Under the Lights by Abbi Glines Page B

getan entire period to read it.” Willa smiled at both of us, making very little eye contact, then hurried to her next class.
    I glared at Gunner. “You embarrassed her,” I snapped.
    He just grinned, still watching her retreating form. “I know. It was hilarious. What seventeen-year-old girl blushes over the word sex ? Now if I’d said fuck , then I might have expected that reaction.”
    I should have gone on and left him, but I couldn’t just yet. I was confused by what his motives were with Willa. “She’s not a backseat whore. You realize that right?”
    He nodded, then finally looked at me. “Yeah. She’s our friend. Six years doesn’t change that.”
    She had been his best friend. If I hadn’t been so jealous of the fact he got to see her all the time when I wanted to see her all the time, I would have cared that she was the best friend and I was the runner up. When she had left, I had moved into that spot with Gunner, but it hadn’t felt right. I missed Willa. For years.
    I may have never stopped.
    â€œWhy is she back?” I asked him. “There has to be a reason.”
    Gunner shrugged. “That’s her secret. If she wants to tell us, she will. Until then, it’s her secret to keep.”
    He sounded almost defensive of her. Like he was telling me to back off. I’d been talked to like this before whereWilla was concerned. When we were kids, he never let me get too close. There was always a protective wall he held around her, and God forbid anyone get too close.
    â€œI’m worried about her. Her eyes are sad and guarded.”
    Gunner didn’t respond immediately. He looked as if his thoughts had gone far away from here. Almost distant. I waited to see if he’d respond, and when I had almost given up on him, he turned to me. “Not everyone’s life is like yours. There are some things people don’t want to share. It’s how they survive.”
    At that Gunner walked away. He didn’t want to hear what I had to say in response, and I was glad because I didn’t have anything. For starters, how the hell was my life different from his, except he had a shit ton of money? We both had married parents and good home lives. Neither of us had seen abuse or been neglected. Well, maybe emotionally Gunner had suffered neglect, but it wasn’t all bad. Ms. Ames was always there to mother him when he needed it.
    After Willa had left, we stayed closed at first. Then we began to drift. I wasn’t sure why, but Gunner pulled away from me for a time. Football and field parties eventually brought us closer again, but things had never really been the same since she left. We’d been closer then. He had been my best friend before then. I thought of West as mybest friend now. I talked to West about things Gunner just didn’t seem interested in.
    Having Willa back reminded me of how things once were. She had been such a big part of our childhood. Being around her again brought it all back.
    Willa was dealing with real shit. She’d never had it easy. I knew she thought of herself as a burden to her mother. I had seen it in her eyes and the way she said things. The way she tried so hard to make her nonna proud of her. The day she’d told me she was moving to Arkansas to live with her mother I had wanted to be happy for her. But I’d been heartbroken instead.
    That hadn’t been roses for her there, either. I could see that in the girl she had become. I hated her mother. I’d only seen her once, and even as a child I knew she was beautiful. But that didn’t make me hate her less. She had made Willa feel unwanted.
    â€œYou waiting on me?” Ivy’s voice broke into my thoughts. She was something else I really needed to deal with. I knew it was obvious that I watched Willa. To everyone but Willa. But I didn’t want to hurt Ivy, either. Until Willa walked back into town, I had been perfectly