Chapter 3

Ryan blocked the RV door, preventing me from leaving.

He lowered his voice and gripped the doorframe. "Look, it was a joke. Are you really going to put a theft charge on their record?

"Alex and the others just graduated, and they can't handle this kind of mess. Call the rental company and tell them it was a fight between us, okay?"

The door behind me was scorching hot, burning through my clothes and searing my shoulder blade.

"When they drove off, they knew I didn't have a phone, and they knew this place was over forty miles from town," I said.

"But they were only following my lead," Ryan said, frowning. "If you're angry, take it out on me, and don't drag the others into this."

Once again, he stood up for everyone else, but left me out in the cold.

Alex and the others were huddled outside the RV, and Sophie was the first to speak.

"Claire, we've been friends for four years. Are you seriously going to have us hauled into the police over something so petty? How are you supposed to face us after that?"

"She won't," Ryan said, locking eyes with me, totally sure of himself. "Claire acts all tough, but deep down, she's a total softie."

Back in our sophomore year, he fronted 2,700 dollars for the club, but the president dropped out without a word.

To keep his parents from finding out, I worked two jobs for two months straight and even threw in my own scholarship money.

When he finally paid me back, he pulled me into a hug and said the thing he was most grateful for was that I'd always be on his side.

That belief had stayed with him all the way to now, and these days he used it to get his way with me.

The police car had already pulled into the gas station.

As the officer got out to ask what was happening, Ryan rushed over and pointed at me with a smile.

He said, "It's a misunderstanding. We're classmates on a road trip. She got upset with me and called the police over it. I'm the one who's been driving, and she knows it."

He shot me a look, mouthing, "Just go along with it."

I gripped my ID so tightly that the edge left a mark on the back of my hand.

If I said no, all five of them would get dragged into a police investigation. But this was supposed to be our last trip before graduation, and honestly, I used to think of them as the people I cared about most.

In the end, I told the officer, "My boyfriend was the one driving."

Ryan finally relaxed, and Alex muttered behind him, "Man, that was a close one."

By covering for them, I turned what could've been a theft report into just a rental dispute.

The officer gave us a talking-to, told us we had to go to the town office to get the RV checked out, and said the renter had to be there in person.

As I followed the officer toward the car, Ryan grabbed my wrist. "Just take the police car. There's no room left in the RV."

"It's a six-seater, and there are six of us. How can it be full?" I shot back.

Emily poked her head out the window and said softly, "I think I'm getting heatstroke and I need to lie down. Claire, you already took the police car once, so it won't hurt to do it again, right?"

The back seat had been turned into a bed, piled high with her stuff.

Ryan did not even ask her to move anything, and he grabbed my backpack and shoved it into my arms. "Don't make a big deal out of half an hour. Emily isn't feeling well, and if the ride gets bumpy she might throw up."

Before we left, Ryan was worried I'd get carsick, so he bought me a motion sickness band. When he fastened it on my wrist, he said, "Anyone else can tough it out on this trip, but not you."

Even with the band still on my wrist, Ryan was pushing me toward the police car.

I looked down, unfastened the clasp, and, for a moment, part of me wanted to throw it out, but in the end I closed my hand around it.

"Where's my watch?" Claire asked, her voice tight with suspicion.

Ryan had already turned away, but when he heard me, he glanced back.

"I looked for it. It probably dropped at the service stop, and we'll check on the way back. It's an old watch you've had forever, so it's normal for it to break or go missing."

Emily pulled her hand back from the window, and the movement was a little too quick.

For a moment, I caught a flash of silver on her wrist, and my heart skipped, because that glint looked far too familiar.

I stepped closer to the window, but Emily tugged her sleeve down in a hurry. Ryan shifted to block my view, his tone turning icy. "Aren't we supposed to be heading to the office? Don't waste everyone's time."

I stood there, not bothering to pull her sleeve up.

It was the third time today I'd just pulled my hand back and let it go.

When we got to the rental office, the staff checked the RV and found a foot-and-a-half scratch down the right side, along with some bad dents on the undercarriage.

The manager pulled up the driving records. "The vehicle was driven onto an unpaved road today, which the contract strictly prohibits. The repair costs are estimated at 9,400 dollars, and the renter has to cover it upfront."

I turned to Ryan. "Where did you take the RV?"

Before Ryan could say anything, Emily jumped in to explain. "I wanted to see the canyon, and the map said it was only four miles away.

"Ryan was trying to help me get a good picture, but we had no idea the road would be that rough."

I'd marked that road in red in the travel guide, making it clear it was off-limits.

Before we set out, I went out of my way to print six copies of the risk warning page.

Ryan thought I was being overly cautious, so he folded his copy into a paper airplane and launched it straight into my arms in front of everyone.

Now, Ryan glanced at the repair bill and said, "Just cover it for now. We'll split it up once we're back at school."

"Why am I the one who has to pay?" I shot back.

Ryan said, "The rental's in your name and the deposit's on your card, so what else can we do?"

He handed me the pen without a flicker of doubt. "We're all students and none of us have that kind of money. Didn't you just get your graduation bonus?"

I'd been saving that bonus for our shared apartment.

Ryan had known all along, which is exactly why he pushed the whole cost onto me.

The manager warned us that the vehicle posed a collision risk and couldn't be returned to the road tonight; it had to stay at the office for inspection.

When Emily heard we couldn't go to the salt lake, her eyes welled up with tears, and she turned to leave.

Ryan immediately went after her.

As he passed me, he called out, "You handle this for now. I'm going to bring Emily back, because I can't let her wander off alone in a strange place."

The glass door slid open and shut, the evening breeze fluttering the repair bill on the table.

I did not chase after them, nor did I cover their bill.

I slipped the anti-nausea bracelet I'd been clutching into my document pouch and called my mom.