We Are Us

Chapter 6 Sackett, Co

Summer between Sophomore and Junior Year, High School

“Thanks, Jim.” I smile appreciatively at the bus driver and give a last wave to the kids crowded into each row before stepping back outside into the summer heat. We take a field trip every other Friday and when I realized we’d be driving right past the gas station Gavin’s foster dad manages, I asked if I could end my shift a little early and be dropped off on our way back to the community center. I’ve never visited Gavin at work before, but he said his foster dad had been splitting time between this station and one in another town so he’s often alone in the afternoons. I decided to take a chance and surprise him.

Herding my group of eight, eight-year-old girls through lines and rides, sunscreen applications, and bathroom breaks, all while not losing any of them, was exhausting. My skin is sticky and sunburned—because I didn’t have a chance to reapply my sunscreen—and my hair is a wind-blown mess, but I fully intend to wrap my arms around Gavin’s neck and kiss him until my coconut lip balm is gone.

The two pumps outside are empty and I walk past them, toward the small convenience store with a pickup truck parked in front.

I have one hand outstretched toward the door when I see Gavin through the window. He’s behind the cash register… but he’s not alone.

From the mix of defiance and aggravation coloring Gavin’s expression, I’m certain the rough-looking guy with the bushy eyebrows, snub nose, and backward-facing baseball cap is Doug, Gavin’s foster dad’s son.

I yank at the door handle just as Doug’s fist bangs the cash register, open hostility rising between them like a mushroom cloud. Two heads swivel my way and Doug’s leer makes me entirely too aware of the sheer cover-up clinging to my still damp bathing suit. “Well now, how can I help—”

“Poppy.” Gavin’s voice is thick with strain. “What are you doing here?”

Doug’s eyes widen for a brief second, then narrow into slits. “Little orphan Gavin, why don’t you introduce me to your friend?”

Gavin is neither little, even compared to the stockier Doug, nor an orphan, but nausea roils in my stomach at this small taste of what Gavin deals with in order to continue living with his foster parents.

“Don’t talk to her,” Gavin growls.

“Or what? Don’t forget—one word from me and I’ll have you kicked back to wherever you came from.”

“Say all the words you want.” Gavin points at a security camera positioned in the wall. “They won’t mean anything when I have proof you’re trying to steal money from the register.”

Doug scoffs, unconcerned. “Shows how much you know, that thing hasn’t worked in years.”

“Really?” Keeping his eye on Doug, Gavin enters a command into the monitor sitting just to the left of the cash register. I can’t see the screen, but whatever’s on it makes Doug go pale.

“Son of a bitch.” His hands clench into fists as he spins around, stopping just short of slamming one of them into Gavin’s face.

Gavin doesn’t even flinch. “Do it,” he spits, moving even closer to Doug. I’ve never seen him like this, aggressive and angry. “We’re on camera. Hit me now, so I can finally hit you back.”

Their tense standoff continues for one beat, then two. My feet are glued to the ground, the breath still in my chest. Finally, Doug barrels out from behind the register.

His expression is mutinous as he hurls the door open, yelling, “This isn’t over!”

But for now, it is. And I have to resist the urge to applaud as a blast of sultry summer air rushes through the gap, sending the edges of my cover-up dancing over my thighs.

I run over to Gavin, throwing myself into his arms. “Are you okay?” he whispers against my neck, holding me tightly.

“Yeah.” The squeal of Doug’s tires as he peels out of the parking lot makes me wince, even as proof that he’s gone sends a tidal wave of relief through me. “Are you okay? How long was he here?”

“Just a few minutes. I’m fine.”

“What a lucky break with the camera—when did it start working again?”

“When I replaced the lens and rewired it. I knew it was only a matter of time before Doug showed up when he knew I was here alone. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to take precautions.”

I pull away, staring into the deep, inky blue of Gavin’s gaze that’s still the exact same as the day I met him. He’s taller now, his muscles lean but strong. And the almost cocky confidence I glimpsed when he stood up to Doug—a little bit brash, a little bit disdainful—wasn’t just an act.

My beautiful, broken boy isn’t so broken anymore.

He’s not really a boy anymore, either. But still beautiful.

And definitely mine.

I interlock my fingers behind Gavin’s shoulders, my thumbs stroking his neck. “So, not luck then. You outsmarted him.”

“For now.” He shrugs. “I know how to fight battles with my fists, I learned from the best. But, as much as I’d like to break every bone in Doug’s face, I’m better off doing things this way.”

Any lingering thoughts of Doug are chased away by the promise of Gavin’s kiss, but his lips have barely grazed mine when a bell from outside lets out a sharp ring. Gavin’s groan of disappointment sends a shiver down my spine, his forehead resting against mine for a moment before we turn to look through the window.

A Jeep has pulled up to the pump labeled: FULL SERVICE. Before Gavin lets go of me, the car doors open.

I recognize the five girls who get out. We’ve gone to school together for the past three years, although they’re in the grade ahead of me. They’ll be seniors when school starts again in a month.

Clarissa, the queen bee of East Sackett High, struts inside wearing jean cutoffs and a bikini top, her long blond hair perfectly tousled as it falls down her back. “Hi, Gavin,” she coos, taking her Ray-Bans off and making a show of suspending them from the tiny string co

Her syrupy-sweet Hi, Gavin is echoed four more times as the other girls file in behind her.

“Hey.” Gavin acknowledges them all, though his eyes quickly return to Clarissa. I note with pleasure that they don’t drop below her face. “You use up a whole tank already?”

She frowns briefly at me, a flicker of irritation creasing her forehead. “Not quite. But you know me, I feel safer driving around with a full tank.”

Really? I roll my eyes, though Clarissa doesn’t notice. I’d have thought she had better game than that.

When Gavin doesn’t comment, she adds, “We just got back from the beach—you should really come with us next time.”

“Thanks.” His lips tug upward in a grin, his hand squeezing mine. “But I’m more of a hiking kind of guy.”

“Hiking, huh?” Clarissa’s high-pitched giggle makes me cringe, although I have to admire her persistence when she adds, “You’ll have to show me the best spots around here.”

“Actually, Poppy’s the expert.” His face lights up as he turns to me and makes the co

Five sets of eyes immediately turn my way, and despite the coolness of the air-conditioned store, I flush bright red.

Clarissa isn’t the type to admit when she doesn’t know something. Instead, she drags her gaze up and down my body, trying to place me. “Of course,” she says, just before pivoting away from us, the ends of her hair slapping my upper arm as she heads for the refrigerated section.