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“Stop.” Ford rolled his eyes. “Come in and ignore my brother. He’s just a bit spicy today.” He waved me inside as Felix continued to scowl at me.
What had I ever done to him? The two of them were the ones who stopped talking to me when the band blew up. Not the other way around.
Stepping into the room was like a punch to the stomach. Ford and I had spent hours here together. Laughing, watching TikTok videos, doing our makeup, and modeling our clothes. We were close, best friends and brothers, and I missed that. I noticed the rainbow-colored lei hanging on his headboard from our graduation party and on the wall, a picture of the four of us in our caps and gowns. Yellow still wasn’t my color. It made me look like a sick Victorian child.
“Speak.” Felix snapped his fingers, and I turned to glare at him. Why did he hate me so much?
Ford sat down on his bed and patted the ruffled pink comforter. The one we had picked out together. The one that matched mine. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in your pretty little mind.”
“Jesus Christ.” Felix scrubbed a hand down his face before he flopped onto his own bed. “The two of you should have beentwins.” It wasn’t the first time he had said that. Maybe he was jealous that we were close once.
I tentatively sat down next to Ford. “What’s going on with Andy? He won’t tell me, and I’m worried. And why does he act like he wants me back? He broke up with me. Not the other way around.”
“Snitches get stitches, boo.” Ford giggled as he touched my knee. “Don’t give me that look. I’m not telling you anything.”
Felix grunted. “Liar. You’re going to spill your guts like a whore in confession.” He climbed to his feet. “And I want no part of that. I keep my friends’ secrets.”
“What is his deal?” I hooked a thumb at the door once it was closed again. “I mean, does he hate me that much, or did I do something to personally upset him?”
Ford reached for my hands. “Fe doesn’t hate you. I shouldn’t tell you this.”
I wrenched out of his grip as my stomach turned. What if Andy had turned into some big slut and slept his way through Europe? What if he got some girl pregnant and was going to marry her because he was a good person like that? My throat felt too tight. I was going to start screaming and yelling at any moment. I could feel the warmth, clamminess spread over my skin. Why couldn’t I just get over him? Find a nice boy who wanted me? Who loved me the way I deserved.
“I can see you starting to panic.” Ford hummed. “Andy never touched anyone. At least, not like that.”
I huffed. “Yeah, sure.” Then I reached over and took both of his hands. “I’ve missed you, Ford.”
Even though I was close to RJ, there were some things he didn’t understand. Ezra was like a brother to me, but Ford... Ford was exactly like me in every single way. Losing him almost hurt nearly as bad as the breakup.
“Really?” He squeezed my fingers. “I’ve missed you, too.” Ford gave me a shy smile. “I’m going to tell you something, but you have to swear on your life that you won’t repeat it. Not to anyone.” He released my hands to stand up, and he smoothed down the front of his shirt.
“I swear,” I assured him against my better judgment. This could go terribly wrong.
Ford nodded. “Andy’s mom showed up at our last show.”
“What!” I exclaimed. I grimaced at how loud my voice was. “Are you serious?”
He sighed. “I’m afraid so, boo. She showed up, flirted her way inside, saying she was Andy’s mother, and when we stepped off stage, Andy looked like he had seen a ghost. He wouldn’t say a word to Felix or me, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. Plus, the way she kept telling everyone she was his mother. How proud of him she was. It was so disgusting. She’s the furthest thing from a parent.”
“That woman is the devil.”
I wasn’t sure if Ford knew everything she had put Andy through, but it was obvious he understood she wasn’t a good woman. Maybe because his parents were pretty horrible, too. He never spoke about them and neither did his brother. I had been to their house only once before I suggested to Maverick they move in to the Olson house. It had been a house of horrors.
He sat back down. “He’s been drinking a lot, too.”
“I know. He was pretty plastered when he showed up at the track the other night.”
“It’s not the first time, either. Felix and I were worried he would start doing something worse, so we started making sure he didn’t do anything stupid, you know? We made sure that all the parties we went to were our parties. We never let him out of our sight until he was safe in bed. Then we had our own fun.”
I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop the giggle. “Slut,” I teased him, and he laughed softly. “Has Andy really not been with anyone? Like at all?”
“I’m not going to say there weren’t people who kissed him, but he never brought anyone back to his room or on the bus. He always slept alone.” Ford dropped his gaze to his feet.
I nudged his arm. “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
“No, Leo, never. Not about something like that. You two are soulmates.” Ford looked up when Felix burst back through the door. “What happened to you? Did you just run a marathon?” Felix’s face was flushed, his eyes wild.
He shook his head. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I’m going to take a shower.” Felix waved a hand in the air, and we heard the lock of the bathroom door as it shut behind him.
