along with it,” he said. “Brad and Brian— Well, they made it sound more like they were just gonna scare your friend. I didn’t really expect them to take it so far.”
It wasn’t quite an apology, and Cody wasn’t sure he would have accepted it anyway, but he had to give the guy points for effort.
The last surprise came from Christine Lucero, who found him at his locker at the end of the day and threw her arms around his neck.
“Oh my God, my brother is such an asshole.”
Cody could only stand there, stunned. Christine had always been decent to him, but she’d certainly never hugged him before.
She finally let go of him and stood back to meet his eyes. “Are you okay? Is Nate okay?”
“Uh—”
“Listen, I have the car today because Larry’s at wrestling practice. How about if I give you a ride home?”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I know I don’t need to, but I want to. Besides, you practically live next door.”
“Practically next door” was a bit of an exaggeration, since she lived in the more respectable part of the trailer park, but it was also true that it wasn’t much out of her way. It occurred to him that she might just be leading him into another ambush, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Her disgust with her brother seemed genuine enough.
She led him through the parking lot to a gigantic, four-door Buick that had definitely seen better days. The upholstery on the ceiling had been stapled back into place every few inches, and hung in pillow-like squares between the staples, reminding him of the inside of a coffin.
“I’m sorry about my brother,” she said as she started the engine.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I know, but still. I honestly don’t know what his problem is. I mean . . .” She sighed and backed out of the parking space, not speaking again until they were headed toward the parking lot exit. “He hates living with our mom, and he’s constantly saying how he’s gonna go live with our dad. But our dad don’t want us now any more than he did when we were kids, and I think it just makes Larry so mad that he doesn’t know what to do. It’s like the only thing he can think of to make himself feel better is putting other people down.”
Cody frowned, considering her words as they turned toward the trailer park. “I guess I hadn’t ever thought of that.”
“You should hear him at home. He’s always going on about the ‘niggers’ and the ‘spics’ and the ‘ragheads’ and the ‘fags.’ I mean Jesus, like it ain’t bad enough we’re trailer trash, barely making rent most months, then he has to go talking like that and make us look worse? And then to team up with those assholes from the Grove, as if they’re his friends. As if they don’t make fun of him when his back is turned. They don’t like him any more than they like you. Only difference is, he kisses their asses.” She kept one hand on the steering wheel and with the other, reached into her purse and pulled out a cigarette. She put it between her lips and pushed the car lighter. “You know why he hates you so much?”
Cody blinked, wondering if he was really supposed to answer that. “Because, uh, well . . .” He was debating how wise it would be to say, Because I’m gay. It felt like everybody knew by now anyway, but it still seemed scary to say it to anybody but Nate.
The lighter popped, and she pulled it out and held it to the end of her cigarette. “Two reasons,” she said as she returned the lighter to its plug. “One: I think it pisses him off how you don’t care what anybody says, you know? Like, he’s trying so hard to make you realize he’s better than you, in his mind at least, and you refuse to acknowledge it. And for some reason, he really needs for you to acknowledge it. And then when you and Logan started being friends . . .” They turned into the trailer park, and she slowed down, inching over the speed bumps. The car’s shocks were shot to hell, and the back bumper slammed down onto each bump as they passed, no matter how slow she went. “Larry was always trying so hard to impress Logan, and the harder he tried, the more Logan didn’t care, you know?”
“Uh, no. I had no idea.”
“And that’s kind of the second reason he hates you, I think.”
“Because Logan and I were friends?”
“Well, yes and no.” They drove under the tracks, and she stopped next to his mom’s Duster. She threw the car in park, unhooked her seat belt, and turned to face him. “He’d kill me for saying this, but I almost think he had a crush on Logan. I mean, he’d never admit it, but Larry tried so hard to impress him, and it was almost too much. Like, there was this desperation there that I never quite understood. I’m starting to wonder if maybe he’s more like you than he wants to admit.”