out to stay in shape.
âImagine running six miles and then showering before an eight oâclock class, and then after class going to practice for three hours,â Sari said.
âIf things are going well,â Kelly added. âThe other day Briggs made Ryan run another five after practice.â
âThey call those âsuicide runs,ââ Sari said.
That didnât leave much time for studying or a life. But River must have kept his grades up because you had to, to stay on the team.
The poster on Briggsâs office door summed it up best. Beneath his picture it said: âI hate losing more than I love winning.â
Everyone thought it was funny.
RIVER
My dad is losing it now. The control freak canât stand feeling helpless.
âItâs got to start moving,â he says, surfing for traffic updates or anything to explain why in five hours we could have walked farther. Finally, we hear something. A few miles up, thereâs an intersection with traffic lights. The number of cars alone is slowing things to a crawl.
âCanât they just turn off the lights and let traffic pass through?â Jillian asks.
âThat would make too much sense,â my dad says.
I drop half a pill down my throat. He sees it and turns back to the road clenching his jaw. Some days I think about downing the whole goddamn bottle. At least the craziness would go away. Forever.
Jillianâs texting again. Must be killing her dick boyfriend to know sheâs in the car with the big, bad wolf. Thatâs something to smile about anyway.
Chapter 7
14 HOURS TO LANDFALL
JILLIAN
Text from Aidan.
Howâs it going?
Boring. U?
Better if you were here. Xo.
Aidan opens doors for me, takes me to dinner and the movies, and even does sweet things like buy me ladybug earrings for my birthday and perfume from Victoriaâs Secret.
âItâs sweet, and so are you,â said his card to me on my birthday. Kind of Hallmark-y, but cute.
And it was cool to go to the basketball games and sit in a reserved front-row seat to watch him play, seeing him glance out at me as if he were playing for me alone. Sometimes heâd wink at me before a free throw, as if to say, âWatch me ace this,â and then look back at me and smile after he made the basket.
What I donât tell anyone is that when we kiss and he says, âI love you,â I donât always say it back.
âDonât you love Aidan?â Kelly once asked me.
âI totally like him. If you love someone at first sight, it usually goes downhill from there.â Iâd read that somewhere. It sounded reasonable.
Kelly rolled her eyes. âWho came up with that theory?â
Right or wrong, I was the only one of my friends who hadnât seriously hooked up with anyone. So when Aidan came along, he seemed perfect. He liked me, he wanted to be with me, and he had a brainâaside from math, that isâand a great body. What more could I want?
Most of the girls and all the gay guys in school have crushed on Aidan, but he doesnât seem to be aware of it, or he pretends he isnât. Iâm the only one heâs interested in.
When he found out my mom was staying in Houston to cover the storm, but I was leaving with River and Harlan, he freaked.
âRiver?â
âAnd his dad.â
Aidan hates River, despises even hearing his name ever since the picnicâalmost six months ago. If I just mention him in passing, Aidanâs face will turn cold.
âDonât go with them ⦠come with us,â he said, insistently. âWe have an Expedition, thereâs so much room.â
âYouâre acting like Iâm running away with him. His dad is driving. Theyâll be dropping me off. Iâll be fine.â
âIt doesnât bother you?â
âWhat?â
âBeing with River,â he said, like I was a moron.
âYouâre making it into this whole big