“Avery, please come down. Declan already talked to him. He said he’s not coming. You need to pick up Percy.”

I stared at the big numbers flashing in the corner of the official website. It was the day of the auction. In less than an hour, Bread & Butter would be sold to the highest bidder. I squeezed my eyes shut. The dull ache from the last few days had turned into a wounded animal clawing its way out through my chest.

“Avery!”

I jerked, staring at the phone, and lifted it back to my face. “Sorry, Mak, I didn’t hear you.”

“I’m sorry, Avery. I’m so sorry.”

Sucking in a deep breath, I licked my dry lips. “Did he say anything?”

“I don’t know. Declan sounded pretty upset when he got off the phone. All the guys have been texting him. Declan told me his parents paid you to break up with him.”

My stomach coiled at the pity in her voice. She was there once again, offering me support, just like she had in high school.

“They did.” I wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

“I’m sure you had your reasons. I saw you, Avery. I know you, and I know you’d never do something like that—would never be so selfish.”

“Maybe I’d be better off if I had been.” If I’d been uncaring enough to leave my sister behind and move in with Emmett, to not bail my dad out and let him feel the full consequences of his actions, to watch as Alyson got taken into foster care…maybe they’d have done better than I had, and my life would have—

Shaking my head, I didn’t let myself continue down toward where that path might lead. Guilt stabbed at my stomach for even thinking that way for a second.

“Are you coming down tomorrow?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I need to figure out a job, decide what the hell I’m going to do.”

“You need to come down here to pick up Percy. It’s a holiday, so no one is hiring. You’ll have the car and you can drive wherever you might need to go for job hunting the next day.”

The thought of facing the Kings after what had happened made me ill. I wrapped my arms around my waist. Nausea threatened to bring up what little I’d choked down earlier in the day. “I’ll figure something out.”

The haze I’d been living in didn’t look like it would be clearing anytime soon. Kicking the door on the way into the bedroom, I slammed my head down on my bed.

“Stop being ridiculous. Get down here and get your damn car.”

I let my head fall back against the hard mattress behind me. The floor was my new favorite place. I hadn’t been able to get up off it for days. No job, no college, no business, no money—worse off didn’t begin to describe it.

Dad was in rehab. Alyson was at USC. Everyone was on the path to something new—except me. I was stuck clinging to the ledge of a cliff over a bottomless pit.

“I’m coming back up there. I’ll drive the car to you.”

“What? No. Don’t do that. You’re right, tomorrow is the Fourth, and I know you have the big party planned. Don’t let me ruin it.”

“You’re not ruining anything. Let me come up there and get you. Come to the party. It will give you a chance to relax.”

The panic caused by the idea of Mak coming to my house and seeing where I’d lived all this time spurred me into action. “I’ll take the train to Atlantic City and you can pick me up from there. I can drop you back off and leave. No one else needs to know.” No use making her come all the way up. I could be down there and back before the party.

“Are you sure? Are you okay?”

No. “I’ll be okay. I’ll come down tomorrow. They’re on the holiday schedule, so there are only a few trains.”

“Let me know which one and I’ll be there.”

“Talk to you later, Mak.”

Ending the call, I stared at the light blue paint on my wall. After I clicked refresh on the webpage of the auction site, I saw a big red banner announcing it had been sold. The streaking tears weren’t accompanied by the tightness in my chest or a clogged throat. They poured down my face in silence. I had nothing left.

The sharp knock on the front door pulled me out of my daze. The soft sunlight that had been filtering in when I was on my call with Mak had been replaced by pitch black darkness. I wiped my hand across my face, drying my cheeks on my shirt.

Another rattling knock. Grabbing the baseball bat from the hallway, I crept down the hall and peered out the peephole.

Relaxing my grip on the bat, mostly from shock, I opened the door.

“What do you want?”

If there was someone slimier than Emmett’s parents, it was this guy. I’d seen him hanging around the Cunnings that day in the penthouse, lurking in the background.

“Ms. Davis, we haven’t formally met. I’m Harold Sexton. I work for Mr. and Mrs. Cunning.”

“What do you want?” I hated the way his eyes raked over me as he stood outside my door.

“Perhaps this would be better to talk about inside.”

I wrapped my fingers around the door and leaned my body against it. “How about not.”

“Fine, we’ll do this your way.” He reached into his jacket pocket.

I recoiled, taking a step back and bringing the bat up, but it was just a thin white envelope that dangled from his fingers.

My eyebrows furrowed and I glanced between him and the cream paper. “What the hell is this?”

“This is the next chapter of your life.”

“I don’t want it.” I gritted my teeth. “They think they can pay me off again, get me to do what they want? This goes for all of you: fuck off!” I slammed the door, but it bounced back on me.

His shiny shoes probably cost more than I’d bought Percy for, but they were about to get seriously screwed up.

“Be reasonable, Ms. Davis. You have no money. You have a sister at USC and a dad in rehab. The Cunnings won’t be able to intervene for his job this time.”

“I don’t care. We’ll figure it out. I’m not going to let them buy me off again. I’ll find my own way like I always have, so you call tell them to take their bribe and shove it.” I jammed the bat into his foot, making him yelp and jump back.

Slamming the door in his face, I rested my head against it. They thought they could buy me off—again—thought they could treat people’s lives like they were inconvenient pieces on a board game they could maneuver as they pleased, but I wasn’t going to roll over for them anymore. No wonder Emmett couldn’t tell what was real from what wasn’t. His parents didn’t know how to deal with a problem they couldn’t solve with money.

The next day, I’d get Percy and go somewhere else, maybe visit Alyson in California.

Maybe I could even start over there.

Turned out taking one of only four trains running on the holiday wasn’t the best idea. The only reason I’d gotten a seat was because I embarked in Philly, which was the first stop.

Red, white, and blue covered every surface and person. I hadn’t gotten the memo. My jeans and gray sweatshirt were the comfort I needed. Determined not to fall apart, I stepped off the train and made my way out of the station, one in a sea of hundreds.

Mak rolled down the window and waved at me. I stopped dead in my tracks. A horn blared beside me and I rushed out of the middle of the intersection. Parked on the other side of the street, Percy gleamed in the light from the setting sun. I jogged over to the car and climbed in.

“He definitely looks good.” I slammed the door shut and it latched immediately.

“They did some pretty amazing work in such a short amount of time.”

I ran my hands along the smooth dashboard. It was still Percy, but he shined like never before.

I dropped my hands into my lap. Emmett had done this for me, before everything fell apart, back when things were not a dumpster filled with week-old takeout completely engulfed in flames. I sagged against the seat and blew out a shaky breath. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I ran my hands along the buttery soft upholstery. I could only imagine the giant show he’d have made of it. I was surprised there wasn’t a giant bow on the top.

“Emmett had them do a good job. The humongous bow is in the trunk if you wanted it. I figured it would be hard to drive with it on, so I stashed it there.”

I shook my head. “I’ll find a way to pay him back.” I was through feeling indebted to the Cunnings—all of them.

Mak pulled out into traffic. The smoothness of the ride and the new car smell had me in awe. There were USB plugs where the old cassette player had been, and both headlights worked in perfect alignment.

We pulled up in front of the beach house and I was excited to drive him home. I thought maybe visiting Alyson wasn’t such a bad idea. I could even sleep in this thing—the reupholstered back seat looked comfortable enough now.

Mak hopped out of the car and pocketed the keys.

“What the hell? Give me the keys.”

“One drink—come inside for one drink. Enjoy the fireworks and then you can go home.”

“No, no way am I going in there.”

“Then I’m not giving you your keys back.” She raced for the steps.

I chased after her, our feet thudding against the wooden stairs. I grabbed hold of her belt loop and tugged her back, but she grabbed the screen door.

“Stop it and come inside,” she yelled, trying to dislodge my fingers, which were digging in her pocket for my keys.

“Avery?” Ford poked his head out the partially opened screen door.

I dropped my hold on Mak, ready to run away. My heart pounded against my ribs. Spinning around, I skidded to a stop one step down when Heath and Declan appeared at the bottom of the staircase. My back pressed into the railing. I was trapped. I assessed the ankle snappage possibilities of jumping over the railing at that height. My nails dug into the wood behind me.

The two of them climbed the steps before stopping in front of me. I braced myself.

“We’re glad you made it.” Declan and then Heath hugged me. Tears welled in my eyes. “You want a drink? Let’s get you a drink.”

Corralled by the bodies on the stairs, I walked inside with them.

“Here you go.” Colm handed me a drink in a red plastic cup.

I smiled weakly, not trusting my voice. My throat tightened. Breathing out through my mouth, I tried to calm down. There were no angry glares. No confrontations about how dare I show my face, and there was no Emmett.

The party kicked into high gear. Music blared from the speakers set up inside and outside. A small stage on the beach in front of the house and a fully stocked bar complete with bartender told me Emmett had had a hand in it.

As much as I wanted to bolt, Mak still had my keys, and someone always seemed to be positioned right in front of the door. I escaped to the balcony off the kitchen. Nursing my drink, I stared out at the bay side of the island. People streamed down the streets, walking to their perfect spots for the fireworks.

“I thought that was you I saw out here.” I jumped at the voice behind me. It was familiar, although not the one I wanted to hear.

“Hey, Noah.” I rested my arms against the wooden railing.

“Hey, Avery. You left without saying goodbye. I thought you wouldn’t be back.”

“I wasn’t planning on it. I thought you were leaving too.”

“That was the plan, but my brother came down for a little bit, then he had to go back. He won’t be done recording until the end of the summer now, so he told us to hang out for a while longer. I’m in no rush to join the real world yet, so I’m staying.”

He was ready to put off joining the real world while I was frantically searching for that door at the back of the wardrobe into the carefree place everyone else seemed to have been invited to, a place I’d never seen where real responsibilities and pressure didn’t exist.

“That’s cool. I’m only here for tonight. I had to come back down to get my car.”

“Is that it?’ He pointed down at Percy in the driveway below us.

“That would be him.” The door behind us opened and the music from inside blared.

“It’s a beautiful ride.” His fingers inched closer to mine.

“Thanks. I never knew he could look so amazing.” The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

“Avery—”

“I’m glad you like it.” The deep rumble of the voice I knew almost as well as my own sent a shock straight through my system.

Spinning around, I choked on the air.

“You’re right, he’s never looked better.”

I pressed myself against the railing, my gaze darting between Noah and Emmett. Guilt soured my stomach even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“What are you doing here?” My words were a raspy rush.

“Do you mind giving us a minute, Noah?” There wasn’t a hint of anger or accusation in Emmett’s voice.